Perth hotels

The Swan River and abundant parks and gardens mean Perth's urban sprawl belies its population of 1.5m. Get around by foot in the centre, but for destinations further afield jump on a train or ferry.

Central Perth and imperial-era Fremantle to the south-west are the areas of most interest to visitors, where hotel and restaurant facilities are as bountiful as the city's main attractions. Heading south-west from the city towards Fremantle, suburbs such as relaxed Leederville, stylish Subiaco and beachy Cottesloe merit a visit. They are conveniently located on the train line connecting Perth with Fremantle.

Perth's train system is centralised and ticketing is based on zones travelled. Train lines extend to the north-east, north-west, south-west and south-east suburbs, with a new line connecting Perth and Mandurah open from 2007.

The main ferry service connects Barrack Street Jetty at the north bank of the Swan River – at the southern end of the city centre – and Mends Street Jetty on the opposite bank in South Perth. There are also ten services daily between Barrack Street Jetty and Fremantle, seven daily between Barrack Street Jetty, Fremantle and Rottnest Island, and four daily between Fremantle and Rottnest Island.

Walking is the most convenient way of getting around if you're based in the city or in Northbridge. But Perth is a sprawling, suburban city and getting to Fremantle means catching a bus, train, ferry or taxi.

Perth's bus network has more than 100 lines complementing the rail network. Maps and timetables are available on the Transperth website, although visitors are most likely to use the train and ferry services over the bus services. Take advantage of the free Perth and Fremantle CAT buses. Perth has three lines running throughout the day – blue, red and yellow – while Fremantle has a single line doing a convenient loop of all the city's attractions.

Perth's taxis are white. During the day in busy areas such as central Perth and Fremantle they can be flagged down on the street readily enough. At less busy times it pays to phone ahead or even book online. There are taxi ranks sprinkled liberally through the city centre, and several in Fremantle where there are either taxis already waiting or not far away.

Perth's public transport network is based on a zone system. All in all there are nine zones, but travellers are most likely to travel Zones 1 and 2. A ticket entitles the traveller to three hours of travel on the network.

Take a walk through the streets of central Fremantle, and be swept away into the living pages of a salt-encrusted sea adventure written by Herman Melville or Joseph Conrad. A walk along the waterfront, meanwhile, shows Fremantle's modernised, sleekly designed alter-ego.

Transperth Public Transport Authority website