A day at each place, and the routes that connect them
Each entry is the place itself: what it costs, when it opens, which gate to use, the route that avoids the crowd, and what goes wrong. We pair that practical advice with photographs of the destination.
The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)
One ticket, booked seven days ahead at eight in the evening, and one way to walk it: in at the Meridian Gate, out to the north.
- Entry
- CNY 60 peak / 40 low season
- Hours
- 8:30–17:00 peak, 8:30–16:30 low season; closed Mondays
- Where
- 东城区
The Great Wall at Badaling
The section with its own railway station — twenty minutes from the city — and two lines that do not join at the top, so pick one.
- Entry
- CNY 40 peak / 35 low season
- Where
- 延庆区
The Summer Palace
Four times the size of the palace, so the only real decision is which gate you start at — and buying the park ticket rather than the combined one.
- Entry
- CNY 30 peak / 20 low season; combined 60 / 50
- Hours
- 6:00–20:00 peak, 6:30–19:00 low season
- Where
- 海淀区
The Temple of Heaven
Buy the combined ticket, not the park ticket — the park ticket does not get you into any of the three buildings you came for.
- Entry
- CNY 34 peak / 28 low season combined; park only 15 / 10
- Hours
- Park 6:00–22:00 peak, 6:30–22:00 low season; halls 8:00–18:00 / 8:00–17:00
- Where
- 东城区
National Museum of China
Free, and the reservation is the hard part: seven days ahead at 17:00, and one booking a week per account.
- Entry
- Free, by reservation; some special shows charge
- Hours
- Tuesday to Sunday 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:00; closed Mondays
- Where
- 东城区
The Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)
Twenty-five yuan, not ten: the ten-yuan ticket does not reach the ruins that are the reason to come.
- Entry
- CNY 25 combined; CNY 10 park only, which misses the ruins
- Hours
- 7:00–21:00 peak, 7:00–19:30 low season
- Where
- 海淀区
Jingshan Park
Two yuan for the only place the whole Forbidden City fits in one frame — and it is directly across the road from where you come out.
- Entry
- CNY 2 adult / 1 student
- Hours
- 6:00–21:00 peak, 6:30–20:00 low season
- Where
- 西城区
The Lama Temple (Yonghegong)
A working temple that fills the whole daylight day — book a slot, take the incense they give you free, and walk it clockwise.
- Entry
- CNY 25; half price for students and over 60
- Hours
- 9:00–17:00 April–October, 9:00–16:30 November–March
- Where
- 东城区
Qianmen Street
Six hundred years of a shopping street, and the correct move is to leave it: the old shops are in the lanes either side.
- Entry
- No ticket — it is a street
- Hours
- Always open; the shops and the arrow tower lights keep their own hours
- Where
- 东城区
External photo: N509FZ · CC BY-SA 4.0 · full credits in articleShichahai
Three lakes that were the northern end of the Grand Canal, and the one part of the old city where you should slow down.
- Entry
- No ticket — the whole lakefront is open
- Hours
- Lakefront always open; a suggested visiting window is 16:00–21:00
- Where
- 西城区
External photo: Andrzej Otrębski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · full credits in articleFive Citywalk routes
Five routes across the old city, each one a line of streets rather than a destination — the walking is the thing.
- Entry
- No ticket — these are streets
- Hours
- Suggested walking window: 14:00–17:00
- Where
- 全市
Beihai Park
The imperial lake garden where the pagoda is the destination and the north-to-south slope does the walking for you.
- Entry
- CNY 10 park / 20 combined, peak season
- Hours
- Gates 6:00–21:00 peak, 6:30–20:00 low season; inner gardens closed Mondays
- Where
- 西城区
798 Art District
Old factory halls turned galleries: free to walk, and closed on the one day most people have free.
- Entry
- District free; exhibitions CNY 30–120
- Hours
- Streets always open; galleries 10:00–18:00, most closed Mondays
- Where
- 朝阳区