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Banda Aceh is the capital and largest city in the Indonesian province of Aceh. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of. The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 people at the 2010 census, rising to 252,899 at the 2020 census. The official estimate as of 2025 was 267,962 (comprising 134,451 males and 133,511 females).

Banda Aceh is located on the northwestern tip of Indonesia at the mouth of the Aceh River. It is a semi-enclave within Aceh Besar Regency, as Banda Aceh is surrounded by Aceh Besar to the south, east, and west, while it borders with the Andaman Sea to the northwest. Many suburbs of the city have developed in adjacent districts of Acah Besar Regency beyond the city limits.

The city was originally established as Bandar Aceh Darussalam and served as the capital and hub for the Sultanate of Aceh upon its foundation in the late 15th century. Later its name was changed to Bandar Aceh Darussalam, and thereafter became popularly known as Banda Aceh. The first part of the name comes from the Persian meaning "port" or "haven". The city is also dubbed the "port to Mecca," or the "porch of Mecca" in reference to the days when hajj pilgrims travelled by sea from Indonesia and would make a stopover in the city before continuing their journey to Mecca.

Banda Aceh was long at the center of protracted conflicts between the Acehnese and foreign powers, including the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Japanese, and the Indonesian government. The city rose to international prominence in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which struck off the western coast of Sumatra. Banda Aceh was the closest major city to the earthquake's epicenter, which lay off the coast. It suffered great damage in the earthquake and further damage when a tsunami struck shortly afterwards. Around 60,000 people in the city died as a result and many more were injured.

Banda Aceh, situated at the tip of Sumatra, has long been a strategic transportation and trading hub in the eastern Indian Ocean. Its first mention in western accounts comes from 1292 when Marco Polo and his expedition visited the city, referred to as "Lambri" from Lamuri Kingdom which previously existed there and noted as the logical first port of call for travellers from Arabia and India to Indonesia. Ibn Battuta also reported visiting the city in the mid-14th century when under the control of the trading kingdom of Samudera Pasai, the then-dominant entity in northern Sumatra. However the Pasai began to collapse under pressure from declining economic conditions and the Portuguese, who occupied much of the area after occupying Malacca in the early 16th century. Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah, ruler of the newly founded Sultanate of Aceh, aggressively expanded in the area in the 1520s and established sultanate was built on the remains of the Pasai and other extinct kingdoms in the area, and made Banda Aceh the capital, naming it for himself as Kutaraja or 'City of the King'.Koetaradja (Banda Aceh) old map A train station in Koetaradja (Banda Aceh) After a long period of rule by the sultanate, Aceh began to come into conflict with the Dutch and the British in the second half of the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, the territory of Aceh in the Malay Peninsula, namely Kedah and Pulau Pinang, were seized by the British. In 1871, the Dutch began to threaten Aceh, and on 26 March 1873, the Dutch formally declared war on Aceh. The Dutch bombarded the capital in that year and sought to capture the sultan's palace in the city to bring about a capitulation of the Acehnese. Significant support from the British in the region led the modernization and fortification of the city, and while coastal areas were lost the Dutch underestimated the city's defenses. The Dutch expedition commander General Johan Köhler was killed in a skirmish around the city, leading to the failure of the first expedition. A second expedition was mounted by the Dutch within months and was successful in overwhelming the city. The Dutch moved into the capital in January 1874 believing the Acehnese to have surrendered; however, the conflict moved into the countryside, and the Acehnese continued to actively oppose Dutch rule. Banda Aceh aerial view after the tsunami disaster, 2004 After it entered the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on 28 December 1962, the name of the city was changed back to Banda Aceh by the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy on 9 May 1963.

On 26 December 2004, the city was hit by a tsunami caused by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The disaster killed 167,000 inhabitants and destroyed more than 60% of the city's buildings. Based on the statistical data issued by the City Government of Banda Aceh, Banda Aceh had 248,727 inhabitants in May 2012, while the Indonesian national census of 2020 showed a population of 252,899. The official estimate as of mid-2025 was 267,962.

On 27 December 2023, hundreds of students from various universities in Aceh, such as: Abulyatama University, Bina Bangsa Getsempena University, and University of Muhammadiyah Aceh, stormed a shelter for Rohingya refugees and forced them out of a convention centre in the city of Banda Aceh, demanding they be deported. The students also seen kicking the belongings of the Rohingya men, women, and children who seated on the floor and crying in fear. They burned tyres and chanting "Kick them out" and "Reject Rohingya in Aceh".

Banda Aceh features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification, with near-constant average temperatures. The city's annual average temperature is. However, the city features wetter and drier seasons, with summer (June through August) being the driest season of the year. Both the hottest and coldest temperatures are recorded during summer. Late fall and early winter (October to December) is the rainiest time in Banda Aceh. Like other cities with a tropical rainforest climate, Banda Aceh does not have a true dry season, with the driest month averaging of precipitation. On average, the city experiences a little less than of precipitation annually.