1. Forbidden City

You need to book tickets at least one day in advance, either on booking.com or through official platforms. Tickets cannot be purchased on the day of your visit at the entrance.
Visiting the Forbidden City (故宫, FC) can be combined with a south-to-north tour, starting at the Temple of Heaven, passing through the FC, and ending at Houhai. The recommended route is: Temple of Heaven → Sanlihe Park → Tiananmen → FC → Jingshan Park → Houhai. The journey is detailed below.

The FC is located in the heart of Beijing. We recommend planning at least two hours for your visit, as the site is very large and it can take time to enter and exit, especially on busy days. The safest way to enter the FC is through Tiananmen Square (天安门广场), which requires a separate ticket to be booked in advance. At Tiananmen Square, you also have the opportunity to visit the Mausoleum of Mao (毛主席纪念堂), which also requires a separate advance ticket. English-speaking tour guides can be booked in advance.

Just south of the Forbidden City lies the Temple of Heaven (天坛公园), which offers a lush park area, many squirrels, and impressive temples for prayers of good harvest. It’s great for a walk.

The distance between the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City is about 10 minutes by rental bike or 30 minutes on foot. The route takes you through the scenic Sanlihe Park (三里河公园), an oasis of peace amid Beijing’s hectic traffic, and brings you right in front of Zhengyangmen (正阳门), where you’ll find an entrance to Tiananmen.

After leaving the FC through the North Gate, you have several options. You can hike up Jingshan Park (景山公园), which was constructed during the Ming Dynasty with earth from the FC moat and nearby canals. It offers a beautiful view over the FC and its surroundings.

Further north are Houhai (后海) and Qianhai (前海). At the narrow point where the two lakes meet, you’ll find plenty of live music, food stalls, and entertainment to enjoy throughout the night. During the day, you can rent pedal boats for a tour on the lakes. It’s recommended to take the bus to reach the lakes, as rental bikes are not allowed around the FC.

2. Great Wall

The Great Wall is in the outskirts of Beijing; it is about 50–100 km outside the city center, depending on which section you choose to visit. You will need to book a bus tour or arrange individual transport to get to and from the site.

The Great Wall offers 22,000,000 meters of more or less well-preserved and partly renovated masonry. Each section of the Great Wall has its own advantages.

Some sections offer rides, amusements, and tourist attractions; these parts are renovated and no longer have the original stones. However, they are very scenic for photos and safe to hike:

• Badaling (八达岭长城) (the closest and most touristic)

• Mutianyu (慕田峪长城) (features a summer toboggan run from the wall to the village)

• Huanghuacheng (黄花城长城) (offers boat tours on the lake)

Some sections remain authentic and offer a walk through nature. However, it can be more challenging to find the correct path and return to the car park, so a guide is recommended for these trips:

• Jiankou (箭扣长城) (includes short sections of climbing)

3. Summer Palace

The Summer Palace (颐和园) is located in the north of Beijing, on the Haidian side of the city. It is conveniently situated next to the Old Summer Palace (圆明园遗址公园), which still shows the ruins from the French and British destruction in the 19th century. Combined, the new and old Summer Palaces offer an area of 6,400,000 sqm of lakes, parks, flowers, and nature-enough for a full day outdoors. You will need separate tickets for each park. To travel from the gate of one park to the other, we recommend rental bikes or a Didi taxi booked through your Alipay app.

4. Liangma River Walk

The East of Beijing is characterized by modern buildings and buzzing nightlife, but it also holds valuable green spaces. One such area is the Liangma River. The riverbank has been beautifully renovated, showcasing modern Chinese design. Walking from the start of the river in the Center of Beijing to Chaoyang Park in the east takes around two hours.

You can explore the Liangma River in any way you like; there are plenty of bars and restaurants along the way. A good place to start is around Liangma Bridge (亮马桥), which is centrally located and allows you to head in any direction, including smaller canals such as the Liangma Guanqu. You can reach Liangma Bridge by Didi or subway line 10.

Alternatively, you can start at the west side of the river at Xianghe Park (香河园), which is accessible via line 17 or Didi, or at the east side at Chaoyang Park, which is accessible via line 14. Exiting at Chaoyang Park, you can either take a rental bike or a Didi directly to the river, or explore the park first, which takes about one hour to reach the river.

5. Chaoyang City

Chaoyang District in the east of Beijing is famous for its modern buildings.
A great spot for evening views of the CCTV building is Blue Frog in the China World Mall on the sixth floor (国货商城), with a cocktail bar on the seventh floor above Blue Frog. Take metro line 10 or Didi to the China World Mall station (国货地铁站) and ask for Blue Frog. The mall offers excellent restaurants and cocktail bars for dinner and drinks, with a view of the illuminated CCTV building at night.

Within walking distance of the CCTV tower is the Sanlitun (三里屯) shopping district. You can reach it from the CCTV tower (or vice versa) via line 10 to Tuanjiehu (团结湖) station, by rental bike, or by Didi. Sanlitun is home to the most famous nightclubs, Martini and Bacardi (百加得音乐), with a dance floor and rooftop bar for a lively night out in Beijing.

6. Hutongs

You haven’t seen Beijing until you have strolled through its beautiful hutongs (traditional Chinese single-story residences, often with public toilets on the street). The hutongs are widespread across Beijing and can be found in many alleys. Some particularly charming ones are located between the Lama Temple (雍和宫) and Houhai (后海). Be ready to explore by a mix of walking and rental bike for a true taste of the city.

During a hutong tour, you can take a pedicab and ride through the alleys to learn about the architectural styles of China’s past. If you’re interested, you can even dress up in Qing Dynasty costumes and take photos as a memorable souvenir.