Fremantle Markets

Fremantle Markets has been trading from the same corner of South Terrace and Henderson Street since 1897, and the building has been heritage-listed by the National Trust since 1980. That's the part worth knowing before you go: this isn't a market that moved into a shed for the weekend. It's a Victorian-era building that's absorbed more than a century of Fremantle's actual history, from convict-era port town through waves of Italian and Greek immigration to the Asian traders who followed, and you can feel that layering in who's actually selling what.

What's inside

More than 150 stalls run the length of the place, split fairly evenly between fresh produce (Swan Valley fruit, local seafood, the kind of vegetables that don't need much explaining) and the craft-and-souvenir side that tends to fill up on weekends. Street performers work the laneways, long-time vendors will happily talk your ear off about how long they've had their stall, and there's a genuine texture to the place that's hard to fake.

It's also, fairly enough, been called a tourist trap by people who've been a few times. That's not entirely wrong; some of the souvenir stalls are exactly what you'd expect near any Australian port town. But it undersells the produce hall, which is where the market actually earns its reputation. Go for the fruit and the fish, not just the fridge magnets.

Good to know before you go

Entry is free, it runs Friday through Sunday from 9am to 6pm, and it's closed the rest of the week. Early is better if you want first pick of the produce; later in the day suits anyone more interested in the food stalls and the crowd than a serious shop.