A realistic day-by-day itinerary covering the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Beijing's old neighbourhoods.
5 min read · KOULING's Beijing Travel Guide
Three days is enough to see Beijing's essentials without spending your whole trip in transit. This itinerary groups sights by area so you spend less time crossing the city, and it assumes you are staying near a metro station — which is exactly why many visitors base themselves at a hotel on Line 9 or Line 8.
Day 1 — Imperial Beijing: Tiananmen & the Forbidden City
The old imperial core is compact and walkable. Start early: ticket queues and security checks build up quickly after 10:00.
08:00
Breakfast near the hotelEat before you go — options around the Forbidden City are tourist-priced.
09:00
Tiananmen SquareFree to enter, but bring your passport — ID checks are routine.
10:00
Forbidden City (Palace Museum)Enter through the Meridian Gate; it is a one-way route north through the complex.
13:00
Lunch in Donghuamen or NanluoguxiangA short taxi or one metro stop away.
14:30
Jingshan ParkClimb the hill directly behind the Forbidden City for the classic rooftop view.
17:00
Beihai Park (optional)Quieter than Jingshan, with a lakeside walk.
19:00
Dinner at Wangfujing or QianmenPedestrian streets with plenty of choice.
Spot detail: The Forbidden City
The largest preserved wooden palace complex in the world, and the single most visited sight in Beijing. It closes on Mondays (except public holidays), so plan around it.
Metro
Line 1 to Tiananmen East, then walk north through the square
Budget roughly ¥400–600 (about £45–65 / $55–80) per person per day, excluding your hotel. The Forbidden City runs ¥60 in high season and ¥40 in low season; Jingshan Park across the road is ¥2–10 depending on season. A Mutianyu day trip is the biggest variable: the entrance ticket is ¥40, but the shuttle from the parking lot, the cable car or toboggan (¥100–140 each way if you take both up and down), and transport out there push a DIY trip to ¥250–350 per person. A small-group tour with transport typically costs ¥300–500. The Temple of Heaven combo ticket is ¥34 in high season. Add ¥20–50 per metro ride for two or three trips a day, and ¥50–120 for a solid sit-down meal. Cash is now rarely needed: set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you fly, and carry a small amount of cash as backup. Check current prices on official sites, as they change with the seasons.
Booking mistakes to avoid
Forbidden City sells out — Tickets are released up to 7 days ahead on the official WeChat mini-program and often gone for weekends and holidays. Foreigners can book with a passport; book the moment your dates are fixed, not on arrival.
ID checks everywhere — Your passport is your ticket at the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and most wall entrances. Carry the physical document, not just a phone photo — staff generally want the original.
Tiananmen Square now needs a reservation — Entry to the square itself has required advance online booking in recent years, separate from Forbidden City tickets. Check the current rule a few days before your visit.
Don't book a morning flight on Day 3 — Temple of Heaven is best before 9am and hutongs deserve the afternoon. Book departures after 7pm, or you will compress the day into a rushed morning.
Mutianyu cable car queues — Arrive before 10am on weekends or queues at the ticket office and cable car can eat an hour. Weekdays are markedly calmer.
Skip Badaling unless you must — It is the closest and most famous wall, but crowds and coach tours make Mutianyu or Jinshanling clearly better uses of a day.
Practical tips for this itinerary
Use the metro or a ride-hailing app — Metro fares are distance-based, typically CNY 3–7 per ride.
Carry your passport daily — Required for attraction tickets and hotel check-in.
Install a maps app that works in China — Google Maps is unreliable here; set up an alternative before you arrive.
Avoid rush hour with luggage — 08:00–09:30 and 18:00–19:30 on the metro are genuinely packed.
