One of the biggest impetuses for my trip to China was to achieve a major bucket list item of mine: The Great Wall of China. So, that brought us to Beijing, which has some amazing sights to see. We suggest dedicating two whole days to the city. We did three and it was a little too long, but if you want to tackle all the sights at a more leisurely pace, three is just fine. Below, find our itinerary.
Haidilao Hot Pot: We will detail this in our food post dedicated to Beijing, but we started our trip to the city with a hot pot lunch at Haidilao, which was delicious and surprisingly low-carb.
798 Art Zone: Next, we went to this really interesting art district called 798 Art Zone. In what used to be a factory area for the military. The space is now redone factories and cute cafes full of local art. We’re talking large scale sculptures and paintings and everything in between. The area is super eclectic and interesting, and makes for some fun instagrams. It will take around 2.5-3 hours to go through.
The Great Wall of China: The next day, we set out to cross something off our bucket list: The Great Wall. It should be noted that The Great Wall should be reserved for your clearest day while you are in Beijing, which can be notoriously smoggy. So, once you land in Beijing, look at your weather forecast for the week and pick the day with the clearest skies and the lowest smog alert, otherwise you can make the trek only to see grey skies and a few feet in front of you.
There are a few different ways to experience the Great Wall: travel group, guide, private driver, etc. We researched them all and a firmly sure that we made the right call on this. We had our hotel, The Four Seasons, arrange for a private driver for us. For $200, we had this driver from 6m, when we were picked up, until 2pm, when we were dropped off. It was well worth it.
So, at 6am the driver picked us up and we headed about an hour and a half away to the Mutianyu entrance to The Great Wall. Many of my friend suggested this entrance, and it was absolutely perfect and picturesque. The Wall opens at 8am, so we were able to get there, get our tickets etc. before all of the crowds showed up. You have to take a bus and then a ski lift of sorts to get to the starting point, and we were pretty much the only people on both at that hour, resulting in having the Great Wall of China to ourselves for the first two hours of our visit there. I can’t stress how amazing this was. We had no one in the background of our photos and we pretty much had free reign. So, do yourselves a favor and be the first ones when the Wall opens because the early start time is incredibly worth it.
We were done claiming to the top by noon and then made our way back to Beijing for some relaxation and lunch. It’s the perfect half day and was one of the highlights of the trip overall.
Exploring the Forbidden City: Beijing is home to SO much of China’s historic moments and has some really beautiful ancient structures. We booked a group tour to see them all, but if we did it over, we would have done a private tour. The tour covered a lot of ground. It started with Tiananmen Square, the sight of the 1989 protests that resulted in the Chinese military mowing down protestors. We also made it to the Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, Pearl and Silk Markets.
Peking Duck: Save a very rich peking duck dinner for your time in Beijing, as it’s known for the cuisine here. There are two very famous spots for duck: Duck De Chine, where we ate, and Dadong. Both require reservations in advance and you should also specify when you make the reservation that you’ll want the full duck so that they have that on reserve for you. From there, we went to a wonderful cocktail bar across the way that was full of locals and really nice, craft cocktails. Was a great close to the trip.
Want to see more of our Asia Travel Guides?
Travel Guide: Hong Kong
Travel Guide: Where to Stay in Hong Kong
Travel Guide: Shanghai
Travel Guide: Where to Eat in Shanghai
Travel Guide: Where to Stay in Tokyo
Travel Guide: Tokyo Itinerary
Travel Guide: Where To Eat In Tokyo
Travel Guide: Kyoto Itinerary
Travel Guide: Where to Eat in Kyoto