Last updated: November 2024
I’m a little bit of an expert on Perth, and I’ve written about it a lot in the past from my numerous visits there.
For those who are new around here (*waves*) and don’t know already, I went to high school in the western suburbs of Perth, so have a fair amount of local knowledge, and my love for this isolated little city is very, very strong.
I used to go back twice a year to visit until I started working after University, and then cut it down to once a year visits since then.
Then, in 2016 I made the move back to Australia and spent two months in Perth before moving to Sydney.
As I’ve written so much about my Perth visits before, I figured I’d write a more useful guide to try and persuade you all to stop there on your way over to the more popular East Coast!
Whether you’re visiting for a weekend from Sydney or Melbourne, or have a stopover between the UK and the East Coast, I really hope this is useful and shows you just how many amazing things there are to do in Perth.
Check in at: COMO The Treasury
Being based in either the City of Perth or Fremantle (Freo) is best if you’re only in Perth for a short time, as both are really close to the train lines, which you’ll need to really get the best out of Perth.
I’ve stayed at COMO The Treasury, Fraser Suites, and The Duxton, and COMO The Treasury was definitely my favourite out of the three. It’s a super stylish hotel with the biggest rooms I’ve ever seen!
Getting around Perth
Perth can be tough to get around as it’s quite a sprawling city and the public transport isn’t great.
I’ve purposely created this itinerary so you don’t have to hire a car and can just explore with the train system and Ubers.
If you do want to hire a car though, you can rent a car from Bayswater Cars – I’ve used them for about ten years and they’re 100% my favourite hire car company and sooo much cheaper compared to other brands.
Day 1 – Friday
9am: Head to Leighton for breakfast & beach
Start early and get the train from the city to North Fremantle, from there walk across the bridge to Leighton Beach.
Start with breakfast at Bib & Tucker (they do amazing brekkys, as well as great juices and Iced Chocolates), and then walk down to the beach for a swim. The sand is perfectly white and the ocean here is usually super calm so perfect for swimming!
12noon: Wander around Freo
It’s difficult to put together a weekend guide in Perth, mainly because the best thing about Perth is the food…and there are SO many good places I want you guys to check out!
But alas, I will save the other awesome foodie places for the longer itinerary 😉
In the meantime, with just a weekend in Perth, take the train from North Freo to Freo, and then walk down Market Street, then turn up High Street and keep walking until you get to The Roundhouse.
You get a nice view from the top over the ocean, harbour, and Rottnest, and there’s a little museum which teaches you the interesting history of The Roundhouse and Freo’s history.
1pm: Walk down to the Harbour and go to Little Creatures for lunch
From The Roundhouse walk along the Harbour front towards Little Creatures, and get a table outside on the water if the weather is nice (if it isn’t just sit indoors, it’s pretty cool as well as you can see below).
Make sure you don’t over-order like I always do, you’ll want to save yourself for dinner!
Must orders for me are; Frites, Octopus, Halloumi, and the Pumpkin and Feta Salad.
You’ll want to share as it’s all tapas style.
Note: The pizzas are also amazing if you fancy something carby!
2:30pm: Fremantle Markets
After lunch walk it off by taking a stroll up to the Fremantle markets and soaking up the atmosphere. The markets are only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and they have some cute gift stalls and food stands, but they don’t take too long to walk around so you don’t need much time for it.
3:30pm: Walk to the Bay View Lookout
Get the train from Fremantle up to Victoria Street – it’s time to earn your dinner, aka, walking time!
If you’re feeling lazy you can get an uber from Victoria Street station up to the lookout, but if you’re feeling energetic you can follow my little map and walk it.
The Bay View Lookout is in Bay View Park, and you’ll see it as you walk/drive around the corner onto Bay View Terrace from Owston Street.
It gives the most incredible views over Perth and the Swan River, and is one of my favourite places in the world.
It’s my happy place and just round the corner from where my ex-boyfriend lived – I used to go there when I was happy, sad, needed a cry, or just needed to be alone.
Bayview lookout was also a place I went with friends to watch the fireworks on NYE, get drunk, and just have a laugh with an amazing view in front of us.
6pm: Early dinner at il Lido in Cottesloe
From the lookout you can either walk or get an Uber (have you realized yet that Perth is difficult to get around without the use of a car?! ;)), to il Lido in Cottesloe for an early dinner.
il Lido is one of the top luxury restaurants in the area, with incredible Italian food (Perth has a large Italian community), and some of the best views over the ocean.
Watch the sunset, eat some excellent food, and then head back to the city from Cottesloe station.
8:30pm: Freo Bar Crawl
You may be wondering why I’ve recommended to stay in the City when most of the activities I’m recommending are closer to Freo.
Well, honestly there just aren’t any nice hotels in Fremantle.
But, it’s full of super cute hipster bars with insanely good cocktails and great DJs.
9pm: Strange Company
Strange Company has been a favourite of mine for years. They do the most incredible and interesting cocktails using local, native ingredients, and the bar itself has a really cool vibe.
10pm: Republic of Fremantle
Republic of Fremantle is another great bar – the girls and I went here for their Millionaire cocktails (see photo below!) and fell in love with it.
11pm: HonkyTonk
I went to HonkyTonk for the first time in August 2024 and I was IN LOVE.
It’s incredible.
It’s a proper American-style honkytonk and as someone who has been to the HonkyTonk’s in Nashville, it legit felt like those. There’s live music, line dancing, and a bar with epic cocktails.
Day 2 – Saturday
8am: Rottnest Island!
A lot of people will tell you not to go to Rottnest (Rotto) if you only have a short time in Perth, but honestly I don’t think you can visit Perth and not go.
It’s a tiny paradise island off the coast of WA, and perfect for a day trip!
I find it really highlights just how vast and different Western Australia is, and how you can go such a short distance and be somewhere that feels completely different.
Getting to Rottnest
Book your tickets in advance and get the first ferry of the day from Perth city.
The ferry from Perth takes around 90-minutes, but is well worth the journey.
What to do on Rottnest
When you arrive on Rotto, go to Frankie’s on Rotto and fuel up. They do such great breakfasts (and iced chocolates!) and you’ll be surrounded by Quokka’s – aka, the cutest marsupial!!
After brekky, go to the visitor information centre and get a ticket for the Island Explorer bus, and then go to the Bakery.
Buy a meat pie and a carrot cake, and put them in your bag for later. Trust me on this.
Now, get on the bus, and the first stop on the bus you want to get off at is Parker Point.
It’s one of my favourite beaches on Rottnest, make sure you walk down the steps and right along the beach so you get round the corner where there’ll be less people and better swimming!
The Island Explorer bus comes to the beaches every half hour, so keep an eye on the times and try to just spend half an hour at each beach so you can see more of them.
On the next stop get off at Little Salmon Bay. Enjoy the perfectly calm waters and have a swim.
By this time you may want your pie, but save the cake for a little later – you don’t want to fill up all at once!
Next beach? Parakeet Bay. Another beauty. Such a perfect beach, it even featured in my Best Swimming Beaches in Perth post.
Take the bus back to Thompson Bay, it’s time to meet some more Quokkas!
Walk from Thompson Bay and up towards The Basin.
There are always loads of Quokkas near the Oval on the way, and they tend to be all along the main road up to The Basin too.
Make sure you don’t feed them or touch them, but do get a #QuokkaSelfie!
Before your ferry back to Perth, visit the Rottnest Island museum to learn more about the history of the island and the horrific use of it as a prison for the Indigenous Australians.
You’ll need a drink after finding out what happened on the island, so pop over to the Rottnest Hotel for a drink.
It’s a goodun.
Then take the last ferry back to Perth.
8pm: Crown Casino
You can either stay in the City and have an early night, or you can go and check out Crown, Perth’s entertainment complex.
Now, Crown is one of those places that you either love or hate, and a lot of locals in Perth aren’t huge fans. Buuuuut I do think you need to see it, even if just once.
So, have a quick shower and change at the hotel, and then get the train to Burswood, which is the station a 5-min walk from Crown’s entrance.
Lose or win some money in the casino, go for dinner at either Rockpool or Nobu, and then go for a drink at TWR and Mesh.
Day 3 – Sunday
9am: Explore King’s Park
I know today is your last day, but it’s finally time to explore the city!
Get the bus up to King’s Park and take in the incredible view over Perth’s city skyline.
Walk through the park and over the glass bridge, and through to the other side of the park. It’s super pretty and is heaving with Australian flora and fauna.
Kings Park is one of my favourite places in the whole of Australia.
The Aspects shop at Kings Park is also the best place to buy souvenirs!
11am: Elizabeth Quay & Gusto Gelato
Walk from Kings Park down into the city and see just how small it is, and then walk down to Elizabeth Quay for amazing gelato at Gusto Gelato!
12pm: Uber to The Kiosk, Floreat Beach
Just a 15-minute drive from Elizabeth Quay, is Floreat Beach.
The Kiosk is a cafe I go to every single time I visit Perth. I worked here as a teenager and they do the best salads, and really great fish and chips too.
They also do a very good Iced Chocolate!
But the view is why you really come here. It’s literally directly on the beach, and IMO, the most beautiful beach in Perth! (although I am biased as I used to live just across the road as a teenager).
2pm: Enjoy the beach
After lunch at The Kiosk, enjoy the beach!! Go for a swim, dry off on the sand, and just relax.
Take a book and make the most of the quiet, empty beach. Beaches in Perth are much quieter than Sydney’s.
3pm: City Beach Boardwalk
After spending some time at the beach, walk over to City Beach via the Boardwalk that links both Floreat Beach and City Beach. You can reach it at the far south end of the Floreat Beach car park.
4pm: Bold Park
If it’s not too hot and you feel up for a walk, walk the 30-mins or so to the Reabold Hill Summit Lookout at Bold Park.
You’ll get the most amazing views over the city and suburbs of Perth.
6pm: Dinner at Bar Rogue, Mt Lawley
Mt Lawley is a suburb not far from the city centre. When I was there in August I went to Bar Rogue for dinner with a friend, as it was somewhere neither of us had been before.
Let me tell you, we are both fussy with food (as in, we have very high standards), and we both completely fell in love with this place.
The atmosphere is dark and moody and oh so cool. The food is exceptionally good, and we loved the wine menu and non-alcoholic options too.
You’ll want to spend all evening sipping wine and working your way through the small but carefully curated menu.
It really is quite difficult to explore Perth without a car, but it can be done if you stick to the main suburbs and areas, and I do think Perth is well worth a visit even if you can only spare a long weekend.
Keep an eye out for my longer roadtrip guide for WA, which will take you into the some of the less touristy areas!
For more ideas about what to see, do, and eat in Perth, take a look at my Perth blog posts!
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
Thanks for this post! My husband is Australian and his family is in Sydney but we visit every couple years and try to add in a little bit of exploring. I'm dying to see the quokkas on Rootness Island so this post is super helpful in showing what else we can do to fill up the trip.