Nepal · Bagmati Province
Where to Stay in Kathmandu, Bagmati Province
Temple roofs rise above the Kathmandu Valley at Kathmandu, capital of Nepal in Bagmati Province, known for Narayanhiti Palace and the old core of Kantipur.
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Where to stay in Kathmandu
The right area depends on your trip — here's what each neighbourhood is best for.
Kathmandu spreads across the floor of the Kathmandu Valley, and where you stay turns on how close you want to sit to the historic core of Kantipur. The old city is densest. It holds the royal seat of Narayanhiti Palace and the museum grounds around it, and a bed here puts temple lanes and the valley's landmarks within the shortest walk.
South toward Patan the built-up area runs unbroken, so a room on that side keeps you inside the same continuous urban fabric while trading some old-town density for quieter streets. Maitighar Mandala hinges the two. Travelers who want museums on the doorstep can settle near the palace grounds, where the Mahendra Museum, the Birendra Museum, and the Nepal Olympic Museum sit within a short walk of one another.
The compact valley floor keeps every choice close to the centre of Nepal.
About Kathmandu
What is Kathmandu known for?
Kathmandu is known as the governmental, financial, and cultural centre of Nepal, a capital that fills the floor of the Kathmandu Valley. Its core is old. The historic centre carries the earlier names Kantipur and Kasthamandap, and the royal-era seat survives at Narayanhiti Palace, ringed by museums from the Mahendra Museum to the Birendra Museum.
Civic space opens at Maitighar Mandala. Urban growth has fused the city with neighbouring Patan to the south.
What are the main landmarks in Kathmandu?
The main landmarks of Kathmandu gather around the former royal seat at Narayanhiti Palace. Nearby stands Shahid Gate, a memorial arch in the government quarter, with the open plaza of Maitighar Mandala close by. Several museums ring the palace grounds.
Visitors can trace the country's modern history through the Mahendra Museum and the Birendra Museum, take in sport at the Nepal Olympic Museum, and reach the Aircraft Museum Kathmandu on the city's edge.
What is the history of Kathmandu?
Kathmandu traces its founding to 723, when the settlement on the valley floor first took shape. In its early and medieval centuries the city was known as Kantipur, and it also carried the name Kasthamandap, from which the modern name descends. The valley around it, the Kathmandu Valley, held the city's fortunes for more than a millennium.
Royal power left the deepest marks. The seat of the crown stood at Narayanhiti Palace, and the memorial arch of Shahid Gate rose in the government quarter to honour the country's martyrs. As the capital of Nepal, the city drew government, finance, and industry to the valley floor.
Growth in later decades pushed its edges outward until the urban fabric met neighbouring Patan to the south, joining the two into one continuous built-up area. That expansion reshaped the old core of Kantipur without erasing it, and the palace grounds, the museums that ring them, and the plaza at Maitighar Mandala still anchor the historic centre. The name Kasthamandap endures as a reminder of the city's origins.
Where is Kathmandu?
Kathmandu sits in the central part of Nepal, spread across the floor of the Kathmandu Valley and ringed by the surrounding hills that enclose the bowl. The city stands well above sea level. Its built-up area runs unbroken south to Patan, so the two settlements share one continuous urban footprint on the valley floor.
Kantipur holds the centre.
What is the climate of Kathmandu?
Kathmandu has a mild subtropical climate, softened by the elevation of the Kathmandu Valley and tempered by the surrounding hills that ring the bowl and hold back the heat its setting would otherwise carry. Summers are warm and wet. The monsoon months gather rain over the valley floor, while winters stay cool and dry.
Mornings turn crisp.
How do you get to Kathmandu?
Kathmandu is the main point of entry to Nepal and the principal hub for the whole Kathmandu Valley. Roads climb in from the hills. They cross the surrounding ridges that ring the valley and link the capital to the rest of the country before descending to the floor.
Within the built-up area, travel runs on toward Patan without a break, since the two share one continuous urban fabric. Kantipur sits at the centre.
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Updated July 2026