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(2,089)
Fantastic Tour.Its a must if visting Beijing
We recently did the Forbidden City Tour with Cassie and had a fabulous experience. Cassie spoke clear English which was great and her knowledge of all things was outstanding. She was very personable and bubbly and I would thoroughly recommend this tour and Cassie as a guide.
Wonderful visit, organized in a highly professional manner. Huge thanks to Miko, who truly made the history of the complex come alive and kindly slowed down her perfect English for the non-native speakers in our group. A truly memorable day.
Very informative. Our guide Vivien gave all the historical background while moving around. Adds a lot of value to what you see and walk through. Makes it a totally different level of engagement
The tour guide was just focused on getting good reviews from guests. I wasnt able to take good photos atleast as he would not give time and he would not assist.
Dear guest, we’re truly sorry to hear you were unsatisfied with your two-hour shared group tour of the Forbidden City, and we’d like to clarify the actual arrangements of our itinerary here. This is a compact two-hour group sightseeing tour covering hundreds of years of Ming and Qing dynasty history together with ancient imperial architectural norms. It is objectively impossible to cover every single detail within such a limited time frame, so our guide arranges the tour to focus on core, representative historical knowledge to ensure all group guests can grasp key background stories efficiently as scheduled. Before and during the tour, our guide clearly informed all visitors that once the guided explanation segment wrapped up, every guest would have full free time to wander the palace courtyards independently, take photos freely, and explore any areas they were interested in at their own pace. The guided route follows a fixed unified schedule to accommodate all members of the shared group, as we cannot pause repeatedly for individual photo-taking requests which would delay the whole team and impact the experience of other tourists. We always aim to deliver balanced, comprehensive explanations for all group visitors rather than focusing on reviews alone. We regret that our fixed group schedule arrangement did not match your personal travel expectation of extended photo time, and we suggest private customized tours for guests hoping for fully flexible, unrushed sightseeing and photography time in the future. Best regards, Qing
Fantastic tour. Duration is adequate to see the main things without rushing and without wasting time. Our guide Mike spoke excellent English and was very engaging and thorough in his explanations! Recommended!
I don't understand all the good reviews as my experience in this tour was not positive at all. Suffice to say that half of the group left before the tour ended. Our guide, Tony sent a message the day before asking for everyone to be at the meeting point 20min in advance... I arrived but the guide was nowhere to be seen until the top of the hour and I wasn't sure I was at the right place. Then a participant of the tour arrived late which made the whole group having to wait around 15min. At Tiananmen Square, the explanations given were non-sense to me - a lot of talk about feng shui and silly explanations about if you build a house with a mountain on your right side you will get a strong family, if a river you will get wealthy... I can't say how many times I heard this type of non-sense. Meanwhile relevant historical facts that occurred there like the tank incident, were completely ignored. At the Forbidden City, same circus... I learned nothing and was getting so bored that left after a couple of hours. Wished I had gone by myself, would have saved time and money.
Dear guest, We sincerely regret to hear your tour experience did not meet your expectations, and we would like to clarify the relevant arrangements for your reference. This is a shared group tour serving multiple guests. We arranged to wait for late arriving travelers for a reasonable period to avoid leaving latecomers stranded, which caused a short waiting time for the whole group, and we apologize for the waiting inconvenience brought to you. On the day of assembly, our guide Tony temporarily left the meeting spot to guide several lost group members to the correct gathering location, which is why you did not spot him immediately upon your arrival. Regarding the commentary at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City: our tour guide’s introduction combined ancient architectural layout, traditional geomancy culture of imperial construction, historical architectural design logic. The layout of Jinshui River in the front and Jingshan Hill at the back of the Forbidden City followed ancient imperial city construction norms, the water system and hills were constructed for flood control, layout balance, imperial symbolic meaning, which is the cultural background the guide shared. Our standard tour commentary focuses on verified official history, architectural evolution, imperial life and cultural heritage of the Palace Museum. Different guests have varied interests towards traditional folk culture and architectural aesthetics, and we respect your personal preference. We always strive to balance the schedule for all group members on shared tours. We take your feedback seriously and will further optimize assembly management and commentary arrangement in future services. Thank you for your feedback. Qing
Forbidden City Guided Group Tour with Entry - Great tour with greate guide Lucia! Thanks again for the tour!
Jimmy was a very helpful guide and very knowledgeable. I needed help getting a taxi to the airport afterward and he not only helped me get one but even walked 10 minutes to the pick up point with me!
The meeting point was convenient and the guides were easy to find. Lydia was my tour guide, and she was great. She speaks english really well, is friendly, and super knowledgable. Lydia knows all the good spots for photos and sightseeing, and will provide historical as well as present day context to your surroundings. She also took care of admissions and explained every step clearly, which made me feel safe. Overall I would recommend this tour to anyone, especially first timers who want a convenient and easy going experience Thank you Lydia!
