One of the most distinctive sights in the Perth city skyline, the Bell Tower houses the historic St. Martin in the Fields bells—12 bells that rung for centuries in London until they were gifted to Western Australia in 1988. They now ring from the 271-foot (83-meter glass-and-copper tower that sits on the Swan River waterfront.
From rocky canyons to unspoiled beaches to limestone cliffs, Cape Range National Park on the northwest tip of Western Australia boasts a rugged and diverse environment right next to the Indian Ocean. The park is one of the natural highlights of this region, known as the Coral Coast.
Set on the Swan River’s north shore, Elizabeth Quay is a waterfront entertainment hub filled with green spaces and esplanades, eateries, and public artwork. The quay is located in Perth’s central business district, and is a great starting point for exploring the rest of the city.
A coastal town on a remote southern stretch of Western Australia, Esperance is surrounded by beaches known for their shockingly white sand and bright turquoise waters. If you’ve seen the photos of a kangaroo lounging on the beach, this is the Esperance area, which draws visitors for its nearby national parks and other scenic attractions.
One of the most popular visitor attractions of Geographe Bay and part of the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, Ngilgi Cave is an expansive natural wonder. The series of underground caves and tunnels are filled with dramatic stalactites, helictites, shawls, and shimmering deposits of calcite crystal.
Thousands of yellow limestone rocks emerge from the desert, and dune viewpoints look out over the Indian Ocean in the Pinnacles Desert of Namburg National Park. One of Western Australia’s most popular attractions, this national park on the Coral Coast is a must for photographers, stargazers, and fans of unusual, otherworldly landscapes. Wildlife seekers should also keep their eyes peeled for more kangaroos.
Western Australia’s Pink Lake, or the “Hutt Lagoon,” makes for some spectacular photo opportunities—a bright bubble gum-pink pool that stands in stark contrast to the azure ocean just to the west. The inland sea is a natural phenomenon, caused by its resident algae, and it’s one of just a handful of its kind in the world.
Western Australia’s Kalbarri National Park is an impressive area of cliffs and gorges, not far inland. It’s based around the lower reaches of the Murchison River, which has cut a 50-mile (80-kilometer) gorge through red and white sandstone. Visitors come to hike or to enjoy the views from the Kalbarri Skywalk, which stretches over the gorge.
When it opened in 1899, the Perth Mint was the third branch of Britain’s Royal Mint in Australia. Today it produces gold, silver, and platinum bullion coins and bars. Visit to see exhibitions about Western Australia’s gold rush history and collections of rare gold nuggets and coins.
Visiting Mammoth Cave is a mesmerizing experience. This limestone cave in an ancient marri forest and dripping with stalactites and stalagmites. It's one of the largest in the Margaret River region, located in Western Australia’s Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.
Monkey Mia Reserve—on the western coast of Australia in Shark Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is one of the world’s most reliable places to see dolphins in the wild. For decades, bottlenose dolphins have been paying regular visits to the clear, shallow waters right off the beach, much to the delight of visitors who make the trip from Perth.
One of Australia's most stunning stretches of coastline, Cape Leveque, located on the tip of the Dampier Peninsula, has been home to Aboriginal communities for some 7,000 years. Visit to see the area’s brick-red cliffs, pearl-white sand, and clear blue water, explore the remote landscape, and learn about the local Aboriginal communities.
Jewel Cave is the largest show cave in the Margaret River region and part of Western Australia’s Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Tucked beneath a forest of karri trees and filled with dramatic stalactites, helictites, and crystals, it’s also home to the largest straw stalactite in Australia—more than 17 feet (5.4 meters) long.
With 122 almost entirely uninhabited islands and a vast expanse of coral reef stretching along the Coral Coast, the Abrolhos Islands are Western Australia’s answer to the Great Barrier Reef. Visit for world-class snorkeling, wreck dives, marine life, and bird sightings.
In the northeastern corner of Western Australia, the Bungle Bungle Range is a top natural feature in Purnululu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The beehive-shaped striped sandstone domes for which the area is now famous were known only to the local Aboriginal people until they were “discovered” by a film crew in the 1980s.
While Town Beach isn’t Broome’s largest beach, it’s just a stone’s throw from the center of town. Popular with picnickers who lay out their spreads on grassy areas and public tables, the landscaped beach also draws visitors looking for the Staircase to the Moon, a local phenomenon whereby moonlight creates what looks like a staircase climbing the sky.
Located in the lush surrounds of Whiteman Park, Perth’s Caversham Wildlife Park is home to Western Australia’s largest private collection of native wildlife. The park has more than 200 species of fauna, with a focus on native Australian animals such as koalas, wallabies, possums, Tasmanian devils, and wombats.
The only way this bay’s name could be more perfect is if it was “Turquoise Bay, White Sand, Warm Water, Great Snorkeling.” In Western Australia’s Cape Range National Park, Turquoise Bay has repeatedly been voted one of Australia’s best beaches. Visitors come to relax, swim, and snorkel at the Ningaloo Reef, which is so near the shore you can just walk out to it.
One of Western Australia’s largest and most luxurious resorts, Crown Perth entertainment complex boasts three hotels, a 24-hour casino, a theater, and a concert arena. Opportunities for fun abound, with a choice of 30 restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, all set in a stunning location on the banks of the Swan River.
Watching over the west end of Fremantle from atop its staircase, the Round House is a lasting piece of Fremantle’s colonial heritage as its oldest surviving public building. Coastal paths and a stone staircase lead up to this 12–sided building, which now hosts displays of its history inside small rooms that once housed prisoners.
Founded in 1896, the Broome Japanese Cemetery is the largest Japanese cemetery in Australia and a testament to the close ties between Western Australia and Japan. The cemetery is the final resting place for more than 900 Japanese people who came to Broome to work in the pearling industry, many of whom died while diving or from decompression sickness.
A pocket of wilderness in the Margaret River region of Western Australia, next to the coast, the Boranup Karri Forest is part of Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. It’s known for its karri trees and draws visitors for its bushwalks and photo ops of the densely packed trees and other foliage.
The oldest inland town in Western Australia, York was settled in 1831 and is known for its heritage architecture. With a location on the Avon River in Avon Valley, York is an easy day trip destination from Perth, one that offers history, culture, countryside scenery, and adventure activities.
Housed in a Victorian marketplace more than 100 years old, the Fremantle Markets are a Western Australian institution. A visit to the markets offers not only the chance to shop for fresh food and unique gifts, but also to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the entertainment offered by a rotating schedule of street performers.
Cottesloe Beach’s gentle waves and sugar-soft sand might make you forget that you're in the middle of a major Australian city. Cott, as it’s affectionately known, is one of Perth’s most popular spots for swimming, surfing, snorkeling, or sipping cocktails while watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Western Australia’s oldest buildings, Fremantle Prison is an important reminder of Australia’s convict history. Built in the 1850s by the very convicts who inhabited its cells, the prison was notorious for its deplorable conditions and brutal capital punishment.
Telling the story of Australia’s whaling industry and the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company—the last of the country’s whaling stations to close its doors, back in 1978— Albany's Historic Whaling Station offers insight into whale hunting, as well as the chance to explore onboard a real whale-chaser ship.
Jagged cliffs tower almost 1,000 feet (300 meters) high over the Lennard River at Windjana Gorge, providing a dramatic backdrop for hikers, campers, and day-trippers. Once part of a Devonian-era reef system, the unique landscapes are the centerpiece of the Bandilngan/Windjana Gorge National Park and a sacred site of the Bunuba people.
One of Perth’s oldest colonial landmarks, the Old Mill dates back to 1835 and operated as a flour mill until 1859. It has gone through many other lives since then, from a wine saloon to a hotel to a poultry farm, and is today a National Trust landmark.
Go underground at Dimalurru (Tunnel Creek) National Park in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Compared to other national parks in the area, Dimalurru is small, covering just 225 acres (91 hectares) of the Napier Mountain Range. But it has a popular main attraction: Western Australia’s oldest cave system.
