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Fremantle is a vibrant city, alive with activity seven days a week, and
after you have sampled the local cuisine and coffee you can shop until
you drop with the seven days a week retail trading hours. You see, we
are a tourist precinct so our shops can stay open longer. General Retail Shops in
the Perth and Fremantle precincts are not permitted to trade on any
public holidays.
ESSEX Street, Market
Street, High Street, in fact stroll down any street in Fremantle and
discover that shopping doesn't have to be a chore. It can be an outing
once you've escaped the sterility of those americanised, modern shopping
centres with their treeless carparks and nauseating piped muzak.
Fremantle does have its
big department stores but these are strategically positioned around
treed malls and King's Square. But shopping in this
city is more about the treasures of the specialist shops you find around
every corner.
Like many other great
port cities, Fremantle has a merchant tradition. You'll find everything
here from 100 year-old ship's chandler to new age shops selling
essential oils. They peddle antiques on one corner and fresh sardines on
the next.
Continental
delicatessens, bakeries, butchers, bookshops and boutiques around. If
you can't find it in Freo, it can't be found. So instead of loading
your shopping trolley with plastic wrapped food, try haggling with a
greengrocer at the markets. It makes shopping, even for the basics, a
lot of fun. And while you shop,
you'll always be within earshot of the strains of live music.
Freo
streets groove to the beat of weird African rhythms and rollicking piano
accordions. Jazz too has always had
a place in Freo's musical repertoire. They still gather at the railway
to hear the likes of the corner House Jazz Band. The clubs and pubs of
High Street and South Terrace also get into the act with world famous
performers like Lucky Oceans and many aspiring young rock bands.
For a different way to
shop, come down on any weekend, it's easy to park. There's nothing like
shopping for fruit and vegetables in the Freo Markets to a busker's
rendition of Blowin' in the Wind.
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