2 / 5 - 2 reviews
How to get there
Four hours from Perth by road
When to go
From November to April
Minimum stay
One day
Albany (Australia)
©
Sophie LIGER
Practical information on Albany
Reviews of Albany
A small city and the first ever colony to be established in Southwest Australia.
My suggestion:
Just a quick visit to Albany should be sufficient. There is not much to see in the city itself. So spend your time instead in the area around it.
My review
Albany is a small city on the southwest coast of Australia and not somewhere you need to consider stopping at when you visit Australia. I advise you to immediately head instead for Frenchman Bay on the outskirts of the city, where you'll be able see the Blowholes. These are basically holes in the cliffs that "sing" when the wind blows.
Other things to see here are "The Gap" and "The Natural Bridge": a natural rock structure extending between two cliffs. Afterwards, continue on to "Two Peoples Bay", where fine sandy beaches and turquoise-coloured sea await you.
I personally don't have very good memories of the city of Albany itself. But I do have good memories of all these wonderful scenic places in the local area around it, which are quite magnificent and well worth going to see.
©
Sophie LIGER
Albany is a pleasant little city by the sea, with 30,000 inhabitants. It combines modernity, with its shopping centres in the north, and history, with its colonial centre in the south.
My suggestion:
Go for a picnic in the beautiful coves in King George Sound, then climb to the top of the Mt Melville observation tower for an unobstructed view of the city and its surroundings.
My review
The city of Albany is interesting from a historical point of view: it is the oldest settlement in Western Australia. This city was founded even before Perth. If Albany and its culture interest you, I recommend that you do a tour of the Albany Residency Museum which recounts the history of the region well. You can also see the colonial style buildings, such as the church and the town hall on York Street.
During my trip to Australia, I was lucky enough to meet a really friendly Australian couple through couchsurfing. They made me visit Albany and its surroundings, and told me a little about the city's history.
They took me to the Torndirrup peninsula to see The Gap: a natural bridge formed between two rocks, and the object of several legends. Then we took a break on the magnificent beaches of King George Sound. On this journey I was able to see hundreds of kangaroos lounging in the fields. I never saw so many of them at once during my whole trip. Thanks to my couchsurfing hosts, I was also able to discover the Whaling Station on the edge of the peninsula. This museum explains the entire history of whaling before its fortunate ban in the region, and I found it very interesting.
In my opinion, Albany is a good stop off point when you're going to Esperance or towards the west; it's perfect for relaxing and for a little tourism, but it's far from being a must see.
If you don't have a lot of time then I'd say that one day is enough to see this city and I would recommend that you go instead to Denmark, a romantic little village which is at least an hour away by road and which has breathtaking surrounding landscape.
©
Lisa Gaillard
257 travelers' photos
