Cities
Beijing in 4 days: a first-timer's itinerary (with booking tips)
The Forbidden City, the Great Wall at Mutianyu, the Temple of Heaven, and the hutongs, in a realistic 4-day plan, plus the tickets you must book a week ahead.
Four days is enough to see Beijing’s essentials without rushing. The catch: Beijing’s top sights need advance booking with your passport, and the most popular sell out. Sort out the tickets below before anything else.
Book these first
| What | When to book | How |
|---|---|---|
| Forbidden City (Palace Museum) | Tickets release 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time and can sell out within minutes in peak season | Official site or the Palace Museum mini-program in WeChat, with your passport. The official site may not accept foreign cards, so pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay, or book through an agent such as Klook |
| Mutianyu Great Wall | Up to a couple of weeks ahead | Real-name booking with your passport; cable car or chairlift booked separately |
| Tiananmen Square | 1 to 7 days ahead | Free, but you can’t enter without a reservation in your passport’s name. The official booking (a WeChat mini-program) is built around Chinese phone numbers, so most visitors book through an agent such as GetYourGuide |
Bring the same passport you booked with. It’s your ticket at the gate. The Forbidden City is closed on Mondays (except some public holidays), so plan around it.
Day 1: Tiananmen, the Forbidden City, and Jingshan Park
- Morning: Tiananmen Square, then enter the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate (Wumen). Allow at least three hours. You enter from the south and exit at the north gate.
- Late afternoon: cross the road from the north exit to Jingshan Park and climb the hill for the classic view over the palace roofs. It’s best close to sunset.
- Evening: Peking duck. Book a table for the evening, since well-known duck restaurants fill up.
Day 2: the Great Wall at Mutianyu
Mutianyu is about 70 km from central Beijing, around 1.5 to 2 hours each way. It’s less crowded than Badaling, restored but not overdone, with views across forested hills.
- Getting there: the simplest option is a day tour or private transfer. On a budget, a tourist bus leaves from near Qianmen in the morning; it’s booked through a Chinese mini-program, so allow time to set it up.
- On site: a shuttle bus runs from the visitor centre to the foot of the wall. Take the cable car up and, for fun, the toboggan down. Recent prices: admission ¥40, shuttle ¥15 return, cable car ¥100 one way or ¥140 return.
- Bring water, sunscreen, and good shoes: the wall is steep in places.
Day 3: the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace
- Morning: the Temple of Heaven. Go early to see locals practising tai chi, dancing, and playing cards in the park.
- Afternoon: take the metro to the Summer Palace, an imperial garden around Kunming Lake. Walk the Long Corridor, then take a boat across the lake.
Day 4: hutongs and the Lama Temple
- Morning: the Lama Temple (Yonghegong), Beijing’s most important Tibetan Buddhist temple.
- Afternoon: walk the hutongs (old alleys) around Nanluoguxiang, Houhai Lake, and the Drum and Bell Towers. Rent a bike, or take a rickshaw tour.
- Evening: dinner by Houhai Lake, or a Beijing opera or acrobatics show.
Where to stay
Stay in Dongcheng: near Wangfujing for convenience and metro links, or in a courtyard hotel in the hutongs for atmosphere. Make sure your hotel accepts foreign guests. Compare prices on Trip.com or Agoda.
Getting around Beijing
The metro is fast, cheap, and signposted in English. Pay by scanning a QR code in Alipay. For longer hops, use DiDi. Beijing is also the end of the high-speed line from Shanghai: see our train guide.
