Fremantle Prison
Fremantle Prison
4.5
Historic SitesPoints of Interest & LandmarksHistory Museums
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Fremantle Prison is one of Western Australia’s premier tourist attractions and the only World Heritage listed building in the State.The Prison was built by convicts in the 1850s and was used as a place of incarceration for almost 140 years. With solitary cells and gallows Fremantle Prison is a monument to a system of punishment that is uncomfortably recent. Fremantle Prison now holds the key to history, mystery and fun. Step inside and do time with experienced guides on a fascinating Prison Day Tour. Explore the labyrinth of tunnels 20m beneath the Prison by foot and by boat on a Tunnels Tour adventure. Feeling brave? Delve into the darker side of the Prison’s history on an eerie Torchlight Tour.
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Fremantle
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See what travellers are saying
  • Megan
    157 contributions
    Look forward to booking another tour soon.
    We did a Torchlight Tour. Our prison officer (tour guide) was Deb. She ran a great tour. Lots of information and a few laughs. It was great to see more of the prison thanks to the renovations. We really enjoyed it.
    Visited December 2022
    Travelled with family
    Written 1 January 2023
  • greytbritta
    Hartsdale, New York32 contributions
    Fun and Informative
    We took a Torchlight tour on Dec 30 and had a blast while getting a good education on the prison’s history. Our tour guide Justin is a fabulous storyteller, he made the daily grind come alive - thanks for an excellent (and scary) experience :-) The free exhibitions on the prison grounds are also well worth your time. This national treasure is very well organized and maintained.
    Visited December 2022
    Written 1 January 2023
  • Helen S
    Whyalla, Australia31 contributions
    Highly recommend
    Fremantle prison tours. Heritage listed building dates back to convict era. Did above ground tour as well as tunnels tour which goes through old water network beneath the prison.Really good - and a special thanks to attendants who coaxed Helen into continuing when she nearly chickened out. Descending vertical ladders down 20 m open shafts is not for everyone.🤪😗🙃😲
    Visited January 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 January 2023
  • Andrew B
    10 contributions
    Brilliant tour and performances.
    There are many tours to be taken at this prison. This time, friends and I took the night-time Ghost tour. Excellent! Spooky, too...if you are in any way empathic, you're almost guaranteed to feel other 'presences' like I and a friend did...especially in the gallows and morgue areas. The staff are perfect...really brings the horror of the place to life, but in a humorous way. Great performances by the actors, too.
    Visited January 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 8 January 2023
  • ARF
    Dublin, Ireland10 contributions
    Highly recommended and hugely positive experience
    Excellent tour (historic convicts tour). Our superb guide Benny was a huge part of he experience...so entertaining, knowledgeable and genuinely funny as he told lots of stories along the way. First class experience - well done to all concerned. Highly recommended.
    Visited January 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 January 2023
  • Peckish
    2 contributions
    Locked up your
    We did the locked up tour for the kids during school holidays. Justin our tour guide was beyond amazing, kept the kids engaged and entertained all along , great sense of humour, provided a lot of info and insight into prison life and the history behind. Highly recommend for 8+ .
    Visited January 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 19 January 2023
  • Liisa and Dave B
    Adelaide, Australia2,504 contributions
    Fascinating history
    We did two of the tours which were discounted as we had a voucher in the entertainment book. We had the same guide (James) for both tours and he was fabulous! He told many fascinating stories of convicts from many years ago, of the women’s prison and the history about how many women got there which would be unheard of today! He shared about death by hanging and we were given a tour of the room in which that used to occur. It was interesting seeing the different cells and how little they advanced over the years. I loved hearing stories of prisoners whom were amazing artists. One of those paintings is still on the wall of a prison cell, painted by an indigenous man who was clearly gifted with artistic skills. The prison building itself looks pretty at night as it’s lit up in multiple colours. Well worth a visit if you’re interested in history.
    Visited February 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 4 February 2023
  • DJD140215
    Stamford, United Kingdom285 contributions
    Convict Tour
    Annette, our guide, was superb and told us many stories about individual prisoners of yesteryear. As there’s no really a lot to see, it looks would be better to provide one, combined tour, rather than offering different tours. It is a little confusing, though the gentleman on the gate was helpful in this respect.
    Visited February 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 13 February 2023
  • Vid991234
    Christmas Island, Australia132 contributions
    The must do - tunnels
    Went last minute and was squeezed on the tunnels tour last minute. Also did the convict tour. Personally I enjoyed the tunnels better - an adventure, boat and lots of safety equipment briefing. All Made enjoyable by the guides.
    Visited February 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 20 February 2023
  • Dogface123
    Stamford, United Kingdom116 contributions
    Well worth a visit
    We spent a couple of hours exploring this place on a guided tour. It was a really interesting place to visit. We had an option of various tours to take and were not disappointed. We got to see the inside of the old prison, see the living conditions, and the area that the prisoners would’ve experienced and how the prison has changed over time. We also saw the execution chair. The tour guide was very informative, knew his stuff, and I would recommend to tour to anyone
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 9 March 2023
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4.5
4,228 reviews
Excellent
2,871
Very good
1,129
Average
184
Poor
31
Terrible
13

Girlsfromwarrington
Warrington, UK46 contributions
Dec. 2023 • Couples
Thoroughly enjoyed our visit. A great tour guide who was very knowledgeable. I can’t believe this was still in operation until 1991 with the awful conditions.
Written 3 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Erica M
Perth, Australia12 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Solo
Tunnels tour was fantastic. Chris was a great tour guide and very easy on the eye ❤️ Would 10/10 go again just to stare at his lovely face
Written 27 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Philip H
2 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Couples
We did the convict tour, which was suggested to us because we are Irish! We had some invested interest in hearing about our ancestors misdemeanours. Karl is an excellent tour guide and a gifted story teller, and kept our attention for the entire tour. He added humour to the tour, which made it so much more enjoyable. He brought us around the prison grounds and told us stories of the convicts, some of which were hilarious and shocking in equal measure. My one criticism is that there is about 35 people in the tour group and at times there is some standing around and waiting for everyone to gather.
Written 19 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pippa B
8 contributions
Oct. 2023 • Family
We booked the torchlight 🔦 tour. Very atmospheric and a little spooky. Our guide was excellent, very informative (kept the group moving as we were there on a busy evening). Would recommend a visit, makes you realise just how grim prison life is.

I would like to do another tour to see the prison in daylight.
Written 18 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brinty1
Wanaka, New Zealand4 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Family
We did the tunnel tour with Tristan as a guide. What a magnificant guide he was and took his tour guiding to a very high level. Unfortunately one of our family members suffered a claustrophobic event, but with true professionalism Tristan handed this over to Simon, another guide who made a great result of our situation.
100% recommend this tour. We laughed the whole time, and had a fantastic experience. Thank you.
Written 16 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rowan
United Kingdom157 contributions
Oct. 2023 • Family
Having visited here a few years ago I really wanted to show my partner what a great place this was.
The weather was perfect for us on the two occasions that we toured ( we did two different tours on different days ) and the wonderful Janine took us around both times!
She really brought the place to life and we were captivated by her stories - I only wish I had gone to see Moondyne Jo's resting place in the graveyard as it turns out one of my rellies ( died in the asylum ) is buried there too ) . Next time Fremantle!
Definitely worth a visit as this place is quite fascinating.
Written 12 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Alan W
Peel, UK18 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Couples
We went with a cousin to this old facility in Fremantle. We opted for the triple tours which allowed us to plan in lunch. The guides were very knowledgeable on their subjects, shout out to Matthew our guide on the last tour. There is a lot of interesting history in and around the prison of Western Australia from it's first settlers until 1991 when it closed. Very well worth the visit.
Written 11 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sarah C
Ashtead, UK1,167 contributions
Jan. 2023 • Couples
This was a lovely place to visit, history set out in a fascinating way and atmospheric to wander among the various prison rooms. Recommdned
Written 7 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

rachael
Sheffield, UK45 contributions
Nov. 2023 • Couples
We did the ‘Behind bars tour’ and the ‘Tunnels Tour’. Both really good, the tunnels tour is an absolute must. It’s really interactive and Chris our guide was utterly superb. What a fantastic tour guide he is.
We highly recommend doing this and visiting the site.
Written 3 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

woahwoah
Yorkshire7 contributions
Oct. 2023 • Couples
Interesting former prison. Free entry to the gatehouse displays / cafe / gift shop / small art exhibition. There are also several guided tours to choose from in the prison itself, at a reasonable cost.

I didn’t do a tour, because they all involved a lot of walking and standing (1 hour +). My husband however enjoyed the tour. It’s perhaps a shame they don’t offer a shorter / easier tour for those of us with mobility problems.

Written 30 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Fremantle Prison

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