Lovers of arts & culture | 1 day
Fremantle is renowned for its creative culture. Explore West End galleries, artists collectives and boutiques, and finish your day with rooftop drinks and 360 degree views over Fremantle.
9 AM | Breakfast
Start your day with breakfast at your choice of cafes and breakfast spots along the Cappuccino Strip or the West End.
Stop and admire a recent work by street artist Fintan Magee in the grounds of the Hougoumont Hotel on Bannister Street. It’s dedicated to six Irish Fenian Prisoners who escaped from the British penal colony of Western Australia and depicts 6 flying geese symbolising each prisoner that escaped.
10 AM | Explore galleries
Make your way West to Pakenham Street–you’re in the heart of the historic West End where warehouses are home to galleries and studios.
Turning right, take a 2-minute walk north west and you’ll cross High Street. Look up to see the stunning heritage fronted buildings that are synonymous with this heritage precinct.
At the corner of Leake Street and Pakenham is PS Art Space (Pakenham Street Art Space). The downstairs gallery presents a curated program of exhibitions and events by Australian and international artists.
12 PM | Lunch
Head west along High Street and turn left at New Edition Bookshop, down Henry Street. Walk south to find the Moore’s Building on the left-hand side of the street. It’s a complex of buildings constructed in 1840 as the premises for Fremantle merchant WD Moore and Co (the same family that up until the early 21st century manufactured the Yellowtail Windmill right here in Fremantle). The left entrance is to the Moore’s Building Contemporary Art Gallery and the right lane entrance leads you into Moore & Moore Café and the perfect place to stop for lunch.
1 PM | Boutiques and galleries
Spend your afternoon exploring boutique stores in the West End. Find the work of artists, designers, painters and illustrators is represented in shops lining High Street.
New Edition independent bookstore at the corner of Henry and High Streets has an excellent collection of Fremantle writers and are well known for their range of books covering arts, crafts, culture, film and architecture. On High Street Bill Campbell Books is the go-to place for special edition finds.
Look too for Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery, a foundation member of both Aboriginal Art Association of Australia and Indigenous Art Code. Browse the gallery spaces upstairs and down.
3 PM | Artists collectives
You’ll find two artist collective offerings heading east on High Street, Artisan Store on your right and Common Ground on the left are worth a browse.
More small galleries line the High Street. Explore David Giles, Bitches Brew, Art Marx, Glenn Cowans Fine Art Underwater Gallery and the Staircase Gallery at the National Hotel.
5 PM | Rooftop drinks
Since you're at the National, why not finish off your gallery tour with a sunset drink in the rooftop bar? Take the stairs or use the lift and you'll find a different take on the rooftops of Fremantle and surrounds.
*Check websites for the current exhibition program.
