Cottesloe is located 11 kilometres (7 mi) west of Perth's central business district, covers an area of 3.9 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi), maintains 45.7 km of roads and had a population of approximately 7,500 as at the 2016 Census.

Various bus routes operate along Stirling Highway, enabling transport through the suburb's western and eastern precincts with Perth and Fremantle.

The Town of Cottesloe's inclusion of walk and cycle paths enable it to be a walkable precinct.

In 1950 it bought Overton Lodge from Claude de Bernales and renamed it to the Cottesloe Memorial Town Hall and Civic Centre.

As of 2024[update], 430 places are heritage-listed in the Town of Cottesloe,[4] of which 27 are on the State Register of Heritage Places, among them the Cottesloe Civic Centre and the Residence of John Curtin.