The best museums in Perth in 2026 are WA Museum Boola Bardip and the Art Gallery of Western Australia in the Perth Cultural Centre, World Heritage-listed Fremantle Prison, the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Scitech for families, and the Perth Mint, where you can watch a gold pour.
Perth's main museum and gallery sit together in the Perth Cultural Centre in Northbridge, a short walk from the train station. Fremantle, 30 minutes away by train, adds the Maritime Museum and Fremantle Prison, enough for a full day out. For more, see our Perth attractions guide.
The state museum, reopened in a bold new building.
WA Museum Boola Bardip reopened in 2020 in a dramatic building that joins old and new, with galleries on Western Australia's natural history, Aboriginal cultures and people, and a blue whale skeleton in Hackett Hall.
General entry is free.
Good to know: Allow two to three hours; it's a short walk from Perth station.
Perth Cultural Centre, James St, Perth WA 6000
The state's art collection, with a rooftop bar.
The Art Gallery of Western Australia holds the state's collection of Australian, Aboriginal and international art, with a rooftop bar and sculpture terrace looking over the city.
Entry to the collection is free.
Good to know: Finish on the rooftop for a drink with a view.
Perth Cultural Centre, Perth WA 6000
A World Heritage-listed convict prison with tunnel tours.
Built by convicts in the 1850s and used as a prison until 1991, Fremantle Prison is part of the UNESCO-listed Australian Convict Sites, with daytime tours of the cells and gallows, torchlight tours and a tunnel tour by boat beneath the prison.
It is one of the most compelling historic sites in Western Australia.
Good to know: Book the tunnels tour ahead; it sells out.
1 The Terrace, Fremantle WA 6160
The America's Cup yacht, a submarine and Indian Ocean history.
The WA Maritime Museum, on Victoria Quay in Fremantle, tells the story of the Indian Ocean and the state's maritime history, with exhibits including Australia II, winner of the 1983 America's Cup, and tours of the submarine HMAS Ovens.
The Shipwreck Galleries are nearby.
Good to know: Book the submarine tour; it runs at set times.
Victoria Quay, Fremantle WA 6160
Perth's hands-on science centre for kids.
Scitech is Perth's interactive science centre, with hands-on exhibits, science shows and a planetarium, aimed at children and families.
It is a good rainy-day option in Perth.
Good to know: Check show times when you arrive.
City West, Sutherland St, West Perth WA 6005
Watch a live gold pour in a historic 1899 mint.
The Perth Mint, one of the world's oldest operating mints, opened in 1899 during the gold rush. Its tours include a live gold pour, the world's largest gold coin and the chance to hold a gold bar.
It is a short walk from the CBD.
Good to know: Time your visit to catch a gold pour.
310 Hay St, East Perth WA 6004
General entry to WA Museum Boola Bardip is free; some major exhibitions charge.
Boola Bardip means 'many stories' in the Noongar language of the traditional owners of the Perth region.
Yes. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, part of the Australian Convict Sites, with tours of the cells, gallows and tunnels beneath the prison.
Watch a live gold pour, see the world's largest gold coin and hold a gold bar on a guided tour.
Take the train from Perth to Fremantle (about 30 minutes); the Maritime Museum and the prison are both walkable from the station.