Fremantle and Rottnest

This stretch of coast holds two very different pasts, and Fremantle Prison tells the darker one, tunnel tours running through the same World Heritage-listed site that once held the port's earliest prisoners. Above ground, the town's heritage streets tell the rest of the story, one of the best-preserved 19th-century streetscapes in the country. A short ferry ride away, Rottnest Island trades history for beaches, snorkelling reefs and quokkas that pose for photos without much encouragement. Old stone and open water sit closer together here than almost anywhere else in the state.