Great Wall & Forbidden City 2-Day Tour: Cable car descent included
Two Days in Beijing Without the Planning
You get picked up from your hotel and spend two days moving through Beijing's main landmarks (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, hutongs, Temple of Heaven, Mutianyu Great Wall, and Summer Palace) with a private English-speaking guide handling all entry fees, transport, and lunch. No research, no ticket lines, no figuring out how to get between sites. Just show up at your hotel lobby and go.
Step-by-step itinerary
Day 1: City tour: Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Hutongs
- Meet guide in hotel lobby
- Visit Tiananmen Square
- Explore Forbidden City
- Walk around Hutong near Shichahai Lake
- Visit Temple of Heaven park
Day 2: Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace
- Travel to Mutianyu Great Wall
- Take cable car or chairlift up
- Hike and explore Watch Towers
- Return by toboggan or same way
- Visit Summer Palace gardens
What’s included
Your tour includes hotel pickup and drop-off, a private English-speaking guide for both days, all entrance fees to the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Mutianyu Great Wall, and Summer Palace, roundtrip cable car, chairlift, or toboggan at the Great Wall, and lunch on both days.
Times
- Every day 07:00 07:15 07:30 07:45 08:00 08:15 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00
Options for this experience
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Prices and times updated 11 days ago
Operated by Catherine Lu Tours
The experience
Your guide doesn't show up at the hotel lobby on time, and then you realize he's been waiting outside because the front desk didn't pass along the message. That's the kind of thing that gets sorted in the first five minutes with a private guide on a Beijing tour, which is why having someone who knows the city and speaks English saves you from spending half your morning on logistics. You meet at Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square, and your guide walks you through what you're actually looking at (the history, the layout, why it matters) instead of you standing there with a guidebook trying to piece it together.
Day one moves through the Forbidden City, where you'll spend a couple of hours walking the outer and inner courts, learning how emperors and their households lived for 500 years across the Ming and Qing dynasties. After that, you walk the hutongs near Shichahai Lake. These narrow lanes are about 30 feet wide and date back to the Yuan Dynasty, and they're where you actually see how people lived in old Beijing, not the polished version. Then comes the Temple of Heaven, an enormous imperial worship site where locals still gather to sing, dance, and practice tai chi. Lunch is included, so you're not hunting for a restaurant between stops.
Day two is the Mutianyu Great Wall section, which is one of the most visited parts of the wall for a reason. It's well-preserved and less crowded than Badaling. You take a cable car or chairlift up (your choice), spend 1 to 2 hours hiking the wall and exploring the watchtowers, and then you can either toboggan back down or walk. The Summer Palace comes last, an imperial park with gardens and architecture that's held up better than most. All entrance fees are covered, all transport is arranged, and the guide handles the logistics so you're not juggling tickets or timing.
The tour runs two full days with hotel pickup and drop-off included. If you need a guide in Spanish, German, Italian, or French instead of English, there's an extra 800 RMB fee. You just need to let them know three days ahead. The itinerary is flexible, so if the weather turns or you want to spend more time at one stop, they'll adjust. Anything over eight hours per day costs extra, but the standard tour fits within that.
Is this one for you?Book this if you're visiting Beijing for 2 days and want to see the main sights without spending time researching, buying tickets separately, or arranging transport between sites: the private guide and fixed itinerary handle all of that, leaving you to focus on the actual experience.
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Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 7 years); Infant (under 4): free.
What's included in the 2-day Beijing tour?
Private guide, all entrance fees, roundtrip cable car or chairlift or toboggan at Mutianyu, lunch, and hotel pickup and drop-off.
How long is each day?
Each day is a full day of touring. Extra fees apply if the tour runs over 8 hours per day.
Do I need to bring my passport?
Yes. Bring a passport copy during the tour, and provide your full passport number and name when booking for Forbidden City entry.
Is the itinerary fixed or can it change?
It's flexible. The guide can adjust the order or timing based on your interests or weather conditions.
What if I'm not physically fit? Can I still do this tour?
The tour is suitable for all fitness levels. Mutianyu Great Wall involves 1 to 2 hours of hiking, but you can take the cable car or chairlift up and choose to toboggan or walk down.
Is the tour wheelchair accessible?
The tour is wheelchair accessible, though some sections like the Great Wall hiking may have limitations depending on your mobility needs.
Great Wall & Forbidden City 2-Day Tour: Cable car descent included
2d · EN · ES · FR · DE · IT · at your hotel
from US$ 330 per person