Where to Stay in Perth: Best Areas + Hotels (2026)

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Perth was never the plan. The flight was. In early 2019 I booked the QF9/QF10 London to Perth direct as the way into a longer trip around Australia, and rather than connect straight on to the east coast, I decided to stop and find out what the West was actually like. I am very glad I did. Perth gave me beaches within train distance, a food and wine scene that holds its own, and that relaxed Australian pace without the tourist volume of Sydney or Melbourne.

I stayed right in the CBD, and it was the right call: everything walkable, the train station minutes away for Fremantle and the coast, and a comedy festival on my doorstep that I hadn't even known was running. This guide covers the areas most visitors will choose between, with the hotels I'd book in each - starting with the one I actually stayed in.

Where I stayed

European Hotel (formerly Miss Maud Swedish Hotel)

I stayed here in early 2019, when it was still Miss Maud's, and the breakfast remains the thing I remember best about arriving in Perth: cheese scones, fresh bread, proper bacon and eggs. It was the most talked-about thing in the hotel's reviews then and deservedly so. The decor leaned into the European theme with a straight face, the room was fairly basic, and the air conditioning was excellent - which mattered, because I'd swapped an Irish winter for a Perth summer and the contrast was quite something.

It's now the European Hotel, on the corner of Murray and Pier Streets with the train (and airport line) close by. Recent guests still rate the location and staff while noting the rooms are dated, and some mention weekend noise from the clubs nearby - I didn't notice it in my time there, but light sleepers should pack earplugs.

Check availability at the European Hotel →

The Five Areas at a Glance

Neighbourhood	Best For	Vibe	Price
Perth CBD	First visits, car-free stays	Central, walkable	$ - $$$
East Perth & Burswood	Riverside stays, longer visits	Quieter, apartment-style	$ - $$$
Northbridge	Culture, nightlife	Museums by day, lively by night	$ - $$
Fremantle	Character, markets, Rottnest	Historic port town	$ - $$
Cottesloe & Scarborough	Beach stays	Coastal, laid back	$$ - $$$

Staying in Perth CBD

The CBD is where most first-time visitors should start, and it's where I based myself. You've got the Bell Tower and Elizabeth Quay waterfront, Kings Park within reach, and - most usefully - Perth's train system radiating out from the centre, which makes a car-free stay genuinely workable. Fremantle is 30 minutes by train, the beaches 20 to 30, and the free CAT buses handle the short hops in between.

Staying centrally meant I could walk to whatever was on, get out to the coast in the morning, and still slip back to the hotel between activities. If your Perth stay is a stopover measured in days rather than weeks, this is the area that wastes the least of them.

A view of Perth downtown high rise buildings from Elizabeth Quay

A building in Central Perth Australia

Staying in East Perth & Burswood

East Perth runs along the Swan River's north bank, so you trade a little of the city-centre bustle for water views and riverside walking paths. It suits longer stays: more apartment-style hotels, more room to spread out, and still within a walk of the centre when you need it.

The beach and beach houses at Busselton WA - a 2 hour drive from central Perth (© Patrick Hughes)

Staying in Northbridge

Northbridge sits just north of the CBD but feels completely different. This is the cultural district - the Western Australian Museum, the Art Gallery of WA, and a run of smaller independent restaurants. It gets busy at night, with plenty of places to eat before the live music starts. If your evenings matter more than your mornings, stay here.

Staying in Fremantle

Fremantle deserves more than the day trip I gave it. The historic port town is 30 minutes south by train and runs at a completely different pace: 19th-century convict-built streets, weekend markets, and some of Western Australia's best restaurants. I took the tour at UNESCO-listed Fremantle Prison and learned more Irish history than I expected to find on the far side of the world - the grounds and the No Escape cafe are free to wander, with the guided tour booked on the day. Hotels here are boutique properties in characterful buildings rather than glass towers, and it's the natural base for the Rottnest Island ferry.

The prison yard at Fremantle Prison

Staying at the Beaches: Cottesloe & Scarborough

Perth's beach suburbs deliver the coastal Australia most visitors picture. Cottesloe - which I made it out to, and would happily have stayed longer at - is the laid-back one, all surf culture and good cafes. Scarborough is livelier and more nightlife-oriented. Both need a little more planning than a city-centre base, since you'll factor in travel time to the main attractions, but if the beach is the point of your trip, base yourself at the beach.

Prefer a private space, or travelling as a group? Perth has a good selection of private vacation homes and apartments through the CBD and beyond.

Day Trips Worth Building Around

If your stopover stretches to a week, Western Australia opens up fast. I drove down to Margaret River - about three hours south - where I stayed at the Grange Motel and rate Morries for food and wine, with Arc of Iris the other name to know. Busselton and its beach houses are on the way. The Pinnacles Desert makes the equivalent trip north. My Perth stopover itinerary covers how to fit the pieces together in 3 to 4 nights.

The bar at Morries (Margaret River WA)

Getting Around Perth

Accommodation decisions get much easier once you understand the transport network. Here's how to get from the airport to Perth CBD - the airport line makes the CBD the easy answer. After that, the trains do the work: CBD to Fremantle in 30 minutes, CBD to the beach suburbs in 20 to 30, and the free CAT buses cover the inner city. For Margaret River and the wine regions, a rental car is the practical option - I picked mine up at a CBD location and dropped it back at the airport. Uber and taxis operate citywide, with cross-city journeys typically $20-40 AUD.

Planning Your Perth Stay

To run back over it: first-timers should stay in the CBD for walkability, dining, and the train network - it's what I did and I'd do it again. East Perth suits riverside apartment-style stays, Northbridge is for culture and nightlife, Fremantle gives you the historic port town and the Rottnest ferry, and Cottesloe or Scarborough put you on the sand.

Perth rewards the visitors who treat it as a destination rather than a refuelling stop. I arrived because of a flight and left planning a return - pick the base that fits your trip, and let the trains do the rest.

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