Albany is the oldest European settlement in Western Australia, established in 1826 on the shores of King George Sound. Long before that, the Menang Noongar people lived here for tens of thousands of years, and evidence of their presence is still visible, particularly around Oyster Harbour. The town's superb natural harbour made it a thriving whaling port into the 1970s, and a coaling station for steamships travelling between Britain and Australia.
That history is written across the town in fine colonial buildings. Victorian shopfronts line Stirling Terrace, and the Old Gaol on Lower Stirling Terrace is now a folk museum — admission includes a visit to the Patrick Taylor Cottage on Duke Street, the oldest dwelling in Western Australia. Opposite the Old Gaol, the Albany Heritage Park houses the Albany Residency Museum with its seafaring objects, flora and fauna, and Aboriginal artefacts. Up on Mount Adelaide, the Princess Royal Fortress (1893) has restored buildings, gun emplacements, and sweeping views across the sound.
The views from Mount Clarence and Mount Melville are worth the climb. South of town, off Frenchman Bay Road, the coastline turns wild — the Gap and Natural Bridge rock formations, the Blowholes, and a string of other dramatic formations carved by the Southern Ocean. From July to September you can take whale-watching tours, and there is good diving, snorkelling, and fishing year-round. The coastline can be dangerous, though, so ask locals for the safest spots before swimming or surfing.