Ice rink so cool for Freo festival

Winter has well and truly come to Perth with the arrival of the State's first outdoor ice rink.

The huge structure, nestled in the heart of the Fremantle Esplanade, is part of the Winter Festival - a nationwide event that is in WA for the first time after achieving success in Brisbane, Melbourne and Bondi Beach in Sydney for the past three years.

It took a crew three days and about 50,000 litres of water to construct the rink, which opened to the public yesterday.

However skating is not the only activity planned to take away the chill of winter - there is a ski-themed lodge with roaring fireplaces, European alpine cuisine, licensed bars, live music and entertainment as well as figure skating and ice hockey demonstrations.

Organisers predict about half a million people across the country will have attended the four festivals by the time the Fremantle winter wonderland closes on July 22.

The Winter Festival is free and open from 12pm to 10pm weekdays and 10am to 10pm on weekends.