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Top things to do in Beijing

Attractions, tours, and activities in Beijing

Beijing: the city's best neighborhoods

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About Beijing

Including tips for the best time to visit Beijing

China’s sprawling capital of Beijing is jam-packed with attractions such as historical temples, royal gardens and bustling food markets. In this megacity, visitors can discover a way of life that is ancient and modern, peaceful and spirited.

Beijing’s history is celebrated through a huge collection of monuments – many of which listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There’s the Forbidden City, a palace that dates back to 1406 and presides over Tiananmen Square. Here, you can admire the striking traditional Chinese architecture outside and browse historical artworks at the Palace Museum inside. There’s also the Temple of Heaven, a captivating religious complex known for its symbolic layout and design. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, annual ceremonies were held wherein Emperors would pray to the gods for a good harvest.

Out of all Beijing’s stunning sceneries, none of them are more breathtaking than the Summer Palace. This vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces offers a truly indescribable serenity. While work began on this peaceful retreat in about 1153, it wasn’t completed until 600 years later. The dedication shows, and nowadays, visitors are able to see a perfectly preserved oasis from a bygone era.

A visit to Beijing isn't complete without exploring its exciting narrow hutong alleyways, most of which are filled with delicious foods. Check out Wangfujing Snack Street for a variety of local and exotic street foods and deserts. Afterwards, walk towards Wangfujing Pedestrian Street to discover a range of retail and souvenir stores.

Tonight

From $46 per night

This weekend

From $85 per night

Next weekend

From $92 per night

Most popular time to visit October-December
Cheapest time to visit January-March
Local currency CNY 10 = $1.40
Language Mandarin
Average weekend price $124 per night
Average weekday price $122 per night
Average stay 2 nights

Points of interest in Beijing

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Beijing reviews

What other travelers say about Beijing

10

Excellent sight seeing, especially the Great Wall, Forbidden...

November 15, 2023

Excellent sight seeing, especially the Great Wall, Forbidden City Tiananmen Square. We were one of the first western tour groups since before Covid and were so warmly welcomed by local people who were so friendly and wanted to take selfies with us. We had a wonderful trip.

Debbie
Debbie
10

Beijing is very historical and BEAUTIFUL

October 24, 2023

Beijing is very historical and BEAUTIFUL A minimum of 1 week stay is a MUST... so much to see, do and the FOODS...galore Transportation - metro, buses, taxis, trains... cheap, modern, clean, safe convenience beyond words I even had a free ebike ride *rescue* from a good samaritan local Chinese gentleman

lai
lai
6.0

Travelling by subway is easy with clear signs &...

October 8, 2023

Travelling by subway is easy with clear signs & directions. Many interesting huge sightseeing locations such as Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace, Beihai Park, Confucious Temple & Imperial Academy, Mutianyu Great Wall, Olympic Park with Bird's Nest Stadium & Aquatic Water Cube etc. Lots of walking on uneven ground at sightseeing places. Temperature varied from low of 17C to 27C and surprisingly quite hot & humid most of the time until one perspired easily. Most challenging is the air pollution most of the days except for only 2 days that I stayed for 20 nights. Had to wear surgical mask. Ironically, the best place to escape from the hot & humid environment is the aircon restrooms which are cleaned & well maintained. Lots of spicy food but there are also a few Japanese & Westen restaurants too.

Norman
Norman Singapore
8.0

Traffic is horrible.

September 22, 2023

Traffic is horrible. All day you will get stacked by traffic. We later preferred using metro instead of taxis. Lots of famous sightseeings are required to book tickets on line in advance which is not convenient for tourists at all.

Jinmei
Jinmei Portugal
6.0

Try to avoid it for tourist during the summer holidays, so...

July 31, 2023

Try to avoid it for tourist during the summer holidays, so crowds in metro and the major tour areas , I suggest you to travel to enjoy Beijing out of the school holiday time ! It is a beautiful city .

Montasser M.A
Montasser M.A China
10

Beijing is a great city.

July 28, 2023

Beijing is a great city. The people are friendly and polite. They are helpful in giving directions. We travelled around by subway which is very frequent and efficient. The trains are airconditioned and signages are good. The cost of transportation, both public and taxis, is low. The Chinese cuisine restaurants are good and reasonably cheap. Peking duck is a signature dish here. We enjoyed the food and the stay in Beijing. It was a very effective holidays. As foreigners we find it difficult to prebook entry into places like summer palace, forbidder city etc. We have good experience using Discover Beijing for private guided tour of Summer Palace and Beijing Night time sight seeing. We can still use cash and credit cards in Beijing.

Seng
Seng Australia

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