Beijing: Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square Entry Tickets

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.72 (61 reviews) 82% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/12

Duration3h–4h

Mobile ticketAccepted

Two of Beijing's Biggest Landmarks, One Booking That Actually Works

You get skip-the-line entry to both Beijing's most-visited landmarks in one booking. Enter the Forbidden City by scanning your passport, explore the imperial palace and its hidden gardens at your own pace, then head to Tiananmen Square to stand in the world's largest public square surrounded by monuments. No paper tickets, no separate reservations—just book your preferred option (Forbidden City alone, Tiananmen alone, or both) and show up on your date.

3h–4h

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

Enter Forbidden City with ticket
Explore courtyards and halls
Discover hidden gardens
Visit Tiananmen Square
Admire surrounding monuments

The Experience

So you're standing in front of the Forbidden City and realizing you should've bought tickets online—except you're about to walk straight through because you did. That's the whole thing right there. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square are the two stops everyone makes in Beijing, and trying to queue for both on the same day without a plan is how you end up spending half your time in line instead of inside. You get three options: just the Forbidden City, just Tiananmen Square, or both in one booking. The combo ticket is the move if you want to see both without the back-and-forth of separate reservations.

The Forbidden City—also called the Palace Museum—is where 24 emperors lived, and you can feel the weight of that the moment you walk through the gates. Grand courtyards open into more courtyards, golden-roofed halls sit behind walls you didn't know were there, and gardens hide in corners that most visitors miss because they're moving too fast. With your ticket, you skip the line and enter by scanning your passport at the gate. No QR code nonsense, no paper to keep track of. Tiananmen Square is a different kind of stop—it's the world's largest public square, and it's less about wandering and more about standing in the middle of it and understanding why it matters to China. The National Museum, the Great Hall of the People, the Monument to the People's Heroes—they're all there, and your reserved entry means you're not fighting through the security queue that builds up by mid-morning.

One thing to know: the Forbidden City closes on Mondays, so if you're planning that day, you're down to Tiananmen Square only. And if the combo option doesn't show up when you search your date, it means Forbidden City tickets sold out—which happens. Book early enough and you won't hit that problem. Travel instructions for Tiananmen Square come by email the day before, so check your inbox. The whole experience is flexible because you choose which option fits your schedule, not the other way around.

What’s included

Your booking includes admission to whichever option you select—Forbidden City entry alone, Tiananmen Square entry alone, or both.
For the Forbidden City, you enter by scanning your passport at the gate; no QR code or printed ticket needed.
For Tiananmen Square, travel instructions are emailed to you the day before your visit.
The combo option lets you see both landmarks in one day with a single reservation.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by Your Beijing Guide

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to hit Beijing's two most famous landmarks without juggling separate tickets or arriving early to beat the line—the skip-the-line entry and flexible combo option mean you spend your time inside, not waiting outside.