Kathmandu's ancient old city is set around the Durbar Square at Basantapur, south of Thamel, where the royal family lived until the 19th century. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. In addition to the Royal Palace, Hanuman Dhoka, there are many Hindu and Buddhist temples dating as far back as the 12th century. Sadly, in 2015, a devastating earthquake destroyed most of the southern section of temples and badly damaged other buildings, including the palace.

A combination of poor upkeep, ongoing restoration works, and the price of tickets (1,000 rupees per person for foreigners) have discouraged many tourists from entering the Durbar Square. However, there are two more elaborate and historically important Durbar Squares located nearby in the Kathmandu Valley, at Patan (500 rupees for foreigners) and Bhaktapur (1,500 rupees for foreigners). These attractions represent a much better value for money and are definitely worth seeing, although the earthquake unfortunately did cause significant damage to both. Numerous companies offer private tours, such as this Patan and Bhaktapur Day Trip from Breakfree Adventures.

Kathmandu's Thamel tourist district can be crowded and frenetic at times but still manages to retain an old-world feel, perpetuated by the rows of Tibetan prayer flags and cycle rickshaws that trundle by.

The streets of this lively area are lined with shops overflowing with brightly colored clothing, jewelry, paper lanterns, thangka paintings, wood carvings, bronze statues, music, and books. Bargain hard to get a good price—aim to pay only a third or half of the original quoted price—as shopkeepers can be ruthless. Need some assistance? Backstreet Academy offers this popular Kathmandu shopping tour.

Nepal's most sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Pashupatinath Temple draws devotees from the Indian subcontinent along with a motley collection of painted sadhus (Hindu ascetics). Most of the sadhus are friendly and happy to be photographed for a small fee, in return for which they'll give a blessing. Ancient Hindu rituals, astonishing and unchanged by time, are practiced inside the temple complex. Enter and you'll get an uncensored (and confronting) perspective of life, death, and reincarnation, including the open-air cremation of bodies on funeral pyres along the river bank.

Tickets cost 1,000 rupees for foreigners. While the main temple is off-limits to anyone who's not Hindu, you can wander about the rest of the vast grounds. If you don't want to pay to go in, you can still get a decent view from the opposite side of the river. The most interesting time to visit is early in the morning between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. to see the cremations, or in the evening after 6 p.m. to see the aarti (worship with fire). Note that the temple is closed from noon until 5 p.m. daily.

The Garden of Dreams, a neo classical historical garden, is situated in the midst of Kathmandu city. The Garden was famous as the garden of Six Seasons which was created by late Field Marshal Kaiser Sumsher Rana (1892-1964) in early 1920. After the completion of this Garden, it was considered as one of the most sophisticated private gardens of that time. However, it was a private garden of Kaiser Sumsher, it was beautifully designed inspired by the famous Edwardian style. Kishore Narshingh, a prominent architect who designed and constructed Singha Durbar in 1907, designed and supervised the construction of the Garden of Dreams.

Within the Garden walls, Kaiser Sumsher created an exquisite ensemble of pavillions, fountains, decorative garden furnitures and European inspired features such as varandas, pergolas, blustrades, urns and birdhouses. He erected six impressive pavillions, each dedicated to one of the six seasons of Nepal. These pavillions provided the Garden’s architectural framework and lent a cosmopolitan flavor to the formal arrangement of flowers, shrubs and trees. Today, only half of the original garden is in existence.

About 30 minutes ride from Romeo's 72, Shivapuri National Park is located along the northern edge of the valley, offering more than 61 square miles of nothing but nature. Home to many rhododendrons, pine and oak trees, Himalayan black bears, rhesus monkeys, leopards, 177 species of birds, 102 types of butterflies, and 129 kinds of mushrooms, the former watershed and wildlife reserve became Nepal's ninth national park in 2002 and is now a popular place for trekking.