Where to stay in Xi'an: the 5 neighborhoods to know in 2026
In Xi'an, the question comes down to one word: inside or outside. The Ming walls close a square of fourteen kilometres, and everything you visit on foot is within them: the Bell Tower, the grills of the Muslim Quarter, the Forest of Stelae. Outside lie the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and its illuminated square, the towers of the high-tech zone, and thirty-five kilometres to the east, the pits of the Terracotta Army.
For $6.80*, rarely more than $14*, you get a dorm bed; a well-rated chain wants $45*, at most $68*, for a room; the grand hotels, Sofitel, Westin or Shangri-La, sit between $113 and $230*. Five neighbourhoods, one of them outside the city to be at the pits when they open, each with its places and three hotels whose listing has been opened, plus the only member review of Xi'an, quoted exactly where it helps you choose.
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At a glance: our picks by traveller type
Pick the profile that suits you to head straight to the recommended neighborhood.
The neighborhood map in Xi'an
Get your bearings on the neighborhoods and must-see sights before choosing where to drop your bags. Click a name to jump to its description.
The Bell Tower and the Muslim Quarter Inside the walls, centre: Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Beiyuanmen, Great Mosque
for a first visit and street food until midnight
The four avenues of the old city cross beneath the Bell Tower, and the Drum Tower answers it two hundred metres away. Behind, Beiyuanmen opens the Muslim Quarter: lamb grills, roujiamo pressed into bread, walnuts and persimmon cakes, and a crowd that only thins out towards midnight. The Great Mosque hides at the end of Huajue Lane, behind the souvenir stalls, with its planted courtyards. You sleep at the metro's point zero: lines 1 and 2 cross under the tower. The downside: the noise goes on late, and a room on Beiyuanmen takes in the smoke of the grills until closing time.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Sofitel Legend People's Grand Hotel Xi'an Luxury
On Dongxin Street, inside the walls: the former People's Hotel, façades of Russian and French inspiration, high ceilings and mouldings, and the Bell Tower twenty minutes' walk away.
Center Hotel Xi'an Bell Tower Mid-range
At 619 East Avenue, a few steps from the Bell Tower: a front desk open all night, an airport shuttle, and a score above 9 on more than five hundred reviews.
Hantang Inn Hostel Xi'an Budget
In a traditional house seven minutes from Zhonglou station (line 2): dorms and rooms, a garden, a shared lounge, an evening event almost every day, and Beiyuanmen ten minutes away.
Pros
- The two towers, Beiyuanmen and the Great Mosque on foot
- Lines 1 and 2 under the tower, and the airport bus next door
Cons
- Noise until midnight around Beiyuanmen
- Ageing state hotels next to the new ones: read the reviews before booking
The South Gate, Shuyuanmen and Beilin Beilin district: Yongningmen, Shuyuanmen, Forest of Stelae, Small Pagoda
for climbing the walls when you wake up and sleeping in peace
The South Gate, Yongningmen, is the entrance to the walls where you rent a bicycle to ride around them: fourteen kilometres in two hours, tiled roofs on one side, glass towers on the other. Inside, Shuyuanmen street lines up sellers of brushes, ink and seals up to the Beilin Museum, the Forest of Stelae, where a thousand years of calligraphy can be read on stone. The hotels stand between the street and the wall, the hostels in courtyard houses. It is quieter than the Bell Tower, fifteen minutes' walk away. The downside: the street of brushes closes early, and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda is outside the walls, twenty minutes to the south.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Xi'an Eastern House Luxury
Inside the walls, five minutes from the South Gate: large Chinese-style rooms, a restaurant of local cuisine, a gym, and nearly two thousand reviews above 9.
Xi'an Dajing Castle Hotel Mid-range
Just outside the South Gate, two minutes from Yongningmen station (line 2): ask for a room facing the wall; two restaurants, a spa, and the Bell Tower a quarter of an hour on foot.
Shuyuan Youth Hostel Budget
In a courtyard house five minutes from Nan Dajie and the Shuyuanmen art market: dorms and rooms, a restaurant, a washing machine, and travellers to meet in the evening.
Pros
- The walls by bicycle as soon as they open, from the South Gate
- Shuyuanmen and the Forest of Stelae on foot, away from the grills
Cons
- The evening ends early, away from Nan Dajie avenue
- The hostels in courtyard houses have small rooms
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Qujiang Yanta district: Dayanta, Datang Buyecheng, Xiaozhai, Tang Paradise
for the illuminated pagoda, the Shaanxi museum and new hotels
Four kilometres south of the walls, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda raises its seven storeys of brick in the middle of Da Ci'en temple, and in the evening the north square makes its fountains dance to music. To the south, the pedestrian avenue of Datang Buyecheng lights up with lanterns, performers in Tang costume and queues for photos; beyond, Tang Paradise park and the Qujiang aquarium keep families busy. To the west, the Shaanxi History Museum, free with a reservation, closes on Mondays. The hotels are recent, and line 2, from Xiaozhai, reaches the Bell Tower in ten minutes. The downside: the neighbourhood lives for visitors, and the square never empties at weekends.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
The Westin Xi'an Luxury
Two hundred metres from the pagoda: an indoor pool, a private museum of two thousand pieces inside the hotel, and the temple's shopping street at the foot of the entrance.
Orange Crystal Hotel Big Wild Goose Pagoda Mid-range
On the Datang Buyecheng side, thirteen minutes' walk from the pagoda: soundproofed rooms, a garden and a terrace, a buffet breakfast, and the Shaanxi museum two kilometres away.
Jinjiang Inn Xi'an Giant Wild Goose Pagoda Budget
On Xiying Road, a quarter of an hour's walk from the pagoda: a clean, no-surprise budget chain, a front desk open all night, a kettle in the room, and a restaurant on the ground floor.
Pros
- The pagoda, the fountains and the avenue of lanterns on foot in the evening
- New hotels, and the Shaanxi museum one station away
Cons
- Nothing old outside the temple: a neighbourhood rebuilt for visitors
- The walls and the Muslim Quarter are twenty minutes away by metro
Gaoxin, the high-tech zone South-west of the walls: Keji Road, Tangyan Road, Boshi Road, Xidian campus
for a work trip or a grand hotel at a sensible price
South-west of the walls, Gaoxin is the city of offices: glass towers along Keji Road, the campuses of Xidian and the Northwestern Polytechnical University, shopping malls, and restaurants full at noon, empty at ten at night. The international chains have set their hotels here, a notch cheaper than inside the walls, with parking and meeting rooms. Line 3 stops at Keji Road and takes you to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in a quarter of an hour; the Bell Tower is half an hour away, by metro with one change or by taxi. The downside: nothing to see on foot, and the evening is spent at the hotel.
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Shangri-La Xi'an Luxury
At 38B Keji Road: four restaurants, a heated indoor pool, a spa, a gym open day and night, and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in fifteen minutes on line 3.
Hilton Garden Inn Xi'an High-Tech Zone Mid-range
On Boshi Road, against the Sunshine City shopping mall: a breakfast buffet, a bar, a gym, free parking, and nine meeting rooms if that is what you came for.
Holiday Inn Express Xi'an High-Tech Zone Budget
Ten minutes' walk from the Greenland Pico convention centre: more than two hundred simple rooms with a kettle and a fridge, a buffet breakfast, and free parking.
Pros
- The international chains cheaper than inside the walls, with parking
- Line 3 to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in a quarter of an hour
Cons
- No monument on foot: everything is thirty minutes away
- Office streets, deserted in the evening
Lintong and the Terracotta Army Lintong district, 35 km to the east: the army's pits, the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Huaqing Palace
for being at the pits when they open and sleeping by the hot springs
The pits of the Terracotta Army are thirty-five kilometres east of the walls, at the foot of Mount Li, and the coaches from Xi'an unload their groups from ten o'clock. Sleeping in Lintong means walking into Pit 1 at half past eight with the guards, then taking the shuttle to the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang while the crowd arrives. Huaqing Palace, its Tang pools and its evening show in the warm season, is in the same small town, and metro line 9 links Huaqingchi to the city in an hour, with a change at Fangzhicheng. The downside: Lintong is a small provincial town, with no street to stroll in the evening, and most hotels cater to groups.
Heads up, it is pretty far from the center of Xi'an. Between the round trip and the visit, expect to dedicate a full day to it if you go with an organized tour group.
What to see & do in the neighborhood
Where to stay in this neighborhood
Angsana Xi'an Lintong Luxury
Five minutes by car from Huaqing Palace and a quarter of an hour from the pits: Tang décor, spring-water baths inside the hotel, and a calm the big city does not know.
Campanile Xi'an Lintong Mid-range
Twelve minutes' walk from Huaqing Palace and one metro station away: recent chain rooms, and the pits eight kilometres away by taxi or bus.
ibis Xi'an Lintong Huaqing Hot Spring Budget
Between the mausoleum and the pits, five kilometres from the entrance: a restaurant, a bar, free parking, and ibis rooms that hold no surprises.
Pros
- The pits at opening time, before the coaches from Xi'an
- The Huaqing hot springs and their show, a stone's throw from the hotel
Cons
- A small town with no evening out: you dine at the hotel
- An hour by metro or bus for everything that is in Xi'an
Our tips for booking the right place
- The warriors without the coach: From the city, metro line 9 takes you to Huaqingchi in an hour, with a change at Fangzhicheng; from there, a bus or a taxi does the rest in a quarter of an hour. Tourist bus 5, the 306, leaves from the east square of Xi'an railway station. On site, many start with Pit 1: take Pits 2 and 3 first, then come back to the big one when the groups are leaving it.
- The walls, by bicycle or on foot: The South Gate is the entrance where bicycle rentals are most numerous: the full loop is fourteen kilometres, allow two hours with stops, and a tandem can be shared. The paving shakes, check the brakes before setting off. In the late afternoon, the light grazes the battlements and the rampart walk empties.
- The Shaanxi museum must be reserved: Entry is free, but by online reservation a few days ahead, with your passport, and the museum closes on Mondays. Groups arrive as soon as it opens: aim for early afternoon. Without a reservation, you stay outside.
- The weeks when everything doubles: The first week of October and that of Chinese New Year overflow the pits and double the rates. Summer is heavy, winter cold with thick air; April, May, September and October outside the holidays give the clearest sky, with hotels that book up three weeks ahead.
- Paying by QR code: Install Alipay before you leave, with your bank card: the stalls of Beiyuanmen, the metro and the taxis are paid by scanning a code, and hundred-yuan notes are getting rare at the tills. Keep a little cash all the same for the small traders.
- A hotel near Xi'an North station, the one for the fast trains, to leave early: it is half an hour by metro from everything, in a district of offices and building sites.
- A room on Beiyuanmen or in its lanes if you go to bed early: the grills do not go out before midnight.
- A hotel near Xianyang airport for an early flight: you are fifty minutes from everything, and the metro runs from six in the morning.
FAQ: where to stay in Xi'an
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