A Perfect Beijing Itinerary: Detailed 5 Days Guide For First Timers

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If I had to choose one city that perfectly represents China’s spirit, it would be Beijing. Even after almost a month of travelling through China, Beijing has left a special mark with its most unique and best-known attractions and things to do. We share all the details of our 5 day Beijing Itinerary with you below.

Personally, I think it’s an essential stop for anyone visiting China and a great starting point of your travel to China. It provides you with an insight into both worlds – traditional and new. Whether you want to wander through traditional hutongs (alleyways = oldest parts), surround yourself with an enormous collection of historical sights, or observe futuristic skyscrapers, the city has you covered. 

Regardless if you are a first-time traveller or returning travel addict, our 5-days Beijing itinerary will help you navigate through the city’s top attractions spread across the city. This jam-packed itinerary includes all the best bits, handy tips and recommendations to make your trip to Beijing the best experience. Let’s start 🙂

See the complete 3-week China travel itinerary

5 Day Beijing Itinerary

Beijing Day 1: Blend of nature and urban

After arriving at Beijing airport at 8 a.m. and finding our hotel in one of the hutongs, we decided to begin exploring the area we’ll be living in for a couple of days. It’s a great starting point of your Beijing itinerary as it is close to the majority of tourist sites.

Temple of Confucius and Imperial College Museum

 Recommended time: 2 hours

The second biggest Confucius temple in China and the origin of education and knowledge is a must-see on your Beijing itinerary to help you understand the culture and tradition. It has four courtyards and four main sides: the Gate of the First Teacher, the Gate of Great Accomplishment, the Hall of Great Accomplishment, and the Worship Hall. Among other things you can see various carvings of scholars who passed the official examinations.

Arriving earlier, we suggest heading straight to Imperial College for the most iconic pictures with traditional architecture. Every hour you can also enjoy a traditional show, which lasts for 15 minutes. There is only a small number of chairs in front of the stage. If you are tired or want to have the best view, come 5 minutes before the show.

Yoghe Temple or Lama Temple

 Recommended time: 45 minutes to 1 hour 

Around the corner from previous stop, you can visit the largest and most preserved lamasery in present China. It consists of five main halls separated by courtyards: the Gate Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Harmony and Peace, the Hall of Everlasting Protection, the Hall of the Wheel of the Law, and the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness.

The most important feature is the Hall of the Kings of Heaven, featuring Buddha’s statue surrounded by the four kings. Each of them features one symbolic objects (snake, sword, shield, and toad).

You can sit down in the shadows of the temples to relax, observe people and/or the process of praying.

Houhai Lake

 Recommended time for a walk around it: 30 minutes to 1 hour

Known for numerous restaurants with traditional food, outdoor seating overlooking the lake, and famous rickshaw rides, it’s also home to one of the best-known hutongs. You should stop by at night, when the lights come up and people fill up every corner. If you are looking for authentic, traditional Chinese food, this is the place to go.

Beihai Park

 Recommended time: 1,5 – 2 hours

Beautiful scenery complemented by gardens, pagodas, and gorgeous artwork has much to offer. There are restaurants and bars as well as playgrounds for children. In the middle of the lake is the Island of Exquisite Jade with a beautiful 17th-century White Pagoda. The island is accessible by boats of all imaginable forms or through a bridge connecting it with the walk side. You can also take a paddle and enjoy the lake or relax and leave it to locals.

We decided to walk through the bridge and explore the island’s splendid architecture. It turned out this is a popular place for locals to relax and enjoy their time.

The Travel Momento insider tip: If you leave by the southern exit, you will come out by the Forbidden City’s western part.

As we were visiting Beijing during the national holidays in October, the Forbidden City was closed on that day. If you are visiting outside of the celebration, you can finish the first day by visiting the Forbidden City.

We decided to take the bus to visit the biggest commercial street in Beijing, Xidan commercial street, which also represents the financial district of Beijing. 

Business / Financial Area

 Recommended time: 30 minutes

As Gregor is working in finance, visiting the bank’s headquarters has become a must on every trip 🙂

Take a walk around this area to witness China’s other side: the modern, technological, and futuristic. Here you can find the headquarters of China Construction Bank, The People’s Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and Agricultural Bank of China.

We decided to return to Houhai Lake to start our foodie trip down the traditional Chinese cuisine flavours.

EVENING/NIGHT ALTERNATIVE: You can stay on a vibrant Xidan comercial street full of malls with Chinese and European shops and restaurants. Just don’t forget that European brands are way more expensive here.

Beijing Day 2: Chasing the views

We recommend beginning the second day of your Beijing itinerary with a trip to UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Summer Palace, and imperial gardens.

Summer Palace

 Recommended time: 3 hours

Connected to the city centre with a subway, the largest royal park in China is easily reachable for all of you travelling with children. You need to purchase a subway ticket and then an additional ticket for the tram connecting you with the closest gate.

With 733-acres you can easily spend here the whole day. We recommend you take some time to walk around the lake towards the palace and enjoy the ensemble of pavilions, gardens, bridges, corridors, and temples. 

The Summer Palace has four parts: Kunming Lake Area, the Court Area, Front and Rear Area of Longevity Hill. The later offers great views overlooking the lake. There is not a more photogenic traditional place that this one and one of the few with many places to hide and enjoy tranquil harmony. 

You can purchase a ticket covering all the levels or pay for a particular level before entering it. 

The Travel Momento insider tip: Climb the Longevity Hill to reach the Buddhist Temple for stunning views overlooking the lake and surroundings. 

Old Summer Palace and Yuanmingyuan Park

 Recommended time: 1 hours

Existing to the east of the current Summer Palace, you can continue to the ruins of the old palace. It is an essential part of Yuanmingyuan Park that consists of three gardens: Garden of Perfect Brightness, Garden of Eternal Spring, and Garden of Elegant Spring.

The Travel Momento insider tip: Make sure to enter on the right side. Otherwise, you have to walk through a huge park to see the ruins.

On the way back to the city centre, we stopped to see the masterpiece of all times – the Olympic Park.

Olympic Park

 Recommended time: 30 minutes to 1 hour (if you visit the indoor)

The so called Bird’s Nest and Water Cube building hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. Despite not being in use anymore, it doesn’t look less powerful than it did back in the days. A great architectural piece with a park to sit down or walk around the building. You can see it straight after exiting the subway station.

Sunset at Jingshan Park

 Recommended time: 30 minutes 

Climbing all the start to the top of the park will be super rewarding. There is no other place offering such great 360-degree panoramic view of the Forbidden City and Belhei park. Here is where you realise how enormously big Beijing is. Take a breath and immerse its glory. 

Jingshan Park is located across the North gate of the Forbidden City. This is why you can combine it with the tour of the Forbidden City.

We recommend to visit the park just before the sunset. The sun lighting the city is an incredible memory and offers plenty of photo opportunities.

Beijing Day 4: Step back into the history

Continue your adventure by exploring the rich past of China. 

Tiananmen Square

 Recommended time: 20 minutes 

Tiananmen Square is the main square of Beijing and the most prominent spot that every Chinese wants to see at least once in life. With over 440,000 square meters is also the largest city square in the world. 

Over history, Tiananmen represented the entrance to the Imperial City, within which is located the Forbidden City. When you look at the gate entrance, you will see two lions in front of it and two lions guarding the bridges. This is not surprising as the Chinese see lions as protectors from evil spirits.

In the middle of the square is the Monument to the People’s Heroes devoted to all the fallen soldiers in World War 2. It represents one of the largest monuments ever built in China.

Around the square, you can find the most important political and historical buildings –  The Great Hall of the People, where meetings of the China National People’s Congress take place, Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall with the crystal coffin of Chairman Mao’s body, and the Museum of China.

Forbidden City

 Recommended time: 20 minutes 

This is a fantastic and most visited historic landmark in Beijing! So much to see and so much to learn. It should definitely be on anyone’s list of must-sees in China regardless of the available time.

There is only one entrance to the city, the Southern Gate, where you will already see a large queue of people waiting to go through security. It’s closed on Mondays, and from our experience it’s also opened during the national holidays in October.

Home to 24 of China’s former emperors since 1406 has five sections:
Hall of Supreme Harmony, Meridian Gate, Imperial Ancestral Temple, Zhongshan Park, Gate of Heavenly Peace.

The Travel Momento insider tip: You need to bring your passport for identification purposes. 

National Museum of China

 Recommended time: 2 hours

Want to dive deep into China’s development into modernity? Then this is the place to visit. It features a great display of ancient Chinese cultural relics, archaeological discoveries, Chinese calligraphy and paintings, Buddhist statues, Ming and Qing furniture, and ethnic customs.

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong

 Recommended time:  10 minutes

You can also visit the inside and pay respects to the founder of China.

Going around the mausoleum you will arrive at Zhengyang Gate and Dashilan Street, where you can drive down the street with an ancient tram.

Temple of Heaven

 Recommended time:  1,5 to 2 hours

Temple of Heaven was an important temple during the Ming and Qing dynasties, where emperors would pray for good harvesting during the winter solstice. It consists of three main buildings: The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, The Circular Mound Altar, and The Imperial Vault of Heaven. In the latter, you can find the famous Echo Wall, which can transmit even the quietest of sounds and voices enabled by three unusual echoing stones.

Nowadays, the complex gardens are a place for locals to hang out, play board games (especially chess) and perform dances. It’s a great place to get some insights into how Chinese people spend their free time. So interesting to see how they cheer and bet, and how loud it can get.

Although we arrived late in the afternoon and it was crowded, we could still get empty pictures with the temple.

Beijing Day 4: Reaching the top of China

After getting a feel for the city, it was time to see one of the world’s greatest wonders – The Great Wall of China. You cannot truly experience Beijing or even China if you haven’t seen the Great Wall.

We were waiting for this since we landed, and it had completely surpassed everything we expected. There are no words to describe the feeling when you stand on the wall and look around what people built centuries ago.

For this day trip, we booked a guided tour on Viator to get information that only locals would know.

Great Wall Hiking Tour from Jinshanling to Simatai West

 Tour time:  9 hours

This part of the wall is further away from Beijing than other sections. But it has its own perks – it’s less crowded and quieter.

Some parts of the wall are really steep and slippery, especially if you are walking in sandals. I (Tjasa) speak from first hand experience as I had to get on my hands to climb up. But the views on the top of the watchtowers are worth it!

Along the way, you can find locals selling snacks and drinks, so make sure to have money with you. Even with several water bottles, we had to buy some cold refreshments as there are no shadows to hide from the sun.

Silk Market

 Recommended time:  9 hours

Like every woman, I (Tjasa) had such big plans for everything I would be able to buy. The truth is that the prices are not as low as you might have heard or saw on the websites with Chinese clothes and shoes.

This place exists just for the tourist. You won’t find many locals there. The majority of the products are duplicates. If you decide to purchase something, always negotiate. Some retailers are willing to change the initial price substantially and will also run after you to persuade you to buy the item.

Night visit of Tianmen Square

We concluded the day with the visit of the main square at night. 

You might be surprised, but there were more people than during the day. The square and surrounding building light up. It’s worth seeing the iconic place at night.

Beijing Day 5: Outskirts of the city

To conclude our Beijing itinerary we headed to the surroundings of Beijing for some cultural inspiration and finish the day by absorbing the spirit on the main street. 

798 Art District

 Recommended time:  1 to 3 hours (if you want to visit the galleries)

An interesting place representing the heart of alternative and modern art and culture in China. It used to be an industrial area that was turned into a unique district of murals, sculptures, graffiti walls, and wall arts. Even if you are not interested in art, we would recommend visiting this area. It’s a nice walk through the community representing a contract between the city’s past and present.

Drum and Bell Tower

 Recommended time:  30 – 45 minutes

Originally used as musical instruments, they quickly became the official time announcers of Beijing. We recommend climbing both of them for some nice views of traditional hutongs and Houhai Lake. While enjoying the view, don’t forget to catch the drum performance. It runs at 09:30, 10:00, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:45.

When visiting this site, you can also take a walk through the most well-restored hutong, Nanluogo Xiang, where you can sit down for lunch or snack in many restaurants and cafes. Due to its restoration, this hutong is super touristy and busy and doesn’t represent the traditional way of living.

Wangfujing Pedestrian Street

 Recommended time:  completely up to you

Shopping heaven with the best food diversity. From local to international shops like Starbuck, Wangfujing pedestrian street is a popular destination, especially for young people. It also offers delicious food ranging from duck and chicke to desserts. 

Sum up of this 5 day Beijing itinerary

The aim of our Beijing itinerary is to give you a chance to explore it all. The unique landmarks and highly tourist sights while providing you with the opportunity to dive into the culture and tradition. 

You can combine different days or start clockwise. It’s up to you to decided what suits you the best. 

Enjoy exploring this amazing city!

Still have some questions regarding your trip to China? Click here for the most comprehensive overview of everything you need to know to explore China like a local. 

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We are two travel passionistas, who are always in the minds of planning their next travel trip and creating memories. Get honest tips and all the details, learn from our mistakes and enjoy our travel guides so you can have the best time!

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