Iraq · Erbil Governorate
Where to Stay in Erbil, Erbil Governorate
The Citadel of Erbil rises on its tell above Hawler, capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and one of the oldest continually inhabited sites on earth.
Find your area →
Where to stay in Erbil
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Erbil arranges its lodging in rings around the Citadel of Erbil, the raised old town at the city's heart. The streets and bazaar directly below the tell form the busiest base, close to the Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum and the daily life of Hawler. The citadel gate stands within an easy walk.
Further out, the district of Ankawa gathers a quieter quarter around St. Joseph's Cathedral, long the Christian neighbourhood of the city and home to many restaurants. It sits apart. If you want the museums and the mound at your doorstep, stay near the citadel; if you prefer calmer evenings and the cathedral quarter, Ankawa suits you well, though it lies a short drive from the old town below the Citadel of Erbil.
Between these two poles the modern city spreads in broad boulevards, and the Erbil Civilization Museum and the Erbil Stones and Gems Museum mark points across the wider capital of the Kurdistan Region. The centre stays lively at night. Erbil, capital of the Erbil Governorate, keeps its heart at the ancient mound, and most visitors orient their stay by how near they wish to sleep to it.
About Erbil
What is Erbil known for?
Erbil is known above all for the Citadel of Erbil, the mounded old town crowning its centre. The city, called Hawler in Kurdish, serves as the leading cultural and economic hub of the Kurdistan Region, and its universities and hospitals draw people from across the wider governorate. Its museums draw curious visitors.
The Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum sits within the citadel walls, while the Erbil Civilization Museum and the Erbil Stones and Gems Museum record the long story of a settlement counted among the oldest continually inhabited places in the world.
What are the main landmarks in Erbil?
The Citadel of Erbil is the city's foremost landmark, an inhabited mound rising above the surrounding streets. Within its walls stands the Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum. Below and around the tell, the Erbil Civilization Museum traces the deep past of the site, and the Erbil Stones and Gems Museum displays minerals and worked stone.
In the district of Ankawa, St. Joseph's Cathedral anchors the historic Christian quarter of Hawler.
What is the history of Erbil?
Erbil counts among the oldest continually inhabited sites of human civilization, its story rising layer upon layer beneath the Citadel of Erbil. The mound itself is the record. Each generation built on the ruins of the last, raising the tell higher until the old town sat well above the plain around it.
Under Kurdish the city carries the name Hawler, a toponym as old as the settlement it names. Long before the modern era it grew as a walled town on its mound, and the deep chronology of that occupation is what the Erbil Civilization Museum sets out to trace. The old town on the citadel remained the whole of the city for most of its history, ringed by walls and reached through a single principal gate.
Beyond the mound the settlement stayed small. In time the town spread outward from the tell, and quarters such as Ankawa, gathered around St. Joseph's Cathedral, grew as distinct communities within the wider city. Erbil became the seat of the Erbil Governorate and the capital of the Kurdistan Region, its ancient core preserved while a modern capital rose around it.
The Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum, housed within the citadel, keeps the crafts of that long inheritance.
Where is Erbil?
Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the seat of the Erbil Governorate. It sits on a plain. The city gathers around the Citadel of Erbil, a settlement mound rising well above the surrounding flatland, with the quieter district of Ankawa spreading out on its northern side.
Kurdish speakers call it Hawler.
What is the climate of Erbil?
Erbil has a hot, dry climate typical of the plains below the mountains of the Kurdistan Region. Summers are long and very hot. The season around the Citadel of Erbil brings fierce heat and clear skies, while winters are cool and bring most of the year's rain to Hawler.
Spring greens the plain briefly before the dry heat returns.
How do you get to Erbil?
Erbil is served by Erbil International Airport, the main air link for the Kurdistan Region. Flights land close to the city. From the terminal it is a short drive to the centre and the Citadel of Erbil, while roads link Hawler across the Erbil Governorate and onward to the rest of Iraq.
Highways meet at the capital.
Good for
Updated July 2026