Things to do in Perth
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Perth
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Summer peak. Hot and dry, beaches and Rottnest best in the morning before the Fremantle Doctor breeze.
Autumn sweet spot. Heat breaks, ocean is warmest, evenings golden. Mid March to April is a best first trip window.
Winter. Mild and wet with cheapest hotels, AFL in full swing, but ocean and Rottnest swimming are poor.
Spring sweet spot and wildflower season. Kings Park flowers, swims resume, and October may be the best month.
What's on
- Fringe World mid-January to mid-February
Huge fringe festival with hubs across Northbridge and the CBD.
- Perth Festival February to early March
WA's premier arts festival, including outdoor cinema.
- Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Usually early to late March, about two and a half weeks
Free open air gallery on Cottesloe Beach. Go on a weekday morning.
- Fremantle International Street Arts Festival Easter weekend
Street arts festival across Fremantle over Easter.
- Perth Comedy Festival late April to mid-May
Comedy festival running from late April into mid May.
- AFL at Optus Stadium March to September season
Home games are the local winter ritual at Optus Stadium.
- Kings Park Festival through September
Free wildflower displays, guided walks and family activities in the Botanic Garden.
- Perth Royal Show Late September to early October each year
WA's big agricultural show at Claremont Showground, with rides and showbags.
- AWESOME Festival Late September to early October, in the school holidays
Children's arts festival at Perth Cultural Centre, many activities free.
Best things to do in Perth
Rottnest Island
Car free island of bays and quokkas best done for a full day by bike, swimming and snorkelling as you loop.
Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Huge inner city park with WA native planting, war memorial and the best skyline and river lookout in Perth.
Fremantle
Intact port city of heritage streets, markets, harbour and beaches that rewards a full day, ideally Friday to Sunday.
Fremantle Prison
Convict built World Heritage prison used until 1991, with day, tunnels and torchlight tours locals rate highly.
WA Museum Boola Bardip
State museum on WA people, biodiversity and geology, best paired with the art gallery in the same precinct.
Cottesloe Beach
Perth's reference beach for calm morning swimming, terraced lawns and the definitive Indian Ocean sunset.
Scarborough Beach
Bigger surf beach with a beachfront pool and lessons, best in the morning before the sea breeze chops it up.
Mechanics Institute
Rooftop small bar anchoring a Northbridge crawl that also takes in Sneaky Tony's, The Standard and Alabama Song.
Where to stay in Perth
CBD / Cathedral Square - Elizabeth Quay
first trip, short trip
Walk to ferries, trains, the Cultural Centre and the best hotels and hatted restaurants, though quiet after hours.
Fremantle
leisure trips of 3+ nights, couples and food first trips
A real place with heritage streets, markets, pubs and the Rottnest ferry, with the CBD 30 minutes by train.
West Perth / Subiaco
calm, local, longer stays
Leafy and cafe rich next to Kings Park on the Fremantle line, choosing neighbourhood life over views.
Cottesloe / Scarborough
beach first trips
Wake up to the ocean, refined and train linked at Cottesloe or livelier and surfier at Scarborough.
Northbridge edge
nightlife trips, with eyes open
Stay next to Northbridge at the Cultural Centre edge rather than in the club core, as the Alex Hotel does.
Think twice about
- Northbridge proper, James St and William St club core
Nightlife core with a rough edge after 10pm, heavy intoxication and police exclusion powers. Eat and drink there, do not base there for quiet stays.
- CBD rough sleeping blocks around Wellington St, McIver Station and east Murray and Hay Sts
Visitors notice rough sleeping most on these eastern blocks at night. Base at the western Cathedral Square end, West Perth or Fremantle instead.
- Crown Burswood and near airport hotels as a sightseeing base
Safe but isolated enclaves with nothing walkable. You pay the saving back in rideshares and lost evenings.
- Sprawling suburbs sold as 20 minutes to everything, such as Joondalup, Midland or Armadale
Without a car a cheap room there is not a Perth holiday, and 20 minutes is a best case freeway claim.
Best restaurants in Perth
Wildflower
Menus built on the six Noongar seasons and WA produce, the most distinctly Western Australian fine diner.
Gibney
Polished coastal brasserie opposite Cottesloe Beach, with WA seafood and tableside theatre at sunset.
Twenty Seats
Tiny tasting menu room giving every diner unbroken attention across about ten intricate courses.
Hearth
WA produce cooked with fire and smoke inside the Ritz-Carlton, worth booking even if not staying there.
Fleur at The Royal
Polished 45 seat dining room in The Royal Hotel, with a five course set menu and Japanese inflections.
Lulu La Delizia
Tiny warm handmade pasta room in Subiaco, beloved and noisy, and never a safe walk in.
Bread in Common
Warehouse bakery restaurant built on its own bread and woodfire, made for share plates and groups.
Madalena's
Small South Fremantle seafood room cooking whole WA fish and crudo away from the harbour tourist strip.
Best bars in Perth
Sneaky Tony's
Hidden Chinatown door rum bar with more than 300 rums; Friday and Saturday entry needs the password from its Instagram.
The Standard
Roe Street garden bar, the open air stop on a Northbridge small bar crawl.
Alabama Song
Honky tonk bar in Northbridge, the country music stop on the small bar crawl.
Outdoor things to do in Perth
Joondalup Resort
Quarry and Dunes golf cut through limestone and lakes with kangaroos on the fairways, ranked top in WA.
Araluen Country Club
The scenic golf round, with dramatic elevation, forest and valley views in the hills south east of Perth.
The Vines Resort
Two championship golf layouts in the Swan Valley that pair easily with a cellar door and tasting day.
The Pinnacles Desert
Thousands of limestone pillars in yellow sand, best late afternoon, paired with Lancelin sandboarding.
Swan Valley
Flat valley circuit of cellar doors, breweries and producers, lifted by a bush tucker tasting with Dale Tilbrook.
Mettams Pool
Reef metres from shore for calm morning snorkelling, with surf lessons nearby at Trigg and Scarborough.
Swan River
Dawn kayak from South Perth or Matilda Bay, or a small catamaran under the skyline before the breeze builds.
John Forrest National Park
WA's oldest national park for scarp hiking and wildflowers, with Lesmurdie Falls nearby at sunset.
Best hotels in Perth
COMO The Treasury
Perth's best hotel, in the old State Buildings with huge calm rooms, a pool and Wildflower on the rooftop.
The Ritz-Carlton, Perth
River view luxury at Elizabeth Quay with floor to ceiling Swan River views and an infinity pool.
QT Perth
Theatrical design hotel in the centre with Santini downstairs and a rooftop bar couples actually use.
Hougoumont Hotel
Small design led Fremantle hotel a short walk from Bathers Beach, the harbour and the Cappuccino Strip.
Esplanade Hotel Fremantle by Rydges
Big historic full service hotel opposite the Esplanade park, the family and group Fremantle choice.
Alex Hotel
Calm boutique hotel on the Cultural Centre edge, with Northbridge dining outside and a quiet building inside.
Cottesloe Beach Hotel
Hotel on the Cottesloe strip for waking up to the ocean, beach cafes and sunset lawns.
Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough
Full service high rise directly on Scarborough Beach, Perth's true beachfront resort base.
Is Perth expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$130 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$240 a person |
| Splurge | A$480 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Rottnest Island: a few days ahead
- Fremantle Prison: a few days ahead
- Joondalup Resort: a few days ahead
- Swan Valley: a few days ahead
- Penguin Island: a few days ahead
- Wildflower: weeks ahead
- Gibney: weeks ahead
- Twenty Seats: weeks ahead
- Book Rottnest ferry and bike hire days ahead in spring, summer and on long weekends.
- Book Wildflower, Twenty Seats, Gibney sunset tables and Fleur three to six weeks ahead for weekends.
- Book Fremantle Prison Tunnels and Torchlight tours ahead. Tunnels has fitness and age limits.
Is Perth safe?
- Swim only between the red and yellow flags and heed shark closures instantly.
- UV is extreme even in winter. Use SPF 50, a hat and water.
- Never feed or touch quokkas. Fines apply and human food harms them.
- Take late night Northbridge seriously, especially after midnight on weekends.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Perth travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- C Restaurant charges for the revolving view. Take a sunset drink there, then dine elsewhere.
- Do not build half a day around the Bell Tower entry fee or Elizabeth Quay as a destination.
- Harbour fish and chip strips in Fremantle are priced for the crowd. Locals eat seafood elsewhere.
- Margaret River sold as a Perth day tour means six hours of coach for about three hours there.
Getting around Perth: public transport and more
- Get a SmartRider for integrated Transperth trains, buses and the South Perth ferry.
- Free CAT buses and the CBD Free Transit Zone cover central Perth and Fremantle.
- Take Rottnest ferries from Fremantle, about 25 to 30 minutes, not the 90 minute Perth departure.
- You need a car or tours only for the Pinnacles, Perth Hills, Penguin Island and Margaret River.
Who Perth suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Perth your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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