Perth

What makes Perth worth the trip

Perth is the most isolated major city on Earth. Sydney is further away than London is from Tehran. For most of its history that isolation made Perth easy to overlook. Not any more. A sustained mining boom poured serious money into the city, a proper food and bar scene grew out of it, and a generation of locals decided they had no particular reason to leave. What they stayed for is what you'll find: the Swan River running through the middle of the city, Kings Park sitting above the skyline, nineteen beaches within easy reach, and a confidence that comes from a place that has stopped trying to be anywhere else.

This is a city that does mornings exceptionally well. Early coffee in Leederville, Kings Park at sunrise, the ferry queue at Barrack Street Jetty before the crowds arrive. It does evenings well too. Northbridge small bars, the foreshore at dusk, fresh seafood in Fremantle. What it doesn't do is rush. That's worth factoring into how long you stay. If you're using Perth as a stopover before Ningaloo or Margaret River, give it three nights minimum rather than one.

Kings Park and Botanic Garden

Four hundred hectares of native bushland and manicured gardens on a ridge above the Swan River, with one of the best city views in Australia available for free at any hour of the day. The lookout near the State War Memorial gives you Perth's skyline rising behind the river, the Darling Ranges on the horizon, and on clear mornings a view that stretches 50 kilometres. It's the kind of place that makes you understand why people stay.

The Botanic Garden focuses on Western Australian plants and puts on a serious show each spring. From August through October the wildflower season brings everlasting daisies, kangaroo paws, banksias and Sturt's desert peas to bloom across the whole state, and Kings Park gets some of the best of it. The Federation Walkway runs 620 metres through the tree canopy on an elevated path with a bridge 15 metres above ground. A different view of the bush without any real effort required.

The beaches

Nineteen city beaches, 30 kilometres of Indian Ocean coastline, consistent quality across all of them. Cottesloe is the one people talk about: a long gentle arc of white sand backed by Norfolk Island pines and the old Indiana teahouse, facing west so the sunsets are properly theatrical. The water is calm enough for families and occasionally interesting for bodysurfers. The pub behind the beach handles sunset crowds with reasonable efficiency.

Scarborough has had a lot of money spent on it recently and now rivals Cottesloe for facilities, with a bigger wave and a cleaner foreshore precinct. City Beach is quieter and better for families. Trigg has the best consistent surf. Leighton and North Cottesloe are what locals use when Cottesloe is packed. For swimming, any of these beaches is fine. For people-watching, Cottesloe on a sunny Saturday afternoon is the correct choice.

Kings Park and the Swan River below. The best free view in Perth

Rottnest Island

Every Perth person has a Rottnest story, usually involving a sunburn, a quokka photo, or a missed ferry. The island sits 18 kilometres offshore and is reached by ferry from Fremantle, Barrack Street Jetty or Hillary's Marina. Anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes depending on your departure point. No private cars are allowed, so you hire a bike at the terminal and spend the day navigating 45 kilometres of paths between bays, beaches and lighthouse lookouts at your own pace.

The snorkelling is genuinely good. Rottnest sits at the southern edge of tropical reef territory, and the coral gardens hold sergeant major fish, blue-spotted stingrays, wobbegongs and the occasional dolphin. The Basin is the calmest and clearest spot for families, Parker Point has more fish, and then there are the quokkas. Small, round-faced marsupials that live all over the island with an apparent indifference to humans that makes a decent close-up photograph almost unavoidable.

Northbridge, Leederville and the food scene

Perth's eating and drinking scene has become genuinely impressive. Northbridge, just north of the CBD, is where it started. The restaurant strip that remains the densest concentration of good food in the city. Korean, Japanese, Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, a Taiwanese place that opened last year and already has a queue. The variety within a few blocks is hard to match in a city of this size. The small bars through the laneways off William Street are unpretentious and good.

Leederville is worth a separate evening. More neighbourhood feel, independent coffee shops, a cinema that shows interesting things, and enough good restaurants that you won't exhaust the options in one visit. Mount Lawley is similar, a bit more residential, with some of the better restaurants in the city along Beaufort Street. Saturday morning on Beaufort Street is a good hour to spend wandering.

Day trips from Perth

Fremantle is the easy one. 30 minutes by train, completely walkable, and different enough in character from Perth to feel like a proper destination rather than a suburb. The Fremantle Markets run Friday to Sunday, and a Saturday morning combining the markets with lunch at Little Creatures and the afternoon at Fishing Boat Harbour is one of the better ways to spend a day in WA.

The Pinnacles Desert in Nambung National Park. 250 kilometres north. Is one of the stranger landscapes in Australia. Thousands of limestone pillars rising from pale sand, best at dawn or dusk when the low light creates long shadows across them. For something more ambitious, Margaret River is three hours south. It works as a day trip for wine tasting, but two or three nights is much better. If you're planning a longer coastal drive north to Ningaloo, our campervan guide has the full Coral Coast route staged day by day.

Getting there and around

Perth Airport handles direct international flights from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Doha, Hong Kong and several other hubs. Domestically, Sydney is five hours, Melbourne four hours, Brisbane five hours. Fares are competitive if you book a few weeks out. The Indian Pacific train from Sydney via Adelaide and Kalgoorlie takes 65 hours and is one of the great rail journeys. Treat it as the experience it is, not as transport.

Within Perth, the train network covers the inner suburbs efficiently and extends to Fremantle, Joondalup, Armadale and Mandurah. Free CAT buses loop through the CBD, Fremantle and East Perth. For the northern and southern beaches, the Swan Valley and the Perth Hills, a car is useful. See our campervan guide if you're planning anything beyond the city.

Practical notes

• Currency: Australian dollars. Cards accepted everywhere in the city.
• Sun: UV levels in WA are extreme even in winter. Sunscreen is not optional.
• Mobile: All four carriers have strong coverage in Perth. Telstra is best if you're heading into regional WA afterwards.
• Driving: Left side of the road. 50km/h in residential streets. Random breath testing is common and the limits are enforced.
• Accommodation: See our Perth accommodation guide for options from hostels to the COMO The Treasury.

Continue Your Journey

Where to go next from Perth

Port City

Fremantle

Half-hour south by train or ferry

Wine Country

Margaret River

3-hour drive south. Caves, surf, wineries

Coral Coast

Kalbarri

First major stop north. 6 hours

Goldfields

Kalgoorlie

6-hour drive east into gold country

Frequently Asked Questions