The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a part of King George Sound.

The settlement was founded on 26 December 1826 as a military outpost of New South Wales for the purpose of forestalling French ambitions in the region.

The opening of the Fremantle Inner Harbour in 1897,[6]: 51–55  however, saw its importance as a port decline, after which the town's industries turned primarily to agriculture, timber and later, whaling.

Contemporary Albany is the southern terminus for tourism in the region, and the state's south west,[7] which is known for its natural environment and preservation of its heritage.

The town has a role in the ANZAC legend, being the last port of call for troopships departing Australia in the First World War.

Also in the harbour was a Royal Australian Navy naval installation which provided for refuelling from four 5,100-tonne (5,000-long-ton) fuel tanks.

[10][11][12] In 1831, the settlement was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony and renamed Albany by Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling.

[17] Early British explorers recorded evidence of fish traps located on Emu Point and on the French, now the Kalgan, River.

Vancouver made attempts to find the inhabitants of the area but only found bark dwellings that were unoccupied.

[21] The Albany coastline is notorious for deaths due to king waves washing people off rocks.

[24] Other beaches include: Albany has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) with dry, warm summers, mild, wet winters, and pleasant springs and autumns.

[25]: 5  Summers have short spells of very hot weather, but cool ocean breeze brings relief, especially during evenings and nights.

The city is situated on what is promoted as the "Rainbow Coast", an appropriate title given the frequency of days with both sun and drizzle or showers.

Albany received a record amount of rain on 20 November 2008 when violent storms swept across the Great Southern region.

[31] The Western Power Wind Farm is located at Sand Patch, to the west of Albany.

Albany has a city bus service run by Swan Transit under the TransAlbany brand with five town routes.

Albany is connected to Perth with road-coach services via Walpole and Bunbury; via Katanning and Northam; via Kojonup and Williams.

[44] The Rainbow Coast Raiders of the State Basketball League played at the Albany Sports Centre (33 Barker Road) between 1989 and 1999.