Forbidden City Guided Group Tour with Entry Tickets|Multi‑Departs
Description
Embark on an unforgettable imperial tour with flexible daily departure times. You can choose to add Tian'anmen Square sightseeing or explore only the Forbidden City upon booking. This 2-3 hour excursion includes all entry tickets, letting you skip ticket procedures and focus purely on sightseeing. Led by seasoned guides with over 15 years of experience, immerse yourself in captivating royal tales and magnificent ancient architectures, and delve deep into the timeless heritage of the Forbidden City. Feel free to wander and explore the palace at your own pace after the guided tour ends.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Please note that we have two different tour packages available. Please choose according to your needs, and check carefully the different meeting points and times for each option. You must bring your actual valid passport for this tour. Option 1 Tian’anmen Square & Forbidden City Group Tour Start time: 7:30 am & 9:30am & 11:30am Meeting point: In front of Laoshe Teahouse Option 2 2 Hour Forbidden City Group Tour Start time: 8:30AM, 10:30AM, 12:30PM & 2:00 PM Meet at Meridian Gate (the main entrance of the Forbidden City)
For Option 1: You will visit Tian'anmen Square first. Tiananmen Square is the geographical center of Beijing City. It is the largest city square in the world, occupying an area of 440,000 square meters. Followed by your expert and professional guide, a very informative introduction of the Tian'anmen square and surrounding buildings will be given to your group, as everyone moves along towards to the Forbidden City. (Note: In peak season security checks at Tiananmen Square are particularly stringent. If the waiting time exceeds 1 hour, we recommend considering a bus ride that passes by the square. Additionally, spending too much time at the square could detract from your experience at the iconic Forbidden City, which is a highlight of our tour. We will only proceed with this alternative if the majority of the group is in agreement. Please keep this in mind as we plan our visit.)
Once enter the Forbidden City, your guide will find a quite sitting area and introduce you to the palace, making you feel immersed in the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. People always say: when visit Forbidden city, 70% is to learn the stories and 30% is to see the palace.During the walking tour, you will stop at different locations to have the "Story time" and gain the insight view to the fascinating culture.This detailed tour to the Forbidden city also including the visit to the important museums to discover the treasures from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
You'll be walking pass the most notable buildings during the tour as well as the west and east chambers. Check the Itinerary for the full list of sights. Stroll around the courtyards and halls of the Forbidden city with your tour guide, and learn the histories and stories about this massive palace. You will visit these buildings inside the Forbidden City.
Including the Hall of Supreme Harmony (for grand imperial ceremonies), the Hall of Central Harmony (for the emperor's pre-ritual rest and preparation) and the Hall of Preserving Harmony (for royal banquets and the imperial examination).
Then continue to explore the imperial living quarters in the palace: the Hall of Heavenly Purity (the emperor’s bedroom and office), the Hall of Union (a symbolic hall for imperial couples), and the Hall of Earthly Tranquillity (the empress’s residence). Our knowledgeable tour guide will share fascinating stories and intriguing historical facts behind these magnificent buildings throughout the tour.
If you choose Option 2, you will only visit the Forbidden City. The tour includes entry ticket and guided service, lasting about 2 hours. Please arrive on time; late arrivals cannot join the tour.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Your passport name and number are required at time of booking (for all participants)
- Please don't forget to bring your passport, you may be refused entry without it.
- 0-3 Years old infant is free, children have to purchase tickets as well
- Tian'anmen Square might close without advance notice due to government activity, if this happens you will skip the Square
- Tour departs punctually. Please arrive 10 minutes early. Once the tour left, you are unable to join the tour, and this tour is not refundable.
- Chinese citizens, including customers from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, need to reserve the tickets for the Palace Museum 7 days in advance. Once the tickets for the Palace Museum are sold out, it will be impossible to participate in this itinerary. In addition, according to the regulations of the Palace Museum, Chinese citizens can only choose to reserve tickets with their ID cards. Therefore, when making a reservation, it is necessary to submit the Chinese name and ID card number, and on the day of the tour, the submitted ID document must be presented to join the tour group.
- In case of peak travel seasons and when all the tickets reserved online for the scenic area are sold out, tourists are required to go to the ticket office of the scenic area by themselves under the guidance of the tour guide to handle the purchase of paper tickets on-site. Please be informed.
- Since this is a small - group itinerary, your punctual arrival at the meeting point is essential for a seamless travel experience. Tiananmen Square and the Palace Museum have strict regulations and procedures. If you are late, it may unfortunately prevent you from joining the tour and entering the Palace Museum. Due to the unique nature of the itinerary arrangements, in the event that lateness causes you to miss the tour, we regret that we will not be able to process a refund. We highly recommend that you communicate with your hotel in advance to accurately confirm the travel time from the hotel to the meeting point and make sufficient preparations. This way, you can embark on your journey with ease and enjoy every moment of it.
- In Peak season, the security checks at Tiananmen Square are particularly stringent. If the waiting time exceeds one hour, we recommend considering a bus ride that passes by the square. Given the sweltering heat, waiting in line for an extended period increases the risk of heat - related illnesses. Additionally, spending too much time at the square could detract from your experience at the iconic Forbidden City, which is a highlight of our tour. We will only proceed with this alternative if the majority of the group is in agreement. Please keep this in mind as we plan our visit.
- This tour is not recommended for travelers with physical/visual impairments or mobility restrictions due to varied terrain (underground passages, stairs) and the length of the tour. Please note that this tour covers 4 hours of walking.
- This tour is not recommended for travelers with physical/visual impairments or mobility restrictions due to varied terrain (underground passages, stairs) and the length of the tour. Please note that this tour covers 4 hours of walking.
Reviews(2,134)
We enjoyed the tour. Maria was informative and charming. We enjoyed an apparently-new (first opened as of that day or the day before) skip-the-line benefit that, on its own, probably justified the price of the tour, We skipped a line 5 blocks (US city blocks) long and 8-10 people deep for a 930am tour.
Jimmy the guide is a star Responsive, competent, and funny
Mike is a really patient, detailed, kind, knowledgeable, and passionate English&Mandarin Guide that we are most privileged to have met in the morning of 8 August 2026 8.30am session. He met up with us and the rest of the tour members at Median Gate and helped us ensure that all the necessary are done. His dedication to share this beautiful piece of history to so many of us is commendable and I strongly recommend for fellow travellers to engage him in future.
Our tour guide for the day was Moko, he was very energetic and pleasant and made it a great experience for learning the history of the Forbidden City. My family enjoyed it very much and would definitely book again if given the chance. Thank you Discover Beijing Tours!
Excellent guide, Jimmy, for this tour. Very good atmosphere due to the guide, during all the tour, and a lot of information from him.
Very convenient! Meeting point is easy to find. Our guide, Anson, was very friendly and gave us very good informations about the history of the site. The weather conditions were quite hard, it was very hot, but Anson kept his energy and his smile all the visit long. Thank you Anson!
Great visit with our tour guide Jimmy. He knew a lot about each area he took us to with great knowledge and never made any of the trip feel boring. Before I knew it, the trip was over! Highly recommended as you wouldn't get the same experience going by yourself.
Option 1, 4 August, 34°C and feeling nearer 41. The meeting point was well chosen and the guide was pleasant enough. Security at Tiananmen Square took two hours — a series of queues each leading obligingly to the next. The listing notes that checks can be "stringent in peak season". Roughly three hours after our appointed meeting time, we were just finishing with the square. Then a further pause at the gates of the Forbidden City. Most of us had submitted passport details in advance, as instructed, and waited while tickets were sorted for those who had been allowed to book at the last minute. No estimate was offered. At that point we carried on through the palace on our own. A guided walk through a security queue, across Tiananmen Square, and up to the gates. The rest was self-guided. A word beforehand would have sent us straight to Option 2. Take the Forbidden City-only option, the earliest slot, and bring more water.
Very much enjoyed this tour with Jimmy - he was knowledgeable of the area and was helpful from start to finish. His good level of English made the tour very accessible, and he was happy to snap some photos along the way. The fee is worth the convenience of being with a group and navigating the large square efficiently. Would recommend!
The tickets through the regular channels were sold out in a blink of an eye. Luckily Viator was there and we got the tickets we wanted. Really glad we did though, since our guide Mike did a wonderful job in showing us the sights and telling us all about the intrigues of the past along with a lot of interesting information about the Forbidden City. We had a great morning!
