In a Nutshell: Perth, Western Australia
With warm weather most of the year, Perth is the ideal place for outdoor activities and outdoor cafes. The key to enjoying a stay in Perth is to chill out and enjoy hanging out in the warmth.
Perth is Michelle’s ‘home town’. While we haven’t lived here is a long time we do visit often. So this is more of an insider’s nutshell of favourite local places.
Things To Do In and Around Perth
Back in the late 90’s, Al had to make a list of ‘Top 10 things to do in Perth’ in preparation for family and friends coming over for our wedding. He was forced to include ‘Visit King’s Park’ and ‘Go to the beach’ twice, just to get to ten things :-D. Perth has grown up a LOT over the last 20 years, and these days you’d have no problem filling out a top ten list. And while you might still include going to the beach twice, it’d be because they’re so dang good. Here’s a short list of some things we’d recommend you check out the next time you’re out this way:
Beaches and Foreshores
Perth locals love a long, lazy afternoon picnic. Whether it’s by the beach or on the Swan River foreshore, there’s so many parks to choose and most have free BBQs. Perth is a windy city so be sure to check the wind direction when you choose a picnic spot and/or beach. Usually it’s an easterly wind in the morning, making the beaches more pleasant to visit at that time. The ‘Freo Doctor’ is a Westerly that comes in every afternoon, which is great to cool things off in the summer – but can make visiting the beach (a little) less pleasant. That said, there’s nothing quite like watching the sun set over in the Indian ocean. If it’s windy, you can do this from the shelter of a beachside restaurant, maybe in North Cottesloe, City Beach or Trigg.
The ‘Freo Doctor’ visits Perth just about every afternoon, bringing a sea breeze to cool off the summer heat.
Some of our favourite places for a picnic or beach visit are Floreat Beach, Swanbourne beach, Matilda Bay and Mrs Herberts Park. If you’re at Matilda Bay on the weekend you can also rent a SUP or canoe.
Floreat Kiosk is a great place to have some lunch after a swim on one of Perth’s best beaches.
The outdoor pool at Scarborough beach is s stunning setting to get some laps in or just laze in a pool.
Sports and Leisure
Mosman Park Lawn Bowls Club sits high on the cliffs with sweeping views of the Swan River. You can have some fun playing barefoot bowls, or just stop by for a drink while you watch the boats sail by,
Cycling is huge in Perth an its a great way to spend a day as a tourist. You ride for miles around the Swan river foreshore or along the coast from beach to beach.
Padel has just started up in Perth and you don’t need to be a club member to try it. We spent a great summer evening playing social Padel at Raebold park in Floreat, (If you haven’t heard of Padel before – Google it! It’s a great game).
If you’re a golfer there’s lots of great public courses in Perth. One of our favourites is Wembley. It has two 18 holes courses, an amazing multi level driving range, a large putt-putt for the kids. There’s also a very nice bar and restaurant making it the complete package. Golf in WA is much cheaper than in other parts of the world.
Of course, if you know someone with a sailboat you can always do a twilight sail on the river… (This doesn’t happen to us nearly enough)
The Arts
There are some amazing venues for outdoor concerts scattered throughout the city, including Kings Park, and the Quarry Amphitheatre in City Beach and the Belvoir Amphitheatre in Upper Swan. For indoor theatre try the Heath Ledger theatre in central Perth.
The Lawrence Wilson Gallery is an intimate private art gallery on the campus of the University of Western Australia. While you’re there walk across to the Arts Building to visit the resident peacocks who hang out in the buildings courtyard.
Somerville Outdoor Cinema at the University of WA in Crawley has been a Perth institution for over 70 years. You can watch independent films 5 months of the year (November – April) in a stunning setting surrounded by towering pine trees. Perfect for a warm Perth summer evening, Most people go early and take a picnic or have some of the great food onsite.
King’s Park
King’s Park is a huge park, just minutes from downtown. Lots of trails, amazing views of the city, a very cool botanical garden with endangered plants from all over WA, and a hidden gem: a tree-top walk that gives you a birds-eye view of some beautiful gum trees. (Tip: it’s only open 9-5 each day)
Outside of Perth
Rottnest Island is off the coast of Perth, and is a favourite for families (and everyone, really) in the summer holidays. It’s a car-free and carefree island, where you can have your photo taken with a quokka, swim in the calm waters or just cycle around the island.
If you’re in Perth In September or October you could take a day or weekend to head 2 hours North to Dandaragan and check out the vast fields of wildflowers, many if which only grow here. From there head to the coast to the Pinnacles National Park. Araluen Botanical Park in the hills just east of Peth also has some spectacular flora and a stunning tulip festival in September. If you’re in the area, try Avocadoes cafe for a delicious lunch.
There are two wine regions within striking distance of Perth and well worth a visit: the Swan Valley, which is less than an hour’s drive to the west and north, and Margaret River, a couple of hours south. Margaret River has produced some spectacular wine over the years, and the views are simply glorious.
Finally…Take Your Picture at the Boathouse (I guess???)
We’re really not sure when this became a thing, but at some point this blue boathouse on the Swan River (ironically about a two minute walk from Michelle’s brother’s place) became the place to have your photo taken when you visit Perth. So, you should too, I guess – if that’s your thing. But prepared to wait, because there is almost always a line of people waiting before you.
