11 Best Sights in Perth, Western Australia

This is one of the few inner-city parks to dwarf New York City's Central Park; it covers 1,000 acres and grants eye-popping views of downtown Perth and its riverfront at sunrise, sunset, and all times in between. Once a gathering place for Aboriginal people, and established as a public space in 1890, it's favored for picnics, parties, and weddings, as well as regular musical and theater presentations, plus the excellent summer Moonlight Cinema (in Synergy Parkland, on the western side). Each September, when spring arrives, the park holds a wildflower festival and the gardens blaze with orchids, kangaroo paw, banksias, and other native wildflowers, making it ideal for a walk in the curated bushland. The steel-and-glass Lotterywest Federation Walkway takes you into the treetops and the 17-acre botanic garden of Australian flora. The Lotterywest Family Area has a shaded playground for youngsters ages one to five, and a café for parents. The Rio Tinto Naturescape is fun for bigger kids who enjoy climbing and exploring in nature. Free 90-minute walking tours depart from Aspects Gift Shop on Fraser Avenue daily.

Perth's poster beach is as beguiling as it is relaxing, what with its soft cream sand, transparent blue waters, and strip of beachy pubs and restaurants. Naturally, it's very popular, particularly on Sunday, when people of all ages picnic on the grass beneath the row of Norfolk pines that also hosts masses of squawking birds. The water is fairly calm, though punchy waves can roll through, crashing mainly in shallow depths. Afternoon après-beach is tradition in the two local pubs at the Ocean Beach Hotel and the swanky Cottesloe Beach Hotel, both have good, ocean-facing accommodation. South of the Cottesloe groyne (beach protection structure) is a reasonable reef surf break, but it's often crowded. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

On the south side of Perth's Central Business District lies this ever-expanding promenade, a public area brimming with restaurants, cafés, playgrounds, ice-cream parlors, boat excursions, larger-than-life artworks, and the swanky Ritz-Carlton hotel. Although construction is ongoing, EQ is a bustling hub and a great meeting spot. Transperth also has a bus depot, train station, and ferry crossing here making access without a car easy.

This impressive colosseum is home to annual cricket test matches and Australia's beloved AFL, aka Footy. But you'll also see rugby, soccer, and music concerts held here. Stadium tours take you behind the scenes while The OZONE's Halo tour lets you see it from above by walking the entire circumference of the roof. Not adventurous enough? Try hanging off the side on the Vertigo tour.

Huge, colorful aquariums filled with some 400 different species of local sea creatures—including sharks that are 13 feet long—from along the 12,000 km (7,456 miles) of Western Australia's variable coastline are the fascinating draws of this boutique aquarium in northern Perth. Sharp-toothed sharks, stingrays, turtles, and schools of fish swim overhead as you take the moving walkway beneath a transparent acrylic tunnel. You can even do a guided snorkel or scuba dive with the sharks; bookings are essential. Perhaps most interesting is the change in habitats and species as you move from colder, southern waters to the tropics of Western Australia's north. AQWA boasts one of the largest living coral reef displays in the world—check it out from above and then below in the underwater gallery. Other highlights include the rare sea dragons and DANGERzone, featuring a deadly lineup of sea creatures.

Age minimums apply for some activities.

This is the quieter end of Cottesloe, where local residents go to walk their dogs (a section by Grant Street is a designated dog beach), dive in for an early morning dip, or share a sunset wine on the sand. The concrete walking path looks over the sandy beach and affords impressive views of the coastal mansions that look out to sea. Coastal reef fans out to the right of Grant Street and makes for good snorkeling in summer, but take caution in high waves as stronger currents form near the reef. Beware invisible jellyfish, known as stingers, which cause pain but pose little other threat. Amenities: lifeguards; showers. Best for: snorkeling; solitude; sunset; swimming; walking.

All that glitters is gold at the Perth Mint, one of the oldest mints in the world still operating from its original premises, and a reminder of the great gold rush days at the turn of the century. Established in 1899, it first refined gold from Western Australia's newly discovered goldfields, striking gold sovereigns for the British Empire. Today, it still produces Australia's legal tender in pure gold, silver, and platinum bullion and commemorative coins for investors and collectors. Visitors can tour the site and watch 200 ounces of molten gold being poured in time-honored fashion to form a gold bar. The tour also lets you marvel at the biggest coin ever made, weighing 1 ton; get close to more than A$50 million worth of gold bullion; and see Australia's best collection of natural gold nuggets, including the 369-ounce Golden Beauty, one of the largest natural nuggets in the world. You can also discover your own weight in gold. There's an on-site gift shop and café.

From kangaroos to crocodiles and venomous Aussie snakes to Asian sun bears and orangutans, this expansive, more than century-old zoo is an easy 10-minute drive from Perth's CBD. Expect lush gardens—perfect for a picnic—and different native habitats of various animals from around the world. Walk among Australian animals in an environment depicting the diversity of Australia's native landscape, including a bird-filled wetland. Discover the Reptile Encounter, Rainforest Retreat, and the Australian Bushwalk. For something a little more exotic, there's the African Savannah, with rhinoceroses, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, and baboons; and the Asian Rainforest, with elephants, tigers, otters, gibbons, and a Komodo dragon. A number of special encounters are available, such as joining a keeper as they feed the lions, which is best booked and paid for in advance. There are free keeper talks and guided walks daily.

Interactive science and technology displays educate and entertain visitors of all ages—particularly the younger ones—in this excellent facility. There are more than 100 hands-on general science exhibits, as well as in-depth feature exhibitions. Daily science and puppet shows present science in an entertaining way, and the space shows in the half dome planetarium will stretch your imagination as they take you to the far edges of the known Universe. Minimum age restrictions apply to the planetarium.

Keep an eye out for the quirky facts that dot the space, including the fact that the heart of a giraffe is two feet long.

You'll need one to two hours for this extensive mutilayered museum that gives insight into the history and culture of Western Australia. Start on Level 3, which is especially fun for kids, and work your way down to the exhibits on the mezzanine level. Permanent exhibitions (many interactive) include: wildlife; early beginnings; innovations; Aboriginal stories; and a collection of interesting artifacts referred to as "treasures" from the state's vault. An eye-catching gift shop and café shouldn't be missed. Several different tours are available depending on your interest and needs. If you're short on time, try the highlights tour. The museum is fully accessible with elevators and escalators. Special exhibitions incur additional entry fees.

Sure, it’s nice to cuddle a koala in an enclosure, but it’s far more exciting to see them in the wild, which you can do at this park, located 45 minutes north of Perth. Take the 787-foot Koala Board Walk through native bush with your eyes raised skyward to see one of the state’s largest populations of koalas. Watch for western gray kangaroos on the 2-km (1.2-mile) wetland walking trail around Loch McNess lake and then escape summer’s heat by joining one of several daily underground tours of Crystal Cave, where cooling caverns open up to impressive stalactite galleries and clear water pools. The park is also a lovely picnic spot, and there's a hotel and café within the grounds.