First time to Australia...
 

As a prelude to a longer visit down under.
Is Perth a good starting point in terms of,sightseeing,good restaurats etc.,.
I would also take a drive further south to Fremantle and the wine valleys.

Lesq - Perth is a young, vibrant city, with nice beaches, great scenery down the south west corner (Margaret River/Albany, Denmark/Walpole, Pemerton etc). Near Perth - you have the Swan Valley & its wineries. Freemantle has loads of pubs, restaurants, cafes, museums etc, and is only a short train trip from Perth.
Once you travel north of perth, the countryside becomes low salt bush type country, arid countryside. Geraldton is a must if you like "windsurfing" especially, Coronation Beach, north of Geraldton (well known to us windsurfers), however, in Geraldton, there is Point Moore, also good for wave jumping. Ooops, I am getting carried away here, you may not be a windsurfer.
The only problem with Perth, is its such a long way from the rest of Australian cities, both driving time & flying time, thats probably the reason that most overseas tourists, only hit the eastern side of Australia.

tropo..
It's just for an introduction to Oz as my wife wants to visit and before we spend the big bucks in doing the East Coast she wants to check out Perth and the West Coast.
If she likes it....it'll be East Coast here we come.

Hi - good for you doing the unusual. I loved my one visit to WA. Perth is a lovely city and the SW corner is relatively inhabited and is fun to explore. Fremantle is only half an hour from Perth by public transport. And don't miss Rottnest Island just a short trip by ferry from Fremantle.

But it has to be said that if you go north from Perth (which IMHO you should) then the West Coast is very different from the East Coast.

Happy travels.

Hi,

Perth and its surrounding area are very nice and worth a visit in their own right. However, I would be wary using it as a "litmus test" for the rest of the country since all the big cities here have their own character. I've always found Perth people pleasant and polite, but more reserved than say Sydney or Far North Queensland, and I wouldn't say it's a "party city" (though of course I might have just gone to the wrong places LOL). I guess the problem is, it's like an Australian saying "If don't like Miami I won't bother going to Seattle" ;)

Being so large, there's also great diversity in the scenery in Australia, but the south west coast is pretty and as good a place to start as any.

Hope that helps.

Oh yes ...

PS. Never listent to bad things a Perth person tells you about Sydney, or vice versa ;) We're not exempt from interstate rivalry.

As a person living in Perth and someone who has travelled a bit in Australia and around the world I agree with the other comments. Every Australian city is different however,I do like coming home. Perth itself appears much newer and dare I say it cleaner ..I hope I don't offend those of you from the East. Because of this parts of the city don't appear to have much "character" as Fremantle does (or even Sydney/Melbourne).However, if you like good wine, enjoy beaches and staying in beautiful countryside (Jarrah forest) then you can hire a car and within 3 hours you are there!What sort of accommodation were you considering? There is plenty to choose from. There is even a backpacking hotel right on Cottesloe Beach which is one of the more famous (and beautiful) beaches.