How many days do you need in Beijing?
Four days. That is the length of the itinerary we built for Beijing.
Here is what each day holds. Every stop below carries its time, and every gap says how to get to the next stop, with the walk or drive time wherever both stops are mapped.
Beijing · 4 days China
Best time: September and October for clear skies and mild days.
The imperial centreDay 1
🌆8:30 AMTiananmen Square
The vast paved square at the centre of the city, with the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the Great Hall of the People along its edges.
🚶 ~20 min · 🚗 ~3 min · 0.7 mi
📍10:00 AMForbidden City
The Ming and Qing palace complex; book the timed ticket well ahead and walk the central axis north, then branch into the quieter side courtyards.
🚶 ~17 min · 🚗 ~2 min · 0.6 mi
🌳4:00 PMJingshan Park
The artificial hill directly north of the palace, built from the earth dug for its moat, and the one place you can see the whole roofscape at once.
The Great WallDay 2
📍7:30 AMMutianyu section of the Great Wall
The restored section northeast of the city, less crowded than Badaling, with a cable car up and a long walkable ridge of towers.
🚶 ~11 min · 🚗 ~1 min · 0.4 mi
🏰1:00 PMWalk the ridge towers
Head away from the cable car exit in either direction; the crowd thins within two towers and the wall keeps climbing.
🚗 day trip · 38 mi
📍6:30 PMReturn to the city
The drive back is about ninety minutes; plan dinner near your base rather than in the centre.
Temples and parksDay 3
⛩️9:00 AMTemple of Heaven
The circular Ming ritual complex in a huge park; arrive early to see the surrounding grounds used for tai chi, cards and choir practice.
🚗 ~37 min · 11 mi
🏰1:30 PMSummer Palace
The lakeside imperial retreat northwest of the city, with the Long Corridor running along the water and a hill of pavilions above it.
🚗 ~25 min · 7.1 mi
📍6:00 PMHouhai lakes
The chain of lakes north of the centre, ringed by bars and snack stalls and busiest after dark.
Hutongs and the old cityDay 4
📍9:30 AMNanluoguxiang hutong
A restored lane of courtyard houses, shops and small cafes; the quieter side alleys running off it are the better walk.
🚶 ~18 min · 🚗 ~2 min · 0.7 mi
🏰1:00 PMDrum and Bell Towers
The pair of towers that once kept the city’s time, with a steep climb and a view over the grey courtyard roofs.
🚶 ~29 min · 🚗 ~4 min · 1.1 mi
⛩️5:30 PMLama Temple
A Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the northeast of the old city, still active, with an eighteen-metre Maitreya carved from a single sandalwood trunk.
This is how Petrel lays out a trip. Upload your own confirmations and it builds this for your dates: flights and hotels included, with live flight status and the travel time between stops.
This is one of 126 free itineraries. Open it, change anything you want, and it becomes your trip.