Beijing

Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

Beijing, China
  • 9 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

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Overview

Enhance your sightseeing experience in Beijing on a full-day tour of the city’s most captivating sights. Accompanied by a knowledgeable guide, immerse yourself in the ancient mystery of the Forbidden City; absorb the majestic charm of the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven; and stroll around the legendary Tiananmen Square. Relax during a scenic bus ride; purchase special souvenirs in the bustling Pearl Market; and satisfy an appetite for authenticity with a traditional Chinese lunch.
  • Full-day nine-hour tour of Beijing's classic attractions: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven
  • Tiananmen Square's monuments and halls
  • Forbidden City Imperial Palace Museum
  • Temple of Heaven holy temple
  • Summer Palace grounds and art gallery
  • English-speaking guide
  • Pickup and drop off from city-centre Beijing hotels

What's Included

  • Pick-up and drop-off services from the hotels located within 4th ring circle highway
  • If your hotel is located out of 4th Ring Circle Highway, please go to Prime Hotel to join the tour at 07:30AM. (Add: No. 2, Wangfujing Ave. Tel: +86-10-65136666)
  • Air-conditioned coach/mini van
  • English speaking tour guide
  • Chinese style lunch
  • Admission tickets
  • Cruise port pickup and drop off
  • Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

07:30 AM

Pickup details

Departure Point: Pick-up and drop-off services from the hotels located within 4th ring circle highway Dates: Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday Return point: Tour returns to the original departure point

What To Expect

Greet your knowledgeable guide at Tiananmen Square to commence your captivating sightseeing tour. Gain fascinating insight into the history of the structure from your accomplished guide, hearing of how Chairman Moa and the rise of communism links to the palace. Next, venture to the fascinating Forbidden City to absorb the powerful majesty of the complex; tour four opulent halls and hear of the palace’s turbulent yet prosperous past as you stroll. 

Revitalize with a delicious lunch in a traditional restaurant then venture to the Temple of Heaven, a temple that boasts the title of China’s largest. Marvel at the exquisite example of ecclesiastical architecture then head to your final destination, a pristine palace that has been a retreat and refuge for emperors fro over 800 years. 

On arrival at the Summer Palace, wander amid the botanical beauty of the surrounding grounds and explore the temples and art pieces that pepper the park. After your tour comes to a conclusion, bid farewell to your guide and continue to explore independently if you wish.

Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang)

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Forbidden City-The Palace Museum

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Temple of Heaven

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Near public transportation
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Most travelers can participate
  • Important Notice: For any bookings within 3 days prior to the tour date, you will visit Jingshan Park instead of Forbidden City if the entrance tickets of Forbidden City are fully booked.
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 999 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

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Reviews

4.0
357 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travelers.
Showing 1-10 of 357 reviews
Don't do it.
Johanna_K, May 2024
I have given my review a lot of thought but I would like to give an honest review. We had booked this tour about 10 days before the date of the tour, as we were not able to get any tickets forbidden city online and we would visit on a public holiday. - we should have been picked up at 7.20 am but were picked up at 7.45 am. We have then spend almost 1.5 hours in bus picking up different people from other hotels. We were greeted by a very stressed Michael, as he mentioned that this will be a stressful day because why would we visit Beijing on a public holiday. - We had spent the complete day on a tour (from 7.40 - about 6pm because we left at summer palace). In these 10-11 hours, we had the following time at the attractions. Temple of heaven: 20 min / Forbidden palace: 1 hour / Tianenmen Square: walk through with no free Time / Summer palace 30 min. We did have 1.5 hours at the lunch, we had time to go to a tea ceremony (which nobody wanted) and apparently the others of the group also needed to go to a jewelry place. - My partner and "representatives" of other groups needed to queue at the forbidden palace, signing forms that they are not part of a group and had to buy tickets at the tourist info. We got the money from tour guide but for what have we booked a tour if we need to queue or selves? This is also not guaranteed because this is a "special connection" which only the tour has, which is complete BS. A foreign tourist can buy tickets at the tourist info, even on the day of visiting. - We were speed walking through at least for 2 hours in total because the bus was always parked far away. We had a lady part of our group who was with a cane and was struggling to keep up. Michael was not slowing down, did not show compassion and was not interested in keeping the group together. - with the price that we have paid for these tours, we regret booking this tour and would not recommend. This would have been more enjoyable if Michael would have made the tour fun and interesting with local facts / history. With the local ticket prices + Didi prices, it would have been more relaxing to do this tour ourselves and we would have paid the half of the price. To sum up the tour: it's too much money, they will try to upsell you and you will not have enough time at attractions. Go to the attractions, buy your tickets and have a more enjoyable time then we had.
An absolute must
LucyMichele_P, May 2024
Well organised. Our guide was lovely and knowledgeable. It was fantastic to get a really good view of Beijing. Amazing. Highly recommend.
Don't do this tour
Alessandro_P, May 2024
I put 2 stars just because I was in the end able to see the 4 attractions listed. HOWEVER, our tour guide, Mary, was terrible. We spoke broken English and kept saying that toilet breaks were a waste of time, and let us know we had to buy our own tickets for the Forbidden City right before entering, which the agency had already confirmed were included 7 days prior. When we all asked to be refunded for the extra cost she started addressing us very rudely, even shouting to us. Also, the driver arrived late to all pick ups and meeting points, making us lose so much time. He even decided by himself the already agreed route for drop offs at the end of a very long day (we ended the tour at 7 pm) without communication anything. We had to take a taxi back to our hotel because we were done with him and the guide. Finally, as mentioned in other reviews, 2 additional stops to tourist traps were made, even when we literally begged to leave us more time to visit the attractions we all wanted to see - we arrived to the Temple of Heaven 10 minutes before closing time and Mary let us know that it was our fault for the toilet breaks if we were late. Absolutely terrible experience that I wouldn't recommend is it's your only opportunity to visit Beijing.
Good but expected more
Paula_S, May 2024
The tour was longer than expected because it was a holiday. The tour guide did his best. The only thing I will suggest to him , to talk more and give more information of the places visited. As a person who knows nothing about China, i felt the tour was incomplete. Was expecting to receive more information. They took us to have lunch to a classic Chinese restaurant which sas great, but the tour guide left. The people from the restaurant don't speak English and no one from the group what was the food they were bringing. Would be great if the guide had lunch with us and tell us more about chinese food and China traditions…
Don’t do it
Shirley_B, May 2024
I purchased this day tour a couple of months in advance thinking this meant we had purchased all entry tickets. But No! We had to queue for 2 hours, in a squashed crowd, where people kept trying to jump the line, to purchase tickets for the forbidden city as an individual. This made the day very long, 13 hours and people became tired and grumpy.
Quick touch and go. Useful for tourist who wish to cover a few places in 8 hours.
Joyce_C, May 2024
The crowd is bad on labour day week and we had to get our own forbidden city tickets. But the operator paid us back after that. Too many things cover in a few hours and it was more of walk through than versus have enough time to explore. The tour guide is nice person. He is good but not the planner who designed this tour.
Totally recommend
Olalla_M, Apr 2024
Lee our tour guide was super nice, attentive and knowledgeable. Also Michael, our tour guide for the Forbidden City. Besides the main spots mentioned in the tour, they also took us before lunch to a tea house for a tea ceremony with tea tasting and later in the afternoon to an Institute of Chinese medicine for a small talk, a free foot massage and a consultation according by a Chinese medicine specialist. It was really fun and interesting!
Shopping experience
Mohan_S, Apr 2024
Instead of spending more time at the places mentioned in the itinerary, we spent more time at shopping locations that were not even listed. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. The best part of the trip was the guide; he was funny and entertained us.
Wonderful guide, excellent sites with a few extra surprises.
Benjamin_B, Apr 2024
Michael was a wonderful tour guide. Always thoughtful and considering the group and individual persons needs. The forbidden city was great to view from a Birds Eye view. Book early so you can bet the forbidden city tickets
Visit is ok, but includes uninteresting stops, taking time from the important parts of the tour.
Carla_C, Apr 2024
The visit was, but included two stops which were not listed in the Viator - these were a visit to a tea shop and to a pearl shop - and these delayed the arrival at the Summer palace. For this reason, part of the palace closed when we arrived and we could not visit. Quite unfortunate!
You will regret it
Ana_J, Mar 2024
We decided to make the reservation with viator because WE didnt have tickets for the Forbidden City (try to buy them AT least one day before your visit) ans We thought We could get them with the tour. If you are in the same situation, It doesn't work. . WE visited a Park instead of the Forbidden city. The change was acceptable. However they didn't purchase us the difference between the 2 tickets (obviously the Park ticket was cheaper). The visits to the different places were so Quick that: 1 WE didnt have enough Time to see the places ans 2 the guide didn't explain us ANYTHING about the History and background of the places. Furthermore, we had a tea ceremony and a consultation with a traditional chinese doctor with only an economic interest. Not AT all with a formative purpose. WE are so DISSAPOINTED with the tour. WE wouldnt never do It again. Our lonely Planet gave us more information of the different places than the guide. The transfers were the only good thing
A memorable day but ...
Emmanuel_R, Mar 2024
I joined this group tour early in the morning and discovered it was only me on that day. Great, I could fully benefit form Bruce, my very nice and knowledgeable guide of the day, who explained with much details the history and little secrets of each place we visited. Everything was very smooth including the connections with our champion driver who brought us form one place to the other. The 5th star is missing because I have been disappointed by the tea ceremony. Although the lady was nice and explained well, I quickly felt we were here for something else, i.e. visiting the boutique so I could buy (very expensive) "souvenirs". Personally, I did not like it that much and would have preferred to spend more time visiting the gardens of the Temple of Heaven. Apart from that, all good and a big thank you to Bruce and our driver for that memorable day!
Very good, but be aware
Samir_B, Mar 2024
The tour was great, jenny really knows the history and some good tips for not getting inside the big crowds. Be aware that forbidden city is hard to get the ticket and can be replaced by jingshan park, which is pretty nice, but it is not the forbidden city. Be also aware that they take you to two places that look like scams, tea cerimony and pearl market. They it is just to show, but then pressure tou to buy it. I would recommend to skip it and not even getting into to it, because it is hard to say no in the pressure.
Great tour to see everything in Beijing in one day
Pia_A, Feb 2024
The tour was amazing! I really liked the sights we saw and all the tickets were prebooked, which helped us to skip the queues. Apparently it’s really hard to get tickets for the Forbidden City, so you have to book well in advance to get in. I booked the tour a week in advance and was able to get in. If the company can’t get tickets for you, you will visit a park nearby that has a good view on the Forbidden City. Obviously it‘s a lot of things in just one day, but I didn’t feel rushed. My tour guide was already waiting for me even though I was early too and the driver was always on time. The lunch was really tasty and quite fast. We did visit a tea and perl shop, which I did not like at all, but my tour guide made it really clear that there was no obligation to buy anything. My tour guide Lucy was awesome. She was so knowledgeable and very eager to answer any questions I had. She was really friendly and helped me to take photos. She even asked me if I had seen enough of the sights and in what order I wanted to do lunch or the temple of heaven. All in all, I had a great day and would totally recommend the tour.
What a great tour! All the iconic places in Beijing and more!
Romina_B, Feb 2024
This tour was great! Our tour guide, Sam, was very knowledgeable and nice. We got to visit all the iconic places in Beijing and even visited a tea ceremony. The tea ceremony was so nice. We really enjoyed learning about the types of teas and tasting them. The lady at the tea ceremony was so nice and entertaining. We also got lunch included and the food was delicious.
Great day for Beijing highlights
Darren_W, Feb 2024
We visited during Chinese New Year so everywhere was extremely crowded. Despite booking the trip in January, we were told a few days before hand that we could no longer visit the Forbidden City because it was sold out. This was disappointing. However, the remainder of the trip was great - particularly the Heaven Temple and Summer Palace. There is a decent lunch although you can't order what you want - we wanted duck but was told it was too expensive! We shared the trip with another couple in a car so you may want to factor this in to your plans.
Cold but Great Day in Beijing
Kehinde_A, Feb 2024
Although a very cold day in Beijing, the tour was very enjoyable. My very knowledgeable tour guide Jenny spoke very good English and had boundless energy and enthusiasm.
A well-organised day of sightseeing
Nellie_L, Jan 2024
Wow! We were very time poor in Beijing and wanted to tick off all the big-ticket-locations quickly and this was the perfect way to do it! Booked in the low season so we had almost a private tour (just one other couple) and our guide Nicholas was outstanding! Great sense of humour, very well-spoken English and I don't think there was a single thing he couldn't answer about any of the locations visited! It was a big day (picked up at 7:30 and dropped back at 6-6:30 but we got to see everything we wanted and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the middle. We skipped all the lines (particularly rewarding at Tiananmen Square where the line was enormous) and it was a quick way to get to each spot without having to work out the metro or ride shares. We would have loved longer at the Summer Palace to explore ourselves but that is more due to our short time constraints - this tour was a great way to see everything in a short amount of time. Highly recommend to travelers who want bang-for-buck!
Don’t waste your money
Mark_B, Jan 2024
Tour did not include forbidden city and we were taken to both a tea and pearl shop not on the itinerary where they pressured us to buy overpriced souvenirs.
Nice Beijing tour
Ioannis_O, Nov 2023
Very nice tour visiting the highlights of Beijing. Guide was very nice, spoke good English and was knowledgeable.
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