Fremantle, Perth's charming Western Australian sibling: One of Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2016

Fremantle was Western Australia's major port, until its neighbour took over – but now it's back in the game, says David Whitley

Sail on: Fishing Boat Harbour

For Fremantle, being named among Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2016 underpins a renaissance that's well and truly under way. It has always been one of Australia's most unambiguously charming cities, partly due to the contrast it offers to neighbouring Perth. The sandstone heritage buildings and artistic leanings offer a strong counterweight to the glass towers and financial focus.

In the early days of Western Australia, Fremantle was the major port. The remains of the long wooden jetty can still be seen on Bathers Beach, even though the port operations have long moved up the mouth of the Swan River.

A little further down is a tunnel that early whalers dug through the cliff in order to make dragging carcasses into town easier. And then comes the Roundhouse (00 61 8 9336 6897; fremantleroundhouse.com .au), the oldest still-standing public building in Western Australia. Once used as a makeshift prison, it's now a mini museum – and, at 1pm on the dot, volunteers still fire the One O'Clock Gun to which sailors would set their chronometers.

The state's latest mining boom saw Fremantle take a bit of a downturn. The proceeds of WA's rich natural resources have piled into Perth, and a fair few Fremantle businesses followed. While the South Terrace “cappuccino strip” and fish and chipperies of Fishing Boat Harbour still buzzed, Fremantle started to get a little tired around the fringes.

But the vacuums created are now starting to be filled. The Mantle (the mantle.com.au) is an old warehouse that's been turned into an innovative dining project. Outside, wooden pallets have been stacked to make herb and flower beds. Inside, a DJ plays and a South American tapas restaurant stands opposite a wood-fired pizza joint plus a cart selling gelato. There's also rotating pop-up restaurants and work from local artists for sale.


 Fremantle Prison YHA 
 (Jessica Wyld)

Unpack

Part of an 1850s jail has been converted into Fremantle Prison YHA (00 61 8 9433 4305; yha.com.au). Sleeping quarters are split between the former cells of the women's wing, guards' cottages and a purpose-built modern building tacked on the back. The history is nicely embraced – corridors are lined with displays telling tales of former prisoners and escapees. Dorm beds and ensuite doubles cost from A$26 and A$112 (£12 and £53) respectively.

Think local

Fremantle's port is still in operation, but strolling around the atmospheric, often deserted warehouses brings up plenty of goosebumps. The HMAS Ovens submarine – part of the Western Australian Maritime Museum (00 61 8 6552 7800; museum.wa.gov.au) – can be toured for A$10 (£5). The silver panels outside the museum's main building bear the names of thousands of immigrants who have passed through Fremantle over the decades, giving a sense of the city's role in history.

Eat

Fremantle isn't exactly short on 1890s warehouses, but the one with the biggest visitors' waiting list is now Bread In Common (00 61 8 9336 1032; breadincommon.com.au). This vast, industrial-chic restaurant has an emphasis on communal tables and sharing plates. Savvy waiters will chat about wines, and bring samples to aid the decision-making process. Bread is wood-fired on the premises, and the often booze-pepped dishes – such as the A$21 (£10) lamb ribs with chilli, lime, mint, black garlic and sherry – are phenomenal.

Drink

The “Sailor's Guide To Fremantle” tour from Two Feet and a Heartbeat (00 61 1800 459 388; twofeet.com.au; from A$50/£24 for three hours) focuses on maritime heritage, but adds a twist by dropping into two private members' clubs for a beer. Defiantly old-fashioned working-class timewarps, the Buffalo Club (00 61 8 9335 1992) and the Navy Club (00 61 8 9336 3752; navyclub.com.au) are easy to miss. The latter has marvellous views from the top floor and a wealth of naval memorabilia. Non-members can sign in as guests.

Spend

Inside a former department store, Many 6160 (many6160.com.au) is “Australia's largest space activation project”. That means it has been given over to designers and artists who would ordinarily be scrabbling together the money for a market stall. It feels half art installation, half odd, semi-Spartan browsing experience. Angry-looking sculptures brush up to garish garden chairs, rails of trucker shirts and candles in every conceivable shape and shade.

Fremantle: historic buildings

Don't miss

Even if you're not staying at the old Fremantle Prison (see “Unpack”, right; 00 61 8 9336 9200; fremantleprison.com.au), Western Australia's only Unesco World Heritage building makes for a commendably engrossing visit. The standard A$20 (£9) Doing Time tour looks at the often grim life in a prison that only closed in 1991, despite being chronically ill-suited to the task by then. The tour finishes by the gallows, where the clunk of the dropping trap door provides a real lump-in-the-throat moment.

For something decidedly non-standard, there's a A$60 (£28) tour of the convict-dug tunnels beneath the prison. It involves protective suits, helmets, harnesses, vertigo-baiting descents down ultra-long ladders, and subterranean tin boat rides.

Getting there

The writer flew with Etihad (0345 608 1225; etihad.com) from Heathrow via Abu Dhabi; it also flies from Manchester and Edinburgh. Economy returns from £660.

More information

westernaustralia.com