Beijing: 2-Day Private City Tour with Great Wall & Palace

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/9

Duration2d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · DE +6

PickupAt your hotel

Forbidden city walks, great wall climbs, temples echoing old beijing

You’ll walk Beijing’s legendary landmarks with a local guide—joining tai chi at Temple of Heaven, wandering palace courtyards, climbing Mutianyu Great Wall, and relaxing by Summer Palace lake. Expect laughter, real conversations, and moments where history feels close enough to touch.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Tiananmen Square

Pick up at hotel lobby 8:30am
Visit Temple of Heaven
Observe locals doing Taichi and dancing
Visit Lama Temple
Enjoy authentic Chinese lunch
Visit Tiananmen Square
Tour Forbidden City
Transfer back to hotel

Day 2 — Great Wall and Summer Palace

Drive to Great Wall (1.5 hours)
Explore Great Wall 2-3 hours
Take cable car or chair lift up
Take toboggan down
Enjoy lunch at local restaurant
Visit Summer Palace
Stroll around pavilions and lake
Transfer back to hotel

The Experience

We were already weaving through the early crowd at Temple of Heaven when our guide, Li, waved us over—she’d spotted a group of older locals doing tai chi under the trees. The air smelled faintly of pine and something sweet I couldn’t place. Li nudged me to join in (I tried; my arms flailed, everyone laughed but it was warm laughter). It’s funny how quickly you forget you’re a tourist when someone grins at you like that.

The Lama Temple was quieter than I expected. Incense drifted everywhere, softening the bright reds and golds. Li told us about the emperors who lived here before it became a monastery—her voice dropped to a whisper inside, which felt right. Lunch was just around the corner: noodles slick with sesame and these dumplings that disappeared too fast. Afterward we walked Tiananmen Square—so huge it almost swallowed us—and then straight into the shadowy gates of the Forbidden City. The scale is wild; I kept losing track of which courtyard we were in. My feet hurt but I didn’t care.

The next morning started with coffee in hand as our driver wound out toward Mutianyu Great Wall. The city faded to dusty fields, then suddenly there it was—stone snaking up into the misty hills. We took the cable car up (my nerves did not love that), but walking along those ancient stones was worth every shaky step. There’s this moment where all you hear is wind and your own breath echoing off the wall—I still think about that silence sometimes.

Lunch again (eggplant in garlic sauce this time) before drifting through willow-shaded paths at Summer Palace. Kids were chasing each other near Kunming Lake; an old man painted characters on the pavement with water that vanished as quickly as he wrote them. By then my Mandarin had improved exactly zero percent—Li laughed when I tried anyway. She said it’s all about trying, not getting it perfect.

What’s included

Your two days include private hotel pickup and drop-off each morning and evening, all entry tickets to sites like Forbidden City and Summer Palace, transport by private vehicle throughout Beijing and out to Mutianyu Great Wall, plus lunch at local restaurants both days—with plenty of time to linger or ask questions along the way.

Good to know

Easy physical level

Operated by Beijing Tour Guide