Plan Book Travel Australia

Main Attractions

National Trust-classified Fremantle Markets, 84 South Tce, was established in 1897 and offers an array of goods, from fish to antiques. The E Shed Markets, at Victoria Quay, contain more than 100 specialty shops. Tram West offers tours of historical buildings, the harbour and other attractions in Fremantle. Tickets are available on board.

The Western Australian Maritime Museum, in Cliff St, has an internationally important collection of shipwreck relics dating from early 17th-century Dutch ships, including the Batavia. A large new section of the museum, tracing the state's maritime history, is at Victoria Quay. The submarine, Ovens, located nearby off Slip St, is open to the public.

Fremantle History Museum and Arts Centre, located in the Fremantle Arts Centre in Finnerty St, is in a convict-built former lunatic asylum. The Town Hall, completed in 1887 and remodelled in the 1950s, is an important heritage building. The Round House Precinct, at Arthurs Head overlooking Cockburn Sound, preserves Western Australia's most historic site.

The Round House, originally a gaol, was built in 1831 and is Western Australia's oldest public building. It is built from local limestone. At 1pm daily, the Signal Station fires the Jardine's Time Gun; an honorary gunner is selected to fire the gun. The Gun Deck provides wonderful views to Rottnest and Garden Islands and the Fremantle harbour areas.

Other buildings with interesting architecture are the Esplanade Hotel, on the corner of Marine Tce and Essex St, the Old Fremantle Fire Station at 18 Phillimore St and the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce, located next door.

Tours are available of Fremantle Prison, 1 The Terrace, this was the last convict prison to be built in Australia and is a fascinating experience. For the cafe society, don't miss Fremantle's popular South Tce, known as the 'capuccino strip'.