Perth

The 400-hectare, bush-filled expanse of Kings Park, smack in the city centre and enjoying epic views, is Perth's pride and joy. The Botanic Garden contains over 3000 plant species indigenous to WA, including a giant boab tree that's 750 years old. Each September there's a free festival displaying the state's famed wildflowers. A year-round highlight is the Federation Walkway, a 620m path leading to a 222m-long glass-and-steel sky bridge that crosses a canopy of eucalyptus trees.

Founded in 1895, this excellent gallery houses the state's preeminent art collection as well as regular international exhibitions that, increasingly, have a modern, approachable bent. The permanent collection is arranged into wings, from contemporary to modern, historic to local and Aboriginal. Big-name Australian artists such as Arthur Boyd, Russell Drysdale and Sidney Nolan are there, as are diverse media including canvases, bark paintings and sculpture. Check the website for info on free tours running most days at 11am and 1pm.

Perth's safest swimming beach, Cottesloe has cafes, pubs, pine trees and fantastic sunsets. From Cottesloe train station (on the Fremantle line) it's 1km to the beach; there's a free shuttle that runs between the stop and the sand during the annual Sculpture by the Sea exhibition in March. Bus 102 ($4.80) from Elizabeth Quay Busport goes straight to the beach.

With its forbidding 5m-high walls, the old convict-era prison dominates Fremantle. Various daytime tours explore the jail's maximum-security past, give insights into criminal minds and allow you into solitary-confinement cells. Book ahead for the Torchlight Tour through the prison, with a few scares and surprises, and the 2½-hour Tunnels Tour (minimum age 12 years), venturing into subterranean tunnels and doing an underground boat ride.

The Swan River cuts through the core of Perth, splitting the city into north and south and providing oodles of waterfront for locals who choose river over sea. It's where ferries journey to Fremantle and on to Rottnest, where yachts cruise and catamarans jibe, where dolphins bob and kayaks skim. On windy days, you might even see wind- and kitesurfers on the shallow expanse. The river is very swimmable, and grassy stretches perfect for picnicking mean Perth folk often edge its pretty shores.

Significant West Australian boats are suspended from the rafters of this sail-shaped museum building. There's the yacht that won the America's Cup race in 1983, pearl luggers and an Aboriginal bark canoe. Take an hour-long tour of the submarine HMAS Ovens; the vessel was part of the Australian Navy's fleet from 1969 to 1997. Tours leave every half hour from 10am to 3.30pm. Book ahead.

Located within an 1852 commissariat store, the Shipwrecks Museum is considered the finest display of maritime archaeology in the southern hemisphere. The highlight is the Batavia Gallery, where a section of the hull of Dutch merchant ship Batavia, wrecked in 1629, is displayed. Nearby is a stone gate, intended as an entrance to Batavia Castle, which was carried by the sinking ship.

This is a popular young surfers' spot, so be sure to swim between the flags, as waves can be powerful. A $100-million revitalisation of the beachfront has adorned it with a new public pool, grassed sunset-viewing hill, skate park, free BBQs, massive playground and restaurants and cafes. From Perth Busport, take bus 990 to the beach.