Beijing is China's capital and home to many of its best-known sights: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace in the city, the Great Wall in the mountains to the north, and the hutongs, where local families still live.

Before choosing a tour, think about what works best for you. How many days do you have in Beijing? Would you prefer a private tour or a shared experience?

Private or small group. Private tours are just you and your group, with a dedicated guide throughout for maximum flexibility. Small-group tours are capped at 10 guests for an intimate experience, while offering great value, starting from just US$35 per person.

Half day or full day. Our Forbidden City Tour, Breakfast Tour, Hutong Walk and Dinner Tour can all be enjoyed in half a day. If you have a full day to explore, consider Two Icons, One Perfect Beijing Day or Your Great Wall, Your Way.

Private Beijing Tours

Beijing (4 hours)

Decoding the Forbidden City

Not your typical Forbidden City tour. No boring dates and names - just fun and engaging storytelling that you can relate to.
Beijing (8 hours)

Two Icons - One Perfect Day in Beijing

Design your perfect day in Beijing by choosing two iconic landmarks: Forbidden City, Hutongs, Summer Palace, and Temple of Heaven.
Beijing (8 hours)

Your Great Wall, Your Way

Choose between the iconic Mutianyu or the quieter Huanghuacheng, and then explore beyond the Wall by visiting a charming Chinese village.

Small-Group Beijing Tours

Beijing (3 hours)

Beijing Breakfast Tour: Good Morning Beijing

Visit a traditional wet market and taste classic breakfast foods like pancakes, soy milk, fried dough, potstickers, tea eggs, and many more!
Beijing (3 hours)

Beijing Hutong Walking Tour

Explore Beijing Hutongs on a walk through historic alleys, lively local streets, and newly revived neighborhoods - discovering how these Hutongs reflect the past, present, and future of Beijing life.
Beijing (3 hours)

Beijing Dinner Tour: Beijing Dawn

Taste iconic local foods and sample local drinks like hotpot, dumplings, fried sauce noodles, desserts, local beer & spirits, and more - enough to keep you full for hours

Decoding the Forbidden City

This is not a tour of dates and dynasty names. Your guide explains how the palace ran an empire, from the Outer Court where emperors held audience to the emperor's residence, newly reopened after a ten-year renovation, and the living quarters of the concubines. You also visit a quieter corner most visitors miss, with an imperial opera stage, royal gardens and a hall you can step inside.

Private tour for 4 hours, with about 4 kilometers of walking. We meet at Donghuamen, the East Gate, and finish at Shenwumen, the North Gate. Admission, including the Treasure Gallery, is included. $80 per adult for two guests, falling to $55 per adult for five.

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Two Icons, One Perfect Beijing Day

Pick two of Beijing's four icons: the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and the hutongs. We build the day around your choice, with the stories behind each site rather than dry dates. Choose the Summer Palace or the Temple of Heaven and you get a coffee break with a view; choose the hutongs and you try Beijing-style snacks.

Private tour for 8 hours, with free hotel pickup and drop-off within the 4th Ring Road. We get around by premier taxi (a private car is available at extra cost), plus 6-7 kilometers of walking. Admission to both sites is included. $159 per adult for two guests, falling to $109 per adult for five.

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Your Great Wall, Your Way

Choose your section of the Wall. Mutianyu is the classic, with restored watchtowers, long mountain views and a cable car to the top. Huanghuacheng is wilder and quieter, and the Wall there runs straight into a lake. Afterwards you relax with a coffee in a village at the foot of the Wall: Wachang near Mutianyu, or the stone village of Yaoziyu near Huanghuacheng.

Private tour for 8 hours by private car, with free hotel pickup and drop-off within the 4th Ring Road, plus 6-7 kilometers of walking. Great Wall admission and coffee are included; lunch and the Mutianyu cable car are not. $159 per adult for two guests, falling to $119 per adult for five.

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Beijing Breakfast and Culture Tour

Start the day the way Beijing does, with at least five food stops: egg pancakes cooked on a hot pan, fresh soy milk with fried dough, tea eggs, potstickers and Beijing-style yogurt. Between bites you walk through a local wet market and the hutongs, along Shichahai Lake and past the Drum and Bell Towers.

Small-group tour for up to 10 guests. 3 hours on foot and about 3 kilometers. $40 per adult, $32 per child.

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Beijing Hutong Walking Tour

Walk through three sides of the hutongs: quiet lanes where life moves slowly, lively streets of century-old shops and eateries, and renovated alleys now full of cafés and boutiques. Along the way you step inside a traditional courtyard home, follow a small river through Sanlihe River Park and stop at a favorite local dessert shop on Xianyukou Food Street.

Small-group tour for up to 10 guests. 3 hours on foot and about 4-5 kilometers. $35 per person.

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Beijing Dinner and Culture Tour

This evening tour explores the same neighborhood with a dinner menu: clear-broth Beijing hot pot, dumplings with a taste of local liquor, Chinese-style burgers from a food market and fried sauce noodles, with dessert to finish. The walk takes in the hutongs, Shichahai Lake and the Drum and Bell Towers.

Small-group tour for up to 10 guests. 3 hours on foot and about 3 kilometers. $70 per adult, $56 per child.

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How Many Days Do You Have in Beijing?

With one full day, choose between the Great Wall and the city: Your Great Wall, Your Way or Two Icons, One Perfect Beijing Day. With two days, you can do both. If you only have a morning or an evening, the Forbidden City Tour takes 4 hours, and the Breakfast Tour, Hutong Walk and Dinner Tour take 3 hours each.

Mutianyu or Huanghuacheng?

Choose Mutianyu for the classic Great Wall view, with restored watchtowers and a cable car to the top. Choose Huanghuacheng for fewer crowds and a wilder section, where the Wall runs into a lake. Both options are part of Your Great Wall, Your Way.

Your Own Group or with Other Travelers?

Choose a private tour if you'd like a guide just for you and your travel companions: the Forbidden City Tour, Two Icons or Your Great Wall, Your Way, each for 2-5 guests. If you enjoy meeting other travelers, join the Breakfast Tour, Hutong Walk or Dinner Tour, which take up to 10 guests and are priced per person.

Imperial Sights or Hutong Life?

For palaces and temples, choose the Forbidden City Tour, or pair the Forbidden City with the Summer Palace or the Temple of Heaven on Two Icons. For everyday Beijing, the Hutong Walk and the food tours take you through the alleys, markets and lakeside neighborhoods where locals live.

Traveling with Children?

Children are welcome on all our Beijing tours, and children aged 3 and under join for free. Children aged 4-12 pay a lower rate on most tours, while on the Hutong Walk everyone aged 4 and over pays the same price. For younger children, the Forbidden City Tour (about 4 kilometers) or a 3-hour food tour is an easier start than 6-7 kilometers on the Great Wall.

Forbidden City Tickets

The Palace Museum limits daily visitors, sells tickets online in advance and closes on Mondays, except on public holidays. Tickets are issued to the passport you book with, so bring that passport on the day. On our Forbidden City Tour, admission is included: send us your passport photo page at least 7 days ahead and we will try to book online for you.

Getting to the Great Wall

Mutianyu and Huanghuacheng are both north of the city, about 1.5 hours each way depending on traffic. That is why our Great Wall tour is a full 8-hour day with hotel pickup.

When to Come

Late April to early June and September to late October are the most comfortable months for walking. July and August are hot and humid, with the biggest domestic crowds. Winter is cold and dry, the air is often at its clearest, and the Great Wall is much quieter.

Paying for Things

Alipay and WeChat Pay run almost everything, and both accept a foreign Visa or Mastercard linked before you travel. Set it up at home rather than on arrival; our Alipay guide for visitors walks you through it.

Coming Through Visa-Free

China's 240-hour visa-free transit covers travelers from dozens of countries, with Beijing's airports included, provided you fly on to a third country.

Beijing Tour FAQs

What is the difference between a private tour and a small-group tour?

Do you pick us up from the hotel?

Is lunch included on the full-day tours?

Are Great Wall cable car tickets included?

Are the food tours suitable for restricted diets?

How far ahead should we book the Forbidden City Tour?

What happens if it rains?

If Beijing is one stop on a longer trip, consider our multi-day journeys throughout China! Iconic Beijing covers the city over several days, and our other multi-day journeys run on to Shanghai, Suzhou and beyond. For something built from scratch, tell us what you are after on our customize your journey page.

Reading ahead: our guides write a monthly column on things to do in China, such as four walking routes through the hutongs and where to eat Peking duck. You can also meet the guides who will lead your tours.