Seven hundred years as a capital left Beijing with the country's densest concentration of headline sights: the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace inside the city, the Great Wall an hour out. Match the palaces with a hutong wander and Peking duck, and it earns every one of its three or four days.
3–4 dayssuggested stay
Sep–Nov · Mar–Aprbest seasons
6must-see sights
Nov 2026prices re-checked
Must-see sights
Tickets below are the official standard adult prices at the time of checking. Real-name booking means your passport is the ticket — book under your exact passport name and carry the booklet itself. Prices checked Nov 1, 2026 — operators change them without notice, always confirm on the official site before paying.
Forbidden City (Palace Museum)
故宫
The world's largest palace complex — 24 emperors, 9,000+ rooms, 600 years of history. Buy the cheap Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery add-ons when you book; they sell out with the main ticket.
Time needed3–4 h
Ticket¥60 peak (Apr–Oct) · ¥40 off-season · Treasure/Clock galleries ¥10 each. No same-day tickets.
Tip — Foreign passports book on the official English site intl.dpm.org.cn. Tickets open 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time and vanish in minutes at peak. Closed Mondays (except public holidays).
Great Wall — Mutianyu & Badaling
慕田峪长城 / 八达岭长城
Badaling is the restored, famous, busiest stretch, 70 minutes from the city. Mutianyu is greener and calmer, with a cable car up and a toboggan down — the better pick for most first-timers.
Time neededHalf day
TicketBadaling ¥40 peak / ¥35 off-season · Mutianyu ¥45 + shuttle ¥15 + cable car ¥100–140 (one way).
Tip — Both use real-name booking with your passport — Badaling opens tickets about 10 days ahead, one ticket per passport per day. Never buy a "no-queue" ticket from touts at the station.
Temple of Heaven
天坛
Where Ming and Qing emperors prayed for harvests, inside a park where locals still practise taiji and calligraphy at dawn. Go early and you get both.
Time needed2 h
TicketPark ¥15 peak / ¥10 off-season · through ticket ¥34 / ¥28.
Tip — Open from 06:30; the main halls open 08:00. Combine with a walk through Qianmen's restored streets afterwards.
Summer Palace
颐和园
A lakeside imperial retreat on Beijing's north-west edge: a 700-metre painted Long Corridor, Kunming Lake and the marble boat. Rent a paddle boat in summer, watch the lake freeze in winter.
Time needed2–3 h
TicketGate ¥30 peak / ¥20 off-season · through ticket ¥60 / ¥50.
Tip — Reachable by metro (Beigongmen station). Staffed phone line with English service, 08:30–17:00: +86 10 62881144.
Jingshan Park & hutongs
景山公园 · 胡同
The hill behind the Forbidden City gives the classic bird's-eye photo of golden rooftops. Then lose the map in the Nanluoguxiang and Shichahai hutongs — courtyards, lakeside bars, rickshaws.
Time needed2–3 h
TicketJingshan ¥2 — the best two yuan in Beijing. Hutongs free.
Tip — Time your Jingshan visit for the last hour of daylight; the Forbidden City shot is best then.
National Museum of China
中国国家博物馆
One of the largest museums on earth, free to enter — the bronze, jade and currency galleries alone justify a morning.
Time needed2–3 h
TicketFree, but a timed reservation is required — there is no walk-in entry.
Tip — Passport reservations open on the official mini-program and website; slots for the same day disappear by mid-morning.
A working itinerary
- Day 1 — Forbidden City in the morning (arrive for opening), Jingshan Park for the rooftop view at dusk, hutong dinner near Shichahai.
- Day 2 — Great Wall day trip — Mutianyu with the toboggan down, Peking duck in the evening.
- Day 3 — Temple of Heaven early, Qianmen and Tian'anmen Square (free, but a reservation is required for the square itself), National Museum in the afternoon.
- Day 4 — Summer Palace, then the 798 art district or Olympic Park on the way back.
When to go
| Period | What to expect |
|---|
| Sep – Nov | The best window: clear skies, autumn colour, manageable heat. |
| Mar – Apr | Second best. Spring arrives late — early April can still be brisk. |
| Jun – Aug | Hot, humid, peak domestic tourism. Book everything further ahead. |
| Dec – Feb | Freezing but often brilliantly clear, and crowds thin. Wall trips are brisk. |
Getting there & away
Nonstop from most continents into Capital Airport (PEK) or Daxing (PKX). Beijing South is the high-speed rail hub — Shanghai in 4.5 h, Xi'an in 4.5 h, Harbin in 5 h.
What to eat
- Peking duck — Book the famous houses ahead; a whole duck for two starts around ¥300.
- Zhajiang noodles — Hand-pulled noodles with fermented soybean paste — cheap, fast, everywhere.
- Hutong snacks — Jianbing crepes, tanghulu candied fruit, roasted chestnuts from street carts.
Watch out for
- Monday closures: the Forbidden City, National Museum and most galleries shut every Monday (except national holidays).
- The Forbidden City sells zero same-day tickets — "on-site availability" offers at the gate are touts.
- Allow 30–60 min for security queues around Tian'anmen; your Forbidden City ticket lets you use the dedicated entrance.
- Taxis: insist on the meter or use a ride app; unlicensed cars tout outside stations.
Pair it with
Every city guide follows the same structure — jump between cities freely, or start from the full destinations overview.