Located in the southwest corner of the Australian continent, Perth sits elegantly on the banks of the Swan River, like a monarch surveying her realm. As the capital of the state of Western Australia, Perth’s domain is huge – the Perth metropolitan area accounts for nearly 90% of the state population.

The most isolated capital city on Earth, Perth lies upon a similar latitude to Sydney but over 3,400km (2,110 miles) to the west – as far away as London is from Beirut.

Boasting an impressive skyline, inner-city Perth seems to have been designed with people in mind. Its attractive malls and elevated walkways make it pleasant to navigate on foot. Having grown up in isolation from Melbourne and Sydney, the city has neither the pretensions nor the hustle and bustle of these eastern Australian cities.

What it does have is a tangible sense of history. Many of Perth’s earliest buildings are still standing and its quiet pace of life recalls peaceful former times.

But with four universities, a modern, well-designed city centre and a culturally diverse population, Perth manages to project a cosmopolitan atmosphere while at the same time being disarmingly friendly and laid-back.

The Swan River area was occupied by Australian Aborigines for at least 50,000 years before the arrival of British settlers, who proclaimed the new colony in June 1829, led by Captain James Stirling.

With the help of convict labour (convict-built architecture can be seen all around Perth and its port of Fremantle), the colony prevailed over harsh conditions and Perth was finally declared a city in 1871.

Thousands of immigrants flooded into the area during the Gold Rush of the 1850s, on their way to the rich gold fields of Kalgoorlie. Post-WWII immigration further swelled Perth’s population and today it is home to 1.47 million people. Nearly 200,000 of them are migrants from the UK – there is also a considerable number of New Zealanders, Italians, Malaysians, Indians and South Africans.

Commercially, Perth provides the distribution point for West Australia’s wheat industry, the growing wine industry and the state’s vast mining operations. Tourism is booming and the city also is an education centre for a large number of students from Asia.

The long, wide streets of central Perth follow an orderly grid pattern. Perth Railway Station is located next to the major east-west avenue, Wellington Street, south of which lies the city proper, extending for five blocks down to the lake-like expanse of the Swan River.

The central shopping and business areas together with historical buildings including two cathedrals, His Majesty’s Theatre and Government House, are located here. North of Wellington Street is Northbridge, home to important museums, galleries and the hub of the city’s nightlife.

Perth’s location and warm and dry climate (the best of any Australian state capital, with hot summers and mild winters) favour outdoor pursuits. Inner-city parks and gardens are a delight, most notably Kings Park, which offers excellent views of the city and the river.

To the east of the city lies a pleasant rural hinterland, while just minutes to the west is the Indian Ocean and long, white, sandy beaches extending for many kilometres along the ‘Sunset Coast’.

A stop at nearby Fremantle, regarded the best-preserved 19th-century port in the world, is an essential part of any visit to Perth.