Cottesloe Beach is Perth's most iconic swimming beach, and the question of where to go to the beach in Perth generally begins and ends here. The beach itself is a long, wide strip of white sand backed by a Norfolk Island pine promenade and anchored at the northern end by the Indiana Tea House, an elaborate 1930s pavilion that is now a restaurant. The water is calm and clear by Indian Ocean standards — Rottnest Island offshore provides some shelter from the swell — and the sand is the pale, almost white colour that characterises Perth's metropolitan beaches.
The suburb of Cottesloe is solidly middle-class Perth at its most comfortable: good cafes along Marine Parade, a couple of decent restaurants, the kind of neighbourhood where people have surfboards in their garages and walk their dogs on the beach in the early morning. The best times to be here are early morning (quiet, often glassy water, brilliant light) or late afternoon when the beach volleyball games are on and families are having their last swim before heading home. Cottesloe is about 12 kilometres from the city centre, easily reached by train from Perth station to Cottesloe station, then a short walk. The suburb also hosts Sculptures by the Sea every March, when artworks appear along the foreshore.