The historic city of Patan, also know as Lalitpur, the City of Fine Arts, is rich in culture and crafts carrying a history of more than 2000 years. However, due to lack of awareness and inadequate resources for proper city management, the city has not been able to preserve and promote her vast cultural and architectural heritage. Despite being next to the Capital city, Kathmandu, Patan is only a half-day excursion for most tourists visiting Nepal. Patan still retains most of its original urban structure and people that has been lost in most big cities that a visitor can experience just walking along the many winding alleys savouring the hidden delights of an authentic medieval town. In this backdrop, Patan Tourism Development Organisation (PTDO) was established on September 25, 1995 by a group of enthusiastic local residents with the objective to conserve and promote this city in Nepal and worldwide. Organisation that started with limited resources and loaded with love for one's hometown has successfully implemented several projects for the conservation and promotion of this city and formed partnerships with many national and international organizations. Incidentally, the inception day of PTDO is also the World Tourism Day that this organization has been celebrating every year with various events.

Lalitpur "The City of Fine Arts" is a beautiful medieval city located some eight kilometers south of central Kathmandu, the capital, and is situated on a plateau across the Bagmati River. This city is best known for its fine tradition of art & crafts and rich cultural heritage. Popularly known as Patan, this city is also known by different names in ancient times such as Yupagrama, Yala, Lalitpattan, Lalitpuri and Maninggala. The city spreads over 16 sq. kilometers and divides into 22 Municipal wards and is inhabited by roughly 165,000 people. A substantial portion of the population is engaged in various trades, especially in traditional handicrafts and small scale cottage industries and the rest are busy in agriculture. The most famous Newar artists and master craftsmen, like Arniko, Abhay Raj and Siddhi Raj, were all born in Lalitpur. The city is said to be designed in the shape of the Buddhist Dharma-Chakra (Wheel of Righteousness). There are four 'thurs' or mounds located on the perimeter of Patan, one at each cardinal point and are popularly known as the Ashoka Stupas. Legend is that Ashoka, Mauryan Emperor of India, visited Kathmandu in 250 B.C with his daughter Charumati and erected these Stupas. There are more than 1,200 Buddhist monasteries (Bahal, Bahi) and monuments of various shapes and sizes scattered in and around the city. The most important monument of the city is the medieval palace complex, Patan Durbar Square, enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of seven Monument Zones that make up the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site.

Lalitpur is believed to have been founded in the third century B.C. by the Kirat dynasty and later expanded by Lichhavis in the sixth century. It was further expanded and developed by the Mallas during the medieval period and city that we see today is mostly from this period. Lalitpur is said to have been founded by King Veer Deva in 299 A. D. but, there is unanimity among scholars that Patan was a well established and developed town since ancient times. Several historical records including many other legends also indicate that Patan is the oldest of all the cities of Kathmandu Valley. According to a very old Kirat chronicle, Patan was founded by Kirat rulers long before the Lichhavi rulers came into the political scene in Kathmandu Valley. According to it the earliest known capital of Kirat rulers was Thankot in Kathmandu. The present capital was most possibly removed from Thankot to Patan after the Kirati King Yalamber came into power sometimes around second century A. D. It is interesting to note that one of the most used and typical Newar name of Patan is Yala. It is said that King Yalamber named this city after himself and ever since this ancient city has been known as Yala.

Lalitpur is famous for its diverse cultural heritage. It is considered as one of the living cities, where all ethnic communities belonging to both Hinduism and Buddhism have embraced each other in harmony. It is also famous for its narrow streets and alleys, lined by traditional buildings and vernacular architecture, Hindu and Buddhist monuments like bahals, bahis, temples, chaityas, stupas, patis, aganchhen etc. Unique stone water conduits, which are components of traditional water supply system, are other example of Patan's rich cultural heritage. Newars, the indigenous inhabitants of Patan, have their own unique culture and traditions which is also recognized as a cultural resource of the world after inscription in the World Heritage List by UNESCO. One of Patan’s biggest festival, the Machhendra nath jatra, a unique chariot festival celebrated for a month in May-June is also being nominated in the UNESCO Worls Heritage List as an intangible heritage.