Attraction
Kathmandu Durbar Square
The old royal heart of Kathmandu, where the Hanuman Dhoka palace, the Kumari's residence and Malla-era temples surround a UNESCO-listed square.
The best things to do in Kathmandu are spread across a valley of three royal cities, UNESCO-listed monuments and a living religious culture that fills the streets every day. In Kathmandu itself you can walk from the traveller lanes of Thamel through the old market squares of Asan and Indra Chowk to Kathmandu Durbar Square, then join pilgrims circling the great stupa at Boudhanath or watch the evening aarti beside the Bagmati at Pashupatinath. Swayambhunath looks over the city from its hill to the west, while Patan and Bhaktapur keep their own palace squares, museums and Newari craft traditions.
The food scene ranges from Newari bara and chhoila in family eateries to Tibetan thukpa in Boudha, Thakali dal bhat sets and multi-course Nepali tasting menus, with a growing cocktail bar scene and long-running live music bars in Thamel. Allow three to four days to see the main sights at an easy pace, and add a night at Nagarkot or an early Everest flight if the weather is clear.
Attraction
The old royal heart of Kathmandu, where the Hanuman Dhoka palace, the Kumari's residence and Malla-era temples surround a UNESCO-listed square.
Attraction
An ancient hilltop stupa west of central Kathmandu, painted with the eyes of the Buddha and known as the Monkey Temple for the troops living around…
Attraction
The largest stupa in the Kathmandu Valley, a centre of Tibetan Buddhist life ringed by monasteries, prayer wheels, guesthouses and restaurants east of the city.
Attraction
Nepal's most revered Hindu temple, a gilded pagoda to Shiva on the Bagmati River with cremation ghats, shrines and an evening aarti open to all.
Attraction
The Malla royal square of Patan, lined with stone and pagoda temples such as the Krishna Mandir and home to one of Nepal's finest museums.
Attraction
The former royal square of the Kingdom of Bhaktapur, 12 km east of Kathmandu, with the 55 Window Palace, the Golden Gate and the five-storey Nyatapola…
Café
A long-running Thamel bakery with a garden courtyard, known for fresh brown bread, croissants and its yak cheese sandwich, served to trekkers since the early 1980s.
Café
A family-run cake shop on Freak Street, open since 1965, where the hippie-era decor survives alongside chocolate cake, apple pie and lassis.
Café
Nepal's first specialty coffee shop, opened in 1999, now a national chain whose Thamel branch serves coffee grown on the company's own Himalayan farm.
Café
A garden cafe and bar beside the old Patan Dhoka gate, set in a converted Rana-era stable complex that also hosts lectures, films and music.
Café
An ethically run Lalitpur coffee company that brews single-origin Nepali Arabica from village farmers and turns its coffee waste into useful products.
Café
The Baneshwor branch of a local cafe chain founded in 1991, known for momos and comfort food served by hearing-impaired waiters.
Hotel
A family-run heritage hotel opened in 1972, built around courtyards of rescued Newari woodcarving and home to the Krishnarpan tasting-menu restaurant.
Hotel
A five-star hotel in Newar style on 37 acres near Boudhanath Stupa, with 280 rooms, an outdoor pool and stupa-view rooms.
Hotel
A five-star Durbar Marg hotel linked to the Rana-era Lal Durbar palace and the hotelier Boris Lissanevitch, about 1 km from Thamel.
Hotel
A four-star hotel in an 1894 neo-classical Rana palace in Lazimpat, with 94 rooms, a pool and over four acres of gardens.
Hotel
Thamel's original heritage guesthouse, open since 1968, with garden courtyards, an art museum on site and rooms from standard to apartments.
Hotel
An arts-focused hotel at the foot of Swayambhunath, with pagoda roofs, Tibetan frescoes, a library, gallery and gardens overlooking the valley.
Bar
A speakeasy-style cocktail bar in Tripureshwor and the first Nepali bar on Asia's 50 Best Bars list, known for drinks built on local fruit, spices and…
Bar
A Durbar Marg cocktail bar under a century-old banyan tree, with drinks by the Indian bartender Yangdup Lama and a Newari-inspired menu.
Bar
A Lazimpat cocktail bar that makes its own bitters and uses Nepali citrus, with a smoked Old Fashioned and clarified milk punch among its drinks.
Bar
Thamel's dedicated rock bar since 2011, hosting Nepali and international bands on a large stage several nights a week.
Bar
One of Thamel's oldest live music bars, with bands every night, a mixed crowd of locals and travellers, and seasonal cocktail menus.
Bar
Kathmandu's long-running jazz bar in Lazimpat, birthplace of the Jazzmandu festival, with live bands and momos above a former grocery store.
Restaurant
The Dwarika's Nepali fine-dining room, serving a seasonal multi-course tasting menu that travels across the country's regions with produce from the hotel's own farms.
Restaurant
One of Nepal's oldest fine-dining restaurants, founded by the hotelier Boris Lissanevitch and still known for its copper chimney, borscht and baked Alaska.
Restaurant
A Thamel institution since 1989, serving North Indian tandoori dishes, curries and Nepali food across a garden, dining rooms and a rooftop terrace.
Restaurant
A Neapolitan-run pizzeria that has opened every day since January 1995, known for its pizzas, homemade lasagne and Italian breakfast in Thamel.
Restaurant
A family-run Newari eatery in a narrow alley behind the Krishna Mandir in Patan, known for its baras cooked on an iron griddle and spicy chhoila.
Restaurant
A community-run Newari restaurant in Kirtipur where local women in traditional dress serve more than 50 Newari dishes on terraces looking towards Chandragiri.
Thing to do
Kathmandu's traveller quarter, a maze of narrow lanes packed with trekking shops, guesthouses, restaurants and live music bars just north of the old city.
Thing to do
An hour-long early morning sightseeing flight from Kathmandu along the Himalaya to Everest and back, with a guaranteed window seat for every passenger.
Thing to do
The old market squares of central Kathmandu on the former India to Tibet trade route, crowded with spice, grain, textile and bead sellers around small temples.
Thing to do
A hill station on the rim of the Kathmandu Valley, about 32 km from the capital, known for sunrise views across the Himalaya and hiking trails.
Thing to do
A cable car ride from the valley floor to Chandragiri hilltop at 2,551 metres, with a viewing tower, a Shiva temple and panoramic views of the…
Tour operator
A Kathmandu Valley tour company founded in 2002 to link tourism with social good, running market walks, cooking classes and a Swayambhu sunset walk.
Tour operator
A guided day on foot from Thamel through Asan and Kathmandu Durbar Square to Freak Street and Swayambhunath, run by a licensed Thamel trekking company.
Tour operator
A guided four to five-hour walk through Patan's family-run Newari eateries, from Honacha's bara to rice beer and yomari, run by Buddha Air's tour company.
Tour operator
A three-hour helicopter tour from Kathmandu into the Everest region, with a breakfast stop facing the mountains, run by a helicopter operator founded in 2001.
Tour operator
A Thamel-based adventure operator, travelling since 1996, whose one-day Kathmandu Valley bike tour climbs through forest and villages to 2,200 metres.
Three to four days covers Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Pashupatinath and a day in Patan or Bhaktapur. Add a night at Nagarkot or a morning mountain flight if you have more time.
Thamel is the most convenient base for first-time visitors and trekkers, Durbar Marg and Lazimpat suit those wanting larger hotels close to the centre, and Boudha offers a calmer stay beside the stupa.
Tribhuvan International Airport is about 6 km from the city centre. Taxis wait outside arrivals, and many hotels arrange pick-ups; allow extra time for traffic at busy hours.
It depends on your style of travel. Budget guesthouses and local eateries are inexpensive, while heritage hotels, fine dining and cocktail bars cost more. Foreign visitors pay entry fees at the main heritage sites.
Kathmandu is generally safe for visitors. Watch your belongings in crowded bazaars, take care with traffic in the narrow lanes of Thamel and the old city, and check your government's travel advice before you go.