FREMANTLE
GET TO KNOW
THE AREA
Everyone’s favourite port town enchants with its history, architecture, museums, food, bars and artistic community. Many are drawn to Fremantle for the culture reminiscent of its European heritage - there’s a good reason why the main drag has earned its Cappuccino Strip status.
Lifestyle
Predominantly Mediterranean in climate and culture, most of the main attractions can be reached on foot from South Terrace, also known as the Cappuccino Strip, lined with cafes, shops, bars and buskers. Fremantle heaves most weekends with residents and visitors partaking in the Italian tradition of passeggiata, meaning to stroll through this charming tourist precinct while admiring the vibrant street art and striking architecture.
The colourful recycled sea containers forming The Rainbow arch greets visitors where the Swan River and Canning Highway meet. This insta-famous and vibrant art installation gives some insight into this cosmopolitan town revered for its character cottages, warehouse conversions, funky designs and apartments – preferably with dazzling views of the harbour and the Indian Ocean. The afternoon sea breeze, affectionately known as the Fremantle Doctor, blows in most afternoons earning Perth its status as one of the windiest cities in the world.
Read MoreLifestyle
Predominantly Mediterranean in climate and culture, most of the main attractions can be reached on foot from South Terrace, also known as the Cappuccino Strip, lined with cafes, shops, bars and buskers. Fremantle heaves most weekends with residents and visitors partaking in the Italian tradition of passeggiata, meaning to stroll through this charming tourist precinct while admiring the vibrant street art and striking architecture.
The colourful recycled sea containers forming The Rainbow arch greets visitors where the Swan River and Canning Highway meet. This insta-famous and vibrant art installation gives some insight into this cosmopolitan town revered for its character cottages, warehouse conversions, funky designs and apartments – preferably with dazzling views of the harbour and the Indian Ocean. The afternoon sea breeze, affectionately known as the Fremantle Doctor, blows in most afternoons earning Perth its status as one of the windiest cities in the world.
Established in 1881, the Fremantle Train Station is the beginning of the Fremantle train line with a direct link to Perth and continuing to Midland, 20km east of Perth. In thirty minutes by ferry, you can be on the carless Rottnest Island, famed for its quokkas and stunning lagoons.
Once one of Australia’s most notorious ports, Fremantle has a rich maritime past reflected in the WA Maritime Museum, Fremantle Prison, the Roundhouse, Shipwreck Galleries and the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour, where fish ‘n chips at sunset has been a local tradition for decades.
Neighbours
While there is still a sizeable European community in Fremantle after the influx of immigrants in the 1950s, the eclectic locals now include creative types and the affluent. There is a smattering of students living locally who attend Notre Dame University housed across several Victorian and Edwardian buildings in the West End, one of the ten distinct neighbourhoods within Fremantle.
Neighbours
While there is still a sizeable European community in Fremantle after the influx of immigrants in the 1950s, the eclectic locals now include creative types and the affluent. There is a smattering of students living locally who attend Notre Dame University housed across several Victorian and Edwardian buildings in the West End, one of the ten distinct neighbourhoods within Fremantle.
Area features
HISTORY
Go to jail and visit the gruesome gallows at the Fremantle Prison (established in 1850), where the intrepid can trek on foot and by boat through the labyrinth of tunnels 20 metres below – and then spend the night in the YHA hostel located inside. Make your great escape to the Fremantle Arts Centre or embrace WA’s rich maritime history at the Shipwreck Galleries. At the WA Maritime Museum, don’t miss Australia II, the America’s Cup winning yacht from 1987, or the Submarine Ovens, a memorial to the submariners who lost their lives during WWII.
CAPPUCCINO STRIP
Quite possibly one of the first al fresco dining spots in Western Australia appeared on the Cappuccino Strip, running through the heart of Fremantle along South Terrace. As the name suggests, the pulse of Fremantle throbs along this terrace, where there is an abundance of cafes serving predominantly Mediterranean cuisine, just follow the heavenly aroma of wood-fired pizza and coffee.
COASTAL LIVING
Clear out the cobwebs with an early morning swim or stroll along South Beach, Port Beach or Bathers Beach, accessed through the Whalers Tunnel beneath Fremantle’s former prison, the Roundhouse, which opened in 1831 and is Western Australia’s oldest public building. Cast a line from the rocky harbour walls known as the South Mole, but if those snapper, mulloway or butterfish get away, Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour serves almost every local seafood imaginable. Sitting adjacent to the harbour, Esplanade Park is shaded by 100 mature Norfolk Island Pine trees and is the site for year-round events and picnics.
DRINKS AHOY
Fremantle has a plethora of breweries, distilleries, bars and good old fashioned Aussie pubs such as the Newport and Sail and Anchor, which the locals have been frequenting for decades. The most famous brewery of them all, Little Creatures Brewery is perched on the harbour and brews pale ales, pilsners and ciders onsite. Gage Roads Brewing Company opened in 2021 and located on Fremantle Port, many languish with a golden bevvy in hand as container ships float by.
THE FREMANTLE MARKETS
Established in 1897 and built in a Federation Romanesque style, over 120 years later, the markets attract visitors on a global scale drawn to the 150 stalls offering fresh produce, art, jewellery, clothing, indigenous products, buskers, a pub, food vendors and fresh produce encapsulating Fremantle’s multi-cultural community. Many say that visiting the Fremantle Markets is like experiencing a snapshot of Fremantle through the ages.
