Perth
Australia's Western Window
Perth
Perth sits on the Swan River on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, in the south-western corner of Western Australia. The city was founded in 1829 as a British free-settler colony (not a convict settlement) and grew slowly until the Western Australian gold rush of the 1890s, which brought wealth, infrastructure and the railway from the coast to the goldfields. The resources boom of the early 2000s transformed it again into one of the richest cities per capita in the world.
The geographic isolation is real. Perth is closer to Jakarta, Singapore and Bali than to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. The next city of over 100,000 people is Adelaide, 2,700 kilometres east across the Nullarbor Plain. This has given Perth a distinctive identity that feels more Indian Ocean than Pacific, and a culture built around the coast, the climate and the outdoor life.
Perth averages more sunshine hours than any other capital city in Australia (an average of 3,200 per year) and has the most beaches within easy reach of the CBD. Cottesloe Beach, Scarborough Beach, City Beach and the string of smaller suburbs along the Indian Ocean coast are all within a 20-minute drive of the city. The Fremantle (Freo) peninsula at the mouth of the Swan River is a separate port town with a preserved 19th-century heritage precinct, a famous weekend market, and the highest concentration of heritage buildings per capita of any city in Australia.
Kings Park, on the bluff overlooking the city, covers 400 hectares and is larger than Central Park in New York. It has views over the CBD and the river, a botanic garden focused on Western Australian wildflowers, and the state war memorial. A daily sunset at Kings Park or Cottesloe Beach is the single best free experience in the city.
Rottnest Island, a 30-minute ferry ride from Perth or Fremantle, is a protected A-class reserve best known for its population of about 10,000 quokkas, the small marsupial whose smile became an internet phenomenon. No private cars are allowed on the island; visitors explore by bicycle or the hop-on-hop-off bus.
The Swan Valley wine region starts 25 minutes from the CBD and is the oldest wine region in Western Australia (first planted in 1834, older than the Barossa). Margaret River, three hours south, is the state's best-known wine region and one of the top surf coasts in the country. Both are reachable as day trips from Perth, though Margaret River is better as an overnight.
Perth is a year-round destination. The best months are September to November and March to May when the weather is mild and the beaches are uncrowded. Summer (December to February) is dry and hot with afternoon sea breezes called the Fremantle Doctor that reliably cool the city from the west. Winter (June to August) is wet and cool but still sunnier than most Australian capitals. Perth Airport (PER) is 12 kilometres east of the city with direct flights to Europe, Asia, and across Australia.
Things to see here
Highlights in Perth.
2 spots to visit
Where to stay
Holiday parks near Perth.
2 options via our booking partner
BIG4 Perth Midland Tourist Park
Rockingham Holiday Village
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Gallery
Perth in pictures.
10 images licensed from Wikimedia Commons
All images are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licences. Individual photographers are credited on the source pages.
Things to do
Recommended Experiences
15 bookable experiences at or near Perth.
On the itinerary
Trip plans that include Perth.
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Attribution
Sources & credits
Content
- Background text summarised from Wikipedia: Perth , licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images (10)
- Perth (AU), Elizabeth Quay Bridge -- 2019 -- 0375-9.jpg · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Eastern rail 01 gnangarra.JPG · Gnangarra · CC BY 2.5 au
- Australia Day 2013 Perth 28.jpg · Kaoz69 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Australia Day 2013 Perth 33.jpg · Kaoz69 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Australia Day 2013 Perth 39.jpg · Kaoz69 · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Cloudy day in Perth, WA, 2019 Oct 30 (IMGP7603a).jpg · Alexey V. Kurochkin · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Caversham Wildlife Park Pe... · Alexey V. Kurochkin · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Light painting gnangarra-1.jpg · Gnangarra · CC BY 2.5 au
- Perth (AU), Elizabeth Quay Bridge -- 2019 -- 0346-8 (crop 2)... · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Perth (AU), The Westin Perth -- 2019 -- 0245.jpg · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Images sourced from Wikimedia Commons under licenses that permit commercial use. If you are the rights holder and believe an attribution is incorrect, please contact us.