Patan, officially Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, is one of the three major cities in the Kathmandu Valley, only five kilometers from Katmandu. It covers an area of 385 square kilometers, has 22 districts, and a population of 470,000. Patan’s urbanization rate is lower than that of Katmandu, but it still has plenty of shops, craft and art workshops, restaurants, hotels, schools, embassies, and other important institutions.