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The Best 1 Day in Perth Itinerary: What To See & Do in 24 Hours

ByWendy White

Perth is an amazing city with plenty to see in a single day. From the city’s thriving arts scene to its stunning natural beauty, there’s always something new to discover in Perth. Find out our tips on how to see everything in 1 day in Perth.

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How to get around Perth in 1 day

red open top hop on hop off bus with people sitting up the top
Perth Hop On Hop Off Bus

Perth Hop On Hop Off Bus

Although not the cheapest, the easiest way to get around Perth in 1 day is using the Hop On Hop Off Bus that tours the city. You can decide what stops to disembark depending on your interests.

For more information, read this Perth Hop On Hop Off Bus review or book tickets here.

CAT

Perth offers a Central Area Transit (CAT) bus service, which is free and allows you to get on and off them as often as you like. They’re a great way to get around Perth city but can be busy. You can find out more on the Transperth website.

1 Day in Perth Itinerary

Breakfast in Perth

Assuming that you are staying in Perth, head to Sayers Sister Northbridge, Post, or La Veen in Perth’s CBD for breakfast.

Morning in Perth

Catch a bus or walk to Kings Park, one of Perth’s top tourist attractions. Take in the spectacular panoramic views of the Swan River and Darling Range. Choose from a stroll around the botanic garden, a free guided walk, playgrounds, paying respects to our fallen war heroes at the ANZAC memorial, or relaxing with a cup of coffee.

You can read more about this beautiful inner-city park in this guide on Kings Park.

view of a city skyline and river with boats crossing it and a bridge
View of Elizabeth Quay and the Swan River from Kings Park

Now head to Elizabeth Quay, where you can climb the Bell Tower, walk over Elizabeth Quay Bridge for views of Perth’s city skyline, admire the art, and let the kids play in the water playground, island playground, or ride on the carousel.


Buy Bell Tower Tickets Direct Here

Elizabeth Quay is the perfect place to stop for lunch, where excellent options include The Island, The Reveley, and V Burger. Finish off with ice cream from Gusto Gelato.

Find out more about this area in this guide on things to do in Elizabeth Quay.

view of perth city and elizabeth quay with boats on the swan river part of a 1 day in perth itinerary
View of Perth’s city skyline from Elizabeth Quay Bridge

Afternoon in Perth

Choose from one of the three options depending on your interests:

  1. Visit the Perth Cultural Centre in Northbridge for the Art Gallery of Western Australia, WA Museum Boola Bardip, State Library of WA, The Blue Room, PICA (Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts), and the State Theatre Centre of WA.
  2. Head to East Perth for a tour of the Perth Mint, an Optus Stadium Guided Tour, or zip-line Matagarup Bridge.
    For other ideas, read this guide on things to do in East Perth.
  3. Cross the Swan River on a ferry from Elizabeth Quay to South Perth and take a short walk to Perth Zoo.
the limestone exterior of the historic perth mint with a path leading to the door
The historic Perth Mint

Evening in Perth

Finish off your 1 day in Perth with drinks and dinner.

The C Restaurant is Perth’s only revolving restaurant and has stunning views of the Darling Ranges, Swan River, Perth city, and surrounds. The best time to visit is sunset when you can witness the beautiful colours of the sky and watch as the city lights up. It takes 90 minutes for the full 360-degree rotation.

Our other favourites are Long Chim, Petition Kitchen, Nobu (Crown complex), Balthazar, and Wildflower. For a cheap eat, My Bayon is amazing.

There are many bars around Perth to start and finish your evening, including Varnish on King, Bobeche, Hadiqa, and Andaluz Bar and Tapas.

Perth Tours

Some of the best tours in Perth are:

Buy Two Feet & a Heartbeat Walk Tours Direct Here

Of course you need more than one day in Perth to fully appreciate what this city has to offer, so check out the other itineraries if you plan on staying longer.

Save Money Planning Your Trip

Click on the links, which will take you directly to the website.

Flights ✈️

We fly Virgin Australia domestically due to their competitive prices and fantastic customer service, and fly with Qatar Airways to Europe.

Accommodation 🏩

We mainly use Booking.com for accommodation as they consistently have the lowest rates with free cancellation on most properties.

For pet sitting in Western Australia and worldwide, we are members of Trusted Housesitters. Free accommodation for pet and house sitting.

Car Rental 🚘

To compare rental car company prices, we use Discover Cars, an award-winning car rental comparison website. They offer competitive pricing in over 10,000 locations worldwide and are highly rated.

Campervan/RV Rental 🚐

DriveNow is a good resource to compare campervan hire in Western Australia as it includes all the large companies like Britz, Maui, and Jucy as well as smaller ones.

Travel Insurance 🌏

Cover-More and Travel Insurance Direct are our preferred travel insurance companies for domestic and international travel.

See this Travel Insurance for Australia guide for more information.

If you found this 1 day in Perth itinerary helpful, please consider booking through one of our links. It won’t cost you anything but will help towards the cost of running this site. Thank you.

Wendy White is the founder of Western Australia Expert and Perthtravelers. She has lived in Western Australia since 2000 when she married her Australian husband.
With Wendy & David's love of travel, they explored the state extensively both before and after the birth of their twins (and continue to do so).
Wendy decided to start this site to promote the beauty of Western Australia and help visitors plan their trip. She works directly with numerous WA Tour Operators, supporting small businesses.