Hilversum is located on the sandy, hilly parts of the Gooi region and has four hills: the Boomberg (closest to the town center); the Trompenberg (now a luxury residential area), the Hoorneboeg (farther to the south), and two kilometers east of there, the Zwaluwenberg (25 m), home to the headquarters of the inspector-general of the armies since 1950.

The surrounding towns of Hilversum are Nieuw-Loosdrecht, Bussum, Kortenhoef, Blaricum, Hollandsche Rading, Lage Vuursche, Maartensdijk, 's-Graveland, Laren, Nederhorst den Berg, and Ankeveen.

Hilversum consists of the following districts and neighborhoods: Center (Langgewenstbuurt, Sint Vitusbuurt, Havenstraatbuurt, and Centrum), Northwest (Nimrodpark, Trompenberg North, Trompenberg South, Media Park, Raadhuiskwartier, and Boomberg), Northeast (North, Johannes Geradtswegbuurt, Erfgooiersbuurt, and AZC Crailo), East (Geuzenbuurt, Electrobuurt, Astronomiebuurt, Science neighborhood, Kamrad, Kleine Driftbuurt and Liebergen), Southeast (Bloemkwartier Noord, Bloemenkwartier Zuid, Schilderskwartier, 't Hoogt van' t Kruis, Arenaparkkwartier and West Indiëkwartier), Zuid (Schrijverskwartier, Staatsliedenkwartier and Zeeheldenkwartier), Southwest (Kerkelanden, Havenkwartier, Zeverijn and Het Rode Dorp) and Hilversumse Meent.

Artifacts from this prehistoric civilization bear similarities to the Wessex Culture of southern Britain and may indicate that the first Hilversum residents emigrated from that area.

[8] The first brick settlements formed around 900, but it was not until 1305 that the first official mention of Hilversum ("Hilfersheem" from "Hilvertshem" meaning "houses between the hills") was found.

Farming, raising sheep, and wool manufacturing were the main sources of income for inhabitants of the Gooi region in the Middle Ages.

From that time onward the town grew quickly with wealthy commuters from Amsterdam moving in, building themselves large villas in the wooded surroundings, and gradually starting to live in Hilversum permanently.

For the 1928 Summer Olympics in neighboring Amsterdam, it hosted all of the non-jumping equestrian and the running part of the modern pentathlon event.

[9] The Nederlandse Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF) company established a professional transmitter and radio factory in Hilversum in the early 1920s, growing into the largest of its kind in the Netherlands.

Some 50 Hilversummers were awarded the title of Righteous among the nations from Yad Vashem, including Victor Kugler, one of Anne Frank's helpers.

Several factors other than the slump in manufacturing contributed to this decline: one is the reduction in average family size, with fewer people living in each house; second, the town is virtually unable to expand because much surrounding land was sold by city architect W.M.

Dudok to the Goois Natuurreservaat (nl); third, the rapid increase in property values forced many people to move to less expensive areas in the Netherlands.

Several notable architectural accomplishments include the Institute for Sound and Vision,[10] and Zanderij Crailoo (nl), the largest man-made wildlife crossing in the world.

The nearby Media Park was the scene of the 2002 assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn; in 2015, a gunman carrying a false pistol stormed into Nederlandse Omroep Stichting's headquarters, demanding airtime on the evening news.

In 2020 the international television event Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light was broadcast from Studio 21 in Hilversum's Media Park.

In 2018, major road works started to make room for a new BRT bus lane from Hilversum to Huizen, set to open in early 2021.

Originally a part of Leefbaar Hilversum, it separated to form a party called DLPH, which won 1 seat in the 2006 elections.