Tian'anmen Square & Forbidden City Private Walking Tour W/Options

Immerse yourself in Chinese history and explore the majestic Forbidden City on this private half-day walking tour. Discover the secrets of the Ming & Qing Dynasty emperors and visit the iconic Tiananmen Square. Beat the crowds and delve into the hidden halls of the palace.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang) - Depart from your hotel independently and meet at the Grand Hotel Beijing near Tian’anmen Square or at the airport at the prearranged time. Walk to Tian’anmen Square (after passing through security checks). You’ll see the ancient Qianmen Gate, the Monument to the People’s Heroes, and the Great Hall of the People from the outside. Your tour guide will share the history and stories behind these landmarks.

  • Forbidden City-The Palace Museum - Spend a few hours exploring this stunning example of Imperial architecture and learning about the palace’s history.

Another option is to book an entrance ticket with us. Please bring a valid passport for entry and make your way to the site independently.

The Forbidden City served as the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. For nearly 500 years, it was the residence of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government.

Tour route: The Forbidden City is divided into two sections. The southern section, or Outer Court, was where the emperor exercised supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or Inner Court, was where he lived with his royal family. You can choose the central route, East Route, or West Route based on your interests, or visit the Treasure House on the East Route.

After the tour, return to your hotel using public transportation independently.

What's Included
  • Reserved entry to Tian’anmen Square
  • Private guide service fee (4 hours)
  • Entrance ticket to the Forbidden City
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to the Forbidden City
  • Meals (lunch & dinner)
  • Gratuity (for good service)
  • Transportation (hotel drop off)
  • Hotel Pick-up within 4th ring road (transportation to the Tian’anmen Square probably costs $50)
Additional Information

This private half day tour starts in the morning or afternoon, your professional English speaking tour guide will meet you at the designated hotel and walk to visit the biggest city center square in the world - Tiananmen Square then walk to the largest Imperial Palace to understand the emperors in the Ming & Qing Dynasty. You also can learn more Chinese history from your guide.

Highlights:

  • Visit the biggest square in the world: Tiananmen square;
  • Efficient way to visit the Forbidden City beating the crowd;
  • See the valuable exhibits and visit less-know halls of the palace;
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Dress code is smart casual
  • Please note: Forbidden City is closed every Monday, except the Chinese public holidays
  • Extra fee will be requested after 4 hours tour
Location
Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang)
West Changan Street, Dongcheng District,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(248 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Ramris
Aug 17, 2024
Very good option (even more if you get Adam as a guide) - Very nice tour, and very good value for money! A special mention for our outstanding guide, Adam: perfectly fluent in English, but most of all very kind and professional. Highly recommended!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
976masonm
Aug 16, 2024
100/10! Book this tour! - Our guided tour with Lily was incredible. Lily is the best tour guide you could ask for, she made the day super fun and enjoyable. Not only does she have a lot of history and knowledge to share throughout the day but she also knows how to have a laugh! Walking us through our first day in Beijing was extremely helpful, not only did she teach us all about Tiananmen Square and Forbidden city but she also taught us how to speak some Chinese, how to book a Chinese Uber (DiDi), the best places to eat around Beijing and finally showed us a few markets at the end of the tour. If your looking to book a tour, this is the one! It definitely doesn’t get any better than this. Thank you Lily for your time, care and making the day so special, a lifelong friend has been made and if we come back to Beijing, we will definitely be booking with Lily again!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Departure586065
Aug 11, 2024
Excellent & Informative Tour Experience - My tour was booked with Catherine Lu Tours for a private English Speaking Tour of the Forbidden city & Tian'anmen Square. My guide Linda was an absolute delight! She arrived at our hotel early, a mountain of information, very engaging, knowledgeable and made us feel very much at home during the tour. My teenage daughters only have good things to say about her. As this was a last minute booking, I can honestly say I don't know how we would have got through the queues if she hadn't been there - she made the whole process seamless and made great recommendations. Oh and she's a great photographer with a phone camera saving my family from my not so great family selfies. If you book with Catherine Lu Tours, definitely request for Linda - she's a star.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debbyc499
Aug 2, 2024
Forbidden city guided tour - We had a really good time! The guide, Angela, was great, she took care of us and told us many interesting information about ancient Chinese history an culture. Totally worth it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
551nonia
Jul 28, 2024
Our experience with the Private tour with Linda - We went to Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden city with our tour guide Linda. Not only were we able to see all of the important sights but also we were given a lot of information about the history and how it impacted the architecture! Linda has been very resourceful and articulate in explaining thoroughly the history of every thing that we saw and didn’t see demonstrating amazing knowledge of the history which amazed us and we were eagerly awaiting for more! Linda has also gone out of her way once the tour was finished to assist us even more with her generosity and guide us to a food spot that was so good! Also gave us a very special gift that we will keep as a memory of this great experience we had! Thank you to Linda for this amazing experience and until next time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dream814219
Jul 26, 2024
Visit to forbidden city - All perfect. We were with Sofia who explained everything very well and especially guided us through the complex that was crowded as usual in July and August. Fundamental to do this excursion with a Guide in Spanish.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tanyafi5110qt
Jul 20, 2024
Amazing tour of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square with Kathy - This tour was absolutely great , no matter how many pictures of Forbidden City you’ve seen before - the real thing leaves you breathless - it’s so GRANDb , so much beauty and history and everything has its special meaning and to understand that you need a guide otherwise you’ll be missing j out royally . I got really lucky , because my guide Kathy was absolutely the best : she pointed out and explained all the details of architecture and historical connections at the same time making sure you are comfortable and well hydrated 😊.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aikseng_y
Jul 17, 2024
Excellent tour - Very knowledgeable guide, good communication skills, accommodating in fetching my group from our hotel which is quite far from the city centre.
Review provided by Viator
944shingy
Jul 15, 2024
Amazing Tour to Tian An Men Square and The Forbidden City - What an amazing tour to the Tian An Men Square and The Forbidden City. We had the pleasure having such a nice and funny, wonderful guide. Jenna was so full of knowledge about everything. So much information and such a sweet help with taking the best pictures for us. We all want to recommend her to others that are going to tour in Beijing. Hope till next time. THANK YOU JENNA, we are so grateful 🙏🏻
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Juliadq1168zm
Jul 15, 2024
A fantastic tour! - Last week we had an amazing tour with tour guide Jenna. She picked us up at the hotel and together we went to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city. Jenna was incredibly knowledgeable, when we had a question she always had an answer and she could tell the stories with great detail. Besides that she has a great sense of humor and she is a fantastic photographer. We had a great time and we would definitely book again with this company! Jenna thank you so much for the amazing tour
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today