Dashboard

Planen Sie Ihre nächste Städtereise

Wählen Sie ein Reiseziel, vergleichen Sie praktische Reisedetails, entdecken Sie empfohlene Orte und speichern Sie alles in Ihrer Reise.

Suche

Wohin möchten Sie reisen?

Suchen Sie Reiseziele, Plätze, Erlebnisse und Guides.

Need ideas? Not sure where to go? Tell us what you enjoy — beaches, cities, nature, food — and we’ll suggest destinations.

Nach Interesse entdecken
Bezahlte Platzierungen

Ihre Pins

Auf dem Dashboard angeheftet

Heften Sie Einträge aus Suche, Orten, Plätzen, Erlebnissen oder Guides an. Pins sind privat für Ihr Konto.

Pin-Layout-Einstellungen
Dashboard-Pins werden geladen…

Guides to Getting the Most Out of Your Trip

  • Plan ahead

    Research destinations and book early for better deals.

  • Go local

    Explore local markets and engage with community life.

  • Travel light

    Pack essentials only and leave room for souvenirs.

  • Stay safe

    Keep copies of documents and share your itinerary.

  • Be respectful

    Learn local customs and support local businesses.

  • Capture memories

    Photograph moments, then put the phone down and enjoy.

For businesses · Claim & license your place

Verify your listing, unlock licensed features, photos, offers, and optional advertising — all from Plans.

View business licenses

Ready to start your adventure?

Let’s turn your travel dreams into unforgettable experiences.

Plan your next trip

Entdecken

Mehr für Ihre Reise

Reiseziele entdecken

Reiseziele

Länder, Städte und lokale Guides

Durchsuchen

Reiseziel finden

Suchen Sie Länder nach Name oder Code, filtern Sie nach Kontinent und sortieren Sie A–Z oder nach Interesse von Reisenden.

Bezahlte Platzierungen

Verzeichnis

Orte

Orte werden geladen…

City guide

Beijing

Beijing is China's capital and cultural heart, home to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the nearest major sections of the Great Wall, layering imperial-era history with a fast-modernizing capital.

Beijing skyline at dusk
Beijing skyline (cropped) by Picrazy2, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Country
China
Ideal stay
4 days
Best for
Imperial history and architecture, the Great Wall, museums, food
Typical daily budget
Budget roughly $55–120 per person per day outside accommodation as a rough planning estimate.
Best months
April–May and September–October offer mild weather, avoiding summer heat and winter cold/pollution.
Airport to center
Beijing Capital International Airport connects to the center via the Airport Express train plus a metro transfer (roughly 40–50 minutes) or taxi/ride-hailing (45–60 minutes depending on traffic); Daxing Airport also serves the city via its own express line.
Public transport
The extensive metro system is the fastest way around the city; taxis and ride-hailing apps fill in the rest, though traffic can be heavy.
Walkability
The Forbidden City area and historic hutongs are walkable; the metro is needed to reach the Great Wall day-trip departure points and other spread-out sights.
Main language
Mandarin Chinese
Population
18,960,744
Time zone
Asia/Shanghai
Curated landmarks
673
Arrival airports
1

Why travelers love it

Imperial history at a scale few cities can match

The Forbidden City, the best-preserved imperial palace complex in China, sits at the center of a capital built layer upon layer around it — with Tiananmen Square at its front gate and Jingshan Park's hilltop pavilion giving a rooftop-level view over the whole complex just behind it.

The Great Wall, as an actual day trip

Two very different sections of the Great Wall are each within a single day's round trip of the city — Badaling, fully restored and reachable directly by rail, and Mutianyu, quieter and more forested, for travelers who want fewer crowds.

Centuries-old hutongs next to contemporary art

The lakeside hutong neighborhoods around Houhai and the Drum Tower preserve Beijing's old residential fabric, while 798 Art Zone, built inside a former Bauhaus-style electronics factory, is one of the world's best-known contemporary art districts — two very different sides of the same city, a short metro ride apart.

Top experiences

Imperial Beijing

The Forbidden City and the two public spaces that frame it — Tiananmen Square at its front gate and Jingshan Park's hilltop view behind it.

  • Forbidden City (Palace Museum)
  • Tiananmen Square
  • Jingshan Park

Great Wall day trip

Two very different sections of the Great Wall, each reachable on a single day trip from the city — pick one rather than both in a day.

  • Badaling Great Wall
  • Mutianyu Great Wall

Temples and imperial gardens

Beijing's grandest ceremonial and garden complexes, plus its largest active Tibetan Buddhist temple.

  • Temple of Heaven Park
  • Summer Palace
  • Beihai Park
  • Lama Temple (Yonghegong)

Hutongs and contemporary art

Old Beijing's lakeside alleys around Houhai and the Drum Tower, paired with the 798 Art Zone's converted factory galleries.

  • Houhai (Shichahai)
  • Drum Tower (Gulou)
  • 798 Art Zone

Choose your area

  • Dongcheng (Forbidden City area) — The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and historic hutongs; the sightseeing core.
  • Haidian — University district with a academic, youthful feel.
  • Sanlitun — Modern shopping, dining and nightlife.
  • Great Wall areas (Badaling/Mutianyu) — Day-trip destinations outside the city center, not places to stay.
Forbidden City and the imperial core1 day

Beijing's essential imperial sightseeing, from Tiananmen Square through the Forbidden City to the best view over it from Jingshan Park.

  1. 08:30 · Tiananmen Square — Start at Tiananmen Square before the day's crowds and heat build.
  2. 09:30 · Forbidden City (Palace Museum) — Enter the Forbidden City from its southern gate; book tickets in advance through the museum's official site.
  3. 14:00 · Jingshan Park — Exit the Forbidden City's north gate and climb Jingshan Park's Wanchun Pavilion for a rooftop-level view back over the palace.
Temples and gardens across the city1 day

A full day linking Beijing's grandest ceremonial complex, its largest active temple, and one of its best-preserved imperial gardens by metro.

  1. 08:30 · Temple of Heaven Park — Start early at Temple of Heaven Park before the main halls get crowded.
  2. 13:00 · Lama Temple (Yonghegong) — Take the metro north to the Lama Temple, Beijing's largest active Tibetan Buddhist temple.
  3. 15:30 · Beihai Park — Finish at Beihai Park, a short trip further west, for a lakeside walk or a rowboat out to Jade Island.
Hutongs and contemporary art1 day

A day moving from the old hutong district around the Drum Tower and Houhai to the very different, gallery-filled 798 Art Zone.

  1. 10:00 · Drum Tower (Gulou) — Start at the Drum Tower for a rooftop view over the surrounding hutong district.
  2. 11:30 · Houhai (Shichahai) — Walk down to Houhai for a lakeside stroll through the hutongs; it's quieter by day than after dark.
  3. 15:00 · 798 Art Zone — Take the metro/taxi out to 798 Art Zone for an afternoon of galleries; a weekday visit avoids both closures and weekend crowds.

Practical planning

Forbidden City tickets are sold only through the museum's own system

Standard admission to the Forbidden City (Palace Museum) is CNY 60, sold through the museum's own official online booking system rather than at a walk-up gate — worth arranging before you go.

The Palace Museum, official site

Temple of Heaven's main halls keep shorter hours than the park

Temple of Heaven Park's grounds are open 6am–10pm in peak season (last entry 9pm), but the main halls — including the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests — keep shorter hours (8am–6pm peak season) and close on Mondays except statutory holidays.

Beijing Municipal Government, Temple of Heaven visitor guide

Summer Palace offers audio guides in 19 languages

Summer Palace grounds are open 6am–8pm in peak season, with individual halls like the Tower of Fragrance of Buddha keeping shorter hours and closing Mondays except statutory holidays; audio guide devices in 19 languages are available at multiple gates.

Beijing Municipal Government, Summer Palace visitor guide

Badaling Great Wall needs no advance reservation

Unlike some of Beijing's other major sights, Badaling Great Wall tickets are sold on-site with no reservation required; peak-season hours run roughly 6:30am–4:30pm with adult admission around CNY 40.

Beijing Municipal Government, attractions ticketing guide

The Airport Express is a flat fare with no free transfer

The Capital Airport Express costs a flat CNY 25 for a one-way journey between the airport and the city, and — unlike the rest of the Beijing Subway network — offers no free transfer to or from other lines.

Wikipedia, Capital Airport Express

798 Art Zone is free to wander, but galleries set their own hours

798 Art Zone occupies roughly 300,000 square meters of former Bauhaus-style factory buildings and houses several hundred galleries, design studios and artist spaces; the district itself is free to enter, but individual galleries keep their own opening hours.

Beijing Municipal Government, 798 Art Zone visitor guide

Good to know

  • Most Western apps and websites (Google, WhatsApp, many social media) are blocked without a VPN, which needs to be set up before arrival.
  • Air quality can be poor on certain days, especially in winter.
  • Major sights like the Forbidden City and Great Wall get very crowded in peak season and often require advance ticket booking.

Guide reviewed 2026-08-16.

Öffentliches Verzeichnis

Plätze

Suche

Plätze finden

Nach Region und Typ filtern oder Name/Küche eingeben. Küchenbegriffe funktionieren in allen sechs unterstützten Sprachen und in beliebiger Reihenfolge, z. B. „Murnau indisch“ oder „Indian Murnau“. Fehlt ein Platz, können angemeldete Nutzer mit bestätigter E-Mail und aktivem Konto danach OpenStreetMap durchsuchen (Universal Finder).

Wonach suchen Sie?Platz, Küche oder Ausstattung
Wo?Land und Stadt wählen

Bezahlte Platzierungen

Beliebteste Plätze

Top 12

Die 12 beliebtesten Plätze für Ihre aktuellen Regions- und Typfilter.

Öffnen Sie Plätze, um die Beliebtesten zu laden.

Ihre angehefteten Plätze

0
Melden Sie sich an und heften Sie Plätze an, um sie hier zu sehen.

Öffentliche Geschichten

Reiseerlebnisse

Nur freigegebene Beiträge

Durchsuchen

Reisegeschichten finden

Bezahlte Platzierungen

Beliebteste Reisegeschichten

Top 5

Nach Likes von Reisenden sortiert. Jede Person kann eine Geschichte einmal liken und den Like jederzeit entfernen.

Beliebteste Erlebnisse werden geladen…

Browse

Getting started

Read Top liked stories above, or share your own tips after you sign in. Groups are great when you want a quick conversation.

Verzeichnis

Alle Erlebnisse

Noch keine freigegebenen Reiseerlebnisse.

Share a trip story after you sign in — approved experiences appear here for other travelers.

Traveler account

Join the travel community

Share helpful travel experiences, recommend real places, upload trip photos after review, and keep your own private trip plans in one place.

Browse first
1Create accountUse Google, Apple, or email and password.
2Verify emailGoogle/Apple verify instantly; email signup needs a 6-digit activation code.
3Start travelingSave trips and share experiences. Public posts still go through review.

Profile

My Profile

Use Sign in in the top-right menu to log in, register, or reset your password.