3 Days in Beijing and Beyond
The Forbidden City stopped selling same-day tickets years ago, and the visa question trips up just as many visitors. Sort both before you land and a three-day Beijing trip falls into place easily.
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Visa check, Forbidden City, Jingshan, Tiananmen |
| 2 | Great Wall at Mutianyu |
| 3 | Temple of Heaven, real hutongs |
Book these before you go:
- A Mutianyu Great Wall tour with cable car on GetYourGuide .
- A hotel near Dongcheng or the Drum Tower on Agoda .
Before Day 1: The Visa Question
Check the 240-hour visa-free transit rule before you book anything else: 55 nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, the EU, Australia, and New Zealand, can enter through Capital Airport or Daxing with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country, no separate visa needed. A different 30-day visa-free scheme covers roughly 50 other countries with no onward-ticket requirement, but the US is not on that list, so don’t assume the more generous rule applies just because you’ve read about it. Check both lists against your passport via the National Immigration Administration if you’re unsure which applies; a regular tourist visa is the fallback for anyone outside both.
Day 1: Forbidden City, Jingshan, Tiananmen
Book your slot through the official Palace Museum site exactly seven days out, passport number tied to the reservation. Budget three to four hours minimum, it’s the largest palace complex in the world and rushing it defeats the purpose. Climb Jingshan Park (¥2) immediately after for the single best panoramic shot of the Forbidden City’s roofs. Tiananmen Square runs on its own separate WeChat reservation, passport again, plus security screening at the gate. Dinner at Siji Minfu for duck, real value over the tour-group formula at Quanjude.
Day 2: The Great Wall
Mutianyu is the strongest choice among Beijing’s accessible sections, about 90 minutes by car, entrance ¥45. The cable car up (¥100 one-way, ¥140 return) and the toboggan down are worth the extra cost given the steep climb otherwise. Skip Badaling, the closest and most photographed section and, for that exact reason, the most crowded.
Day 3: Temples and the Real Hutongs
The Temple of Heaven (¥15 park-only, ¥34 combined peak) opens early and is worth arriving right at opening to beat both the heat and the crowds. In the afternoon, skip Nanluoguxiang, which has become more commercial than atmospheric, and wander Wudaoying Hutong or the backstreets around Houhai instead for the quieter, more residential version of old Beijing.
Getting around and practical notes. Beijing’s subway now accepts tap-to-pay with foreign Visa, Mastercard, and Amex cards directly at the turnstile, no app or registration required. Set up and test a VPN before you fly, Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram vanish the moment you land, and the VPN providers’ own sites are blocked too. If three days is just the start of a longer China trip, our Beyond Beijing guide covers the HSR hops to Xi’an and Tianjin; if you’d rather spend a fourth day deeper in the city itself, our 4-day itinerary adds the Summer Palace and Lama Temple.