18 Best Things to Do in Perth: Your Ultimate Guide to Australia's Sunniest City
Perth, Western Australia's coastal capital, is Australia's most isolated major city — and one of its most breathtaking. With more sunshine than any other Australian capital (3,000+ hours per year), pristine Indian Ocean beaches, adorable quokkas on Rottnest Island, world-class wine regions, and extraordinary natural landscapes, Perth offers unforgettable experiences in a relaxed, uncrowded setting that east-coast visitors consistently describe as revelatory.
Perth CBD & Swan River, WA
Islands & Stunning Beaches
Rottnest Island — Quokka Paradise & Perth's Island Escape
Rottnest Island — affectionately called 'Rotto' — is Perth's most beloved island escape, famous for quokkas (the world's happiest-looking animals), 63 pristine beaches, and crystal-clear turquoise water. Just 19km from Fremantle.
✅ What to Do:
- •Meet quokkas — adorable marsupials found only on Rottnest and a few nearby islands
- •63 pristine beaches and bays with Indian Ocean visibility of 20+ metres
- •World-class snorkelling at The Basin and Little Salmon Bay
- •Cycle the car-free island (19km circumference) — bike hire available at the ferry terminal
- •Historic WWII tunnels, heritage lighthouses, and Aboriginal cultural sites
- •Ferry from Perth (1 hr) or Fremantle (25 min) — book ahead in summer
💡 Tip: Book Rottnest Island ferry and bike hire at least 2–3 weeks in advance for summer and school holidays — they sell out completely.
Cottesloe Beach — Perth's Most Iconic Beach
Perth's most famous and beloved beach — a wide expanse of white sand, crystal-clear Indian Ocean water, and the magnificent Indiana Tea House building that frames one of Australia's most photographed sunset scenes.
✅ What to Do:
- •Swim in calm, crystal-clear Indian Ocean water — some of the cleanest on Earth
- •Watch world-class sunsets from the iconic Indiana Tea House terrace
- •Snorkel around the limestone pylons and rocky reef
- •Excellent beachfront cafés and restaurants along Marine Parade
- •Sculpture by the Sea outdoor exhibition (March) transforms the beach
- •Just 15 minutes from Perth CBD — train to Cottesloe station, then short walk
💡 Tip: Book dinner at the Indiana Tea House on a weekday sunset — the view over the Indian Ocean is spectacular and the food is excellent.
Scarborough Beach — Surf, Sand & Sunsets
Completely revitalised in recent years, Scarborough offers excellent surf, a vibrant modern beachfront plaza, and some of the best sunset views in Perth. Popular with locals and surfers year-round.
✅ What to Do:
- •Consistent surf breaks — great for beginners and experienced surfers alike
- •Newly developed Scarborough Beach Foreshore with restaurants, bars, and pools
- •Sunset Markets (Friday evenings in summer) with food trucks and live music
- •Free amphitheatre for outdoor movies, concerts, and community events
- •Beach pools and modern playground facilities for families
💡 Tip: The Scarborough Sunset Markets (summer Fridays) are one of Perth's most enjoyable free events — arrive early to get a good spot.
Penguin Island — Wildlife Encounter
Home to Western Australia's largest colony of little (fairy) penguins, plus wild sea lions, dolphins, and beautiful beaches. A unique wildlife experience just 50km south of Perth.
✅ What to Do:
- •Watch little penguins being fed daily at 11:30am, 1pm, and 2:30pm (seasonal)
- •Snorkel with wild sea lions in the clear waters around the island
- •Discovery Centre with touch tanks — excellent for families
- •Beautiful beaches for swimming, picnicking, and birdwatching
- •Short ferry from Rockingham Jetty (7 minutes, 50km south of Perth)
💡 Tip: Book the sea lion snorkel experience in advance — highly recommended and a genuinely magical wildlife encounter.
City Beach — Local Favourite
A favourite among Perth locals, City Beach offers excellent patrolled swimming, a stylish beachfront café complex, and beautiful coastal walking paths — all less crowded than Cottesloe on busy days.
✅ What to Do:
- •Safe patrolled swimming with lifeguards on duty year-round
- •The Hamptons beachfront café and restaurant complex with ocean views
- •Coast Walk north to Scarborough or south to Floreat Beach
- •Excellent grassed parklands perfect for picnics and evening relaxation
- •Generally less crowded than Cottesloe — the local's choice on summer weekends
💡 Tip: City Beach's sunset views rival Cottesloe's — grab fish and chips from the nearby seafood shop and find a good dune spot.
Nature & Urban Parks
Kings Park & Botanic Garden — World's Largest Inner-City Park
One of the world's largest inner-city parks — Kings Park is larger than New York's Central Park and commands spectacular views over Perth's CBD and the Swan River. A genuine world-class free attraction.
✅ What to Do:
- •400-hectare park including 300 hectares of native bushland right on the city fringe
- •Western Australian Botanic Garden with 3,000+ native species from across the state
- •Spectacular wildflower displays August–October — some of the world's most diverse
- •Lotterywest Federation Walkway — elevated treetop walk 15m above the forest floor
- •Panoramic views over Perth city, Swan River, and the Darling Ranges
- •Free guided walks and Aboriginal cultural heritage tours daily
💡 Tip: The Kings Park Wildflower Festival (September) is one of Australia's most magnificent free events — the park is transformed with colour.
The Pinnacles Desert — Otherworldly Landscape
Thousands of ancient limestone pillars rising from golden desert sand create an alien landscape that looks more like another planet than Western Australia. One of Australia's most photographed natural wonders.
✅ What to Do:
- •Thousands of limestone pillars up to 4 metres high spread across the desert floor
- •Drive or walk the 4km loop road through the surreal landscape
- •Best visited at golden hour (sunrise or sunset) — the light on the pillars is extraordinary
- •Outstanding stargazing after dark — zero light pollution
- •2.5 hours north of Perth on the Brand Highway — popular half-day or day trip
- •Combine with Lancelin Sand Dunes for a complete north-of-Perth day trip
💡 Tip: The Pinnacles at sunrise (6–8am) are magical — arrive before the tour buses and experience the desert in complete silence.
Swan Valley — Perth's Wine & Food Backyard
Western Australia's oldest wine region, just 25 minutes from Perth — a beautiful pastoral valley of vineyards, craft breweries, chocolate factories, and farm-to-table restaurants. Perfect for a leisurely day trip.
✅ What to Do:
- •45+ wineries and cellar doors — tastings from just $5 per flight
- •Award-winning estate restaurants with spectacular valley views
- •Margaret River Chocolate Company and House of Honey (free tastings)
- •Sandalford, Houghton, and Upper Reach among the best cellar doors
- •Swan Valley Food & Wine Trail — self-drive or join a guided tour
- •Combine with Caversham Wildlife Park for a perfect family day
💡 Tip: The Swan Valley is best done midweek — weekends get crowded, especially in autumn and spring. Designate a driver or book a tour.
Caversham Wildlife Park — Native Animals Up Close
Located in the Swan Valley, Caversham Wildlife Park offers one of Perth's most intimate native wildlife experiences — smaller and less commercialised than larger zoos, with genuinely close animal encounters.
✅ What to Do:
- •Hand-feed kangaroos and wallabies roaming freely throughout the grounds
- •Hold a koala and take photos (included in entry price — rare!)
- •See wombats, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, and echidnas
- •Daily farm show with sheep shearing and animal handling demonstrations
- •Located in the Swan Valley — easy to combine with winery visits
- •More intimate than Perth Zoo — less walking, more animal interaction
💡 Tip: Koala holding is included in the Caversham entry fee — unlike most wildlife parks where it costs extra. Great value.
City Attractions & Culture
Fremantle — Historic Port City
Perth's bohemian port city (20 minutes from the CBD) is one of Australia's best-preserved heritage precincts — a vibrant blend of Victorian limestone architecture, outstanding markets, craft beer culture, and maritime history.
✅ What to Do:
- •Fremantle Markets — arts, crafts, and fresh produce in a beautiful 1897 building (Fri–Sun)
- •Fremantle Prison — UNESCO World Heritage Site with day and candlelit night tours
- •Cappuccino Strip (South Terrace) — alfresco dining in grand heritage surroundings
- •Western Australian Maritime Museum — submarine and America's Cup exhibition
- •Little Creatures Brewery on the waterfront — excellent craft beer and food
- •Fremantle is the ferry departure point for Rottnest Island
💡 Tip: The Fremantle Prison Torchlight Tour (nights) is genuinely atmospheric and excellent — book well ahead online.
Perth Cultural Centre — Arts & Museum Hub
The heart of Perth's cultural scene — a pedestrianised hub connecting world-class museums, galleries, and the State Library in the northern fringe of the CBD. Most permanent attractions are free.
✅ What to Do:
- •Art Gallery of Western Australia — free permanent collection including Indigenous art
- •WA Museum Boola Bardip — spectacular new state-of-the-art museum (2020) with mixed free/paid entry
- •Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA) — cutting-edge contemporary art
- •State Library of Western Australia — free entry, beautiful reading rooms, rooftop terrace
- •Regular festivals, free events, and public art installations throughout the year
- •Walking distance from Perth train station
💡 Tip: The WA Museum Boola Bardip's permanent Level 1 Aboriginal Cultures Gallery is free and genuinely world-class — allow 90 minutes.
Elizabeth Quay — Waterfront Precinct
Perth's stunning contemporary waterfront development on the Swan River has transformed a previously underutilised space into one of the city's most vibrant public precincts. Beautiful public art, dining, and water activities.
✅ What to Do:
- •Beautiful 2.7km waterfront promenade along the Swan River foreshore
- •BellTower — distinctive copper spire with panoramic viewing deck and historic bells
- •Island playground and splash pad for children
- •Waterfront dining and bar strip — from casual to fine dining
- •Ferry terminal for river cruises up to Fremantle and beyond
- •Regular free public events, outdoor cinema, and entertainment programs
💡 Tip: The BellTower bells ring on Sundays at 12pm — a uniquely Perth experience worth timing your visit around.
Perth Mint — Living Gold History
Australia's oldest operating mint, established 1899, showcasing Western Australia's extraordinary gold rush history and still producing the world's largest gold coins. A surprisingly engaging attraction for all ages.
✅ What to Do:
- •Watch gold being poured and cast into bars in live demonstrations
- •Hold a real 400oz gold bar worth over AU$1,000,000
- •Rare gold nugget displays including the AUS $1M Kangaroo gold coin
- •Historic coin collection spanning over 120 years of Australian coinage
- •Guided tours explaining WA's gold rush history and the mint's operation
- •Purchase gold coins and certified gold products as investment souvenirs
💡 Tip: Time your visit to coincide with a Gold Pour demonstration — seeing molten gold poured into moulds is a genuinely dramatic experience.
Natural Wonders & Day Trips
Margaret River — Wine, Surf & Limestone Caves
World-renowned wine region 280km south of Perth, producing some of Australia's finest Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Semillon. Stunning caves, world-class surf breaks, and magnificent karri forests complete the picture.
✅ What to Do:
- •100+ wineries producing world-class wines — Leeuwin Estate, Voyager, Cullen
- •Mammoth Cave, Jewel Cave, and Lake Cave — extraordinary limestone cavern systems
- •World-class surf breaks at Surfers Point and Margaret River Mouth
- •Exceptional farm-to-table restaurants and providores
- •Beautiful karri and jarrah forests with towering 60-metre trees
- •Recommended as an overnight or weekend stay rather than a day trip
💡 Tip: The Margaret River Gourmet Escape festival (November) is one of Australia's premier food and wine events — book well in advance.
Wave Rock — Ancient Natural Wonder
A spectacular 15-metre-high, 110-metre-long granite rock formation shaped precisely like a breaking ocean wave — 2.7 billion years old and one of Australia's most extraordinary geological features.
✅ What to Do:
- •Iconic naturally formed wave — the granite is striped with vivid coloured stains
- •2.7 billion years old — among the most ancient exposed rock on Earth's surface
- •Hippo's Yawn and Mulka's Cave with Aboriginal rock art nearby
- •Best photographed in the morning before tour groups arrive
- •3.5-hour drive east of Perth via the Great Eastern Highway
- •Combine with overnight accommodation in nearby Hyden town
💡 Tip: Wave Rock is worth a special trip. Combine it with Lake Magic (nearby salt lake) for an even more otherworldly experience.
Lancelin Sand Dunes — Sandboarding Adventure
Massive white sand dunes stretching from the highway to the Indian Ocean — one of the largest sand dune systems in Australia. Sandboarding, 4WD adventures, and incredible photographic opportunities.
✅ What to Do:
- •Towering white sand dunes stretching for kilometres toward the turquoise ocean
- •Sandboarding and sand sledding down the steep face dunes
- •4WD access — the dunes are part of a publicly accessible reserve
- •Beautiful turquoise water at Lancelin Beach at the dune base
- •1.5 hours north of Perth on the Brand Highway
- •Combine with The Pinnacles (another 1 hour north) for a full day trip
💡 Tip: Hire sand sleds from the Lancelin general store — board hire is cheap and the runs are genuinely thrilling.
Hillarys Boat Harbour — Family Marine Adventure
Marina complex 20km north of Perth offering one of Australia's best aquariums, a beautiful sheltered beach, excellent restaurants, and the Rottnest Island ferry terminal. An excellent family half-day destination.
✅ What to Do:
- •AQWA — Australia's largest single aquarium with an underwater tunnel through 4.5 million litres
- •Sharks, manta rays, wobbegongs, and thousands of fish up close
- •Beautiful Sorrento Beach adjacent to the marina — calm, patrolled swimming
- •Excellent marina restaurants from casual fish and chips to waterfront dining
- •Rottnest Island ferry departure point (alternative to Fremantle)
- •Hillarys to Scarborough bike path (10km) along the coast
💡 Tip: AQWA's 'Dive with Sharks' experience is bookable for qualified divers — a completely unique Perth experience.
Perth Zoo — Conservation & Wildlife
Compact and highly regarded zoo in leafy South Perth — renowned for its conservation programs and naturalistic habitat design. The Australian Walkabout section showcases native wildlife in a truly immersive bushland environment.
✅ What to Do:
- •1,200+ animals from 164 species in naturalistic, spacious habitats
- •Australian Walkabout — walk through a bushland exhibit with free-roaming kangaroos and emus
- •Asian Rainforest, African Savannah, and Reptile Encounter sections
- •Daily keeper talks and close-up animal feeding presentations
- •Beautiful mature gardens and shaded pathways — lovely on a summer morning
- •Easy access: short ferry from Barrack Street Jetty to South Perth, then 5-minute walk
💡 Tip: Take the South Perth ferry to the zoo rather than driving — the river crossing is beautiful and parking is challenging on busy days.
Practical Tips for Visiting Perth
🌤️ Weather & Best Time to Visit
Summer (Dec–Feb)
Hot and dry, 18–31°C (can hit 40°C+). Perfect beach season. The Fremantle Doctor (sea breeze) arrives every afternoon.
Autumn (Mar–May)
Ideal conditions — warm, dry, and comfortable for all activities including hiking and wine touring.
Winter (Jun–Aug)
Mild and wet (8–18°C). Wildflower season approaches. Great for indoor culture and Margaret River.
Spring (Sep–Nov)
Spectacular wildflowers across WA, pleasant 12–24°C, Kings Park wildflower festival. Outstanding season.
🚌 Getting Around Perth
- SmartRider CardRequired for trains, buses, and ferries. Buy at train stations or online. Daily cap keeps costs low.
- Free CAT BusesFour free Central Area Transit bus routes cover the CBD, East Perth, West Perth, and Northbridge.
- Free Transit ZoneFree travel on all trains and buses within the Perth central area.
- Car HireHighly recommended for beaches, day trips, and exploring. Perth is spread out — a car opens everything up.
- FerriesServices from Barrack Street Jetty to South Perth (zoo), Fremantle, and beyond — scenic and practical.
🧳 Perth Insider Tips
- ✓Book Rottnest Island ferry and bike hire 2–3 weeks in advance — they sell out in summer.
- ✓UV levels in Perth are extreme — SPF 50+ sunscreen is essential even on cloudy days.
- ✓Perth is genuinely isolated — flights from east coast are 4–5 hours. Plan accordingly.
- ✓Swim between the red and yellow flags at patrolled beaches — Indian Ocean rips are powerful.
- ✓The Fremantle Doctor (afternoon sea breeze) arrives daily around 2–3pm in summer — welcome relief.
- ✓Many attractions close by 5pm — plan daytime activities carefully and check opening hours.
- ✓The free CAT buses are excellent for exploring Northbridge, the Cultural Centre, and the waterfront.
Experience Perth's Natural Beauty
Perth combines pristine beaches, unique wildlife, extraordinary natural wonders, and a relaxed outdoor lifestyle in a way that no other Australian city can match. Come and discover why locals never want to leave.
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