4 days in Beijing: adding the Summer Palace

With 4 days in Beijing, the fourth day lets you keep the three essentials of a short trip, add the Summer Palace, and slow the pace down. Here is what that extra day changes. The full day-by-day plans are in our Beijing itinerary.

Why the Summer Palace is the easy fourth day

• No booking: foreign visitors can usually buy tickets at the entrance with their passport; booking in advance is not required.
• Flexible on Mondays: the park is open every day, but some sites inside close on Mondays.
• Easy by metro: Metro Line 4 to Beigongmen station, then about 7 minutes on foot to the North Palace Gate.
• Time: plan 2–3 hours.

So you can place it last, once the Forbidden City and the Great Wall are fixed.

A calmer rhythm

With four days, you don’t need to squeeze the Temple of Heaven and the hutongs into one day:

Day	Morning	Afternoon
1	Forbidden City	Jingshan Park, just north of the Forbidden City, gives a view over the palace roofs
2	Great Wall at Mutianyu	(full day)
3	Temple of Heaven	Hutongs
4	Summer Palace	Free

Avoid a Monday for days 1 and 3: the Forbidden City is closed on Mondays, except Mondays that are public holidays, and at the Temple of Heaven the inner sites usually close on Mondays (except public holidays), while the park stays open.

What to book

• Forbidden City: 7 days before the visit date, around 20:00 Beijing time.
• Great Wall at Mutianyu: tickets are real-name and can be booked up to 30 days ahead, with one admission per passport per day; bring your original passport.
• Temple of Heaven: booking ahead is optional: tickets are real-name and can be booked 1 to 7 days ahead.
• Summer Palace: no booking.

See Summer Palace tickets for which ticket to buy at the gate.

Metro, gates and route: Summer Palace: tickets and how to get there.