China · FORBIDDEN CITY TOURS

Forbidden City Tickets: The 15 Best Ways In, Compared

75 tours  ·  from $2

Entry is capped, registered against your passport and unavailable on Mondays, so the decision is made before you land. These 15 cover plain tickets, guided entries and the combinations with Tiananmen Square, with prices and how far ahead each needs booking.

Beijing: Forbidden City Tour(Group/Private)-Tickets Included - Crossing the Meridian Gate
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Beijing: Forbidden City Tour(Group/Private)-Tickets Included

1.Forbidden City Tour(Group/Private)-Tickets Included

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 7,974 reviews · 3 - 8 hours · from $4Our pick

Choose a small-group or private visit to Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City, led by an English-speaking guide such as Mina, Maria, Jay, or Miko. You’ll see the palace’s main axis, Imperial Garden, and selected western courtyards, with longer options adding the Clock and Treasure halls or Coal Hill Park. Palace entry is arranged for you.

“Tour was great. Miko messaged me day before with thorough instructions. Got to learn a lot and Miko answered all our questions. Definitely recommend”

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Beijing: T-Square & Forbidden City Group or Private Tour - Entering the Forbidden City through the imperial heart of Beijing
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Beijing: T-Square & Forbidden City Group or Private Tour

2.T-Square & Forbidden City Group or Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 4,446 reviews · 3 - 8 hours · from $17

See Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with a guide such as Tony, Gary, Michael, or Song, depending on availability and language. Choose a three to four-hour group visit, a private tour, or an extended day with the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, hutong dumpling class, or Great Wall. Bring your passport and expect strict security checks.

“Gary was excellent! It was a wonderful tour and we learnt so much. I definitely recommend!”

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All-Inclusive Tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Great Wall - Walking through the Forbidden City
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All-Inclusive Tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Great Wall

3.All-Inclusive Tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Great Wall

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 2,873 reviews · from $128Top rated

Spend 9 to 11 hours exploring Beijing with a private guide such as Lucy, Wendy, Jerry, or Bobo. Visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, eat lunch at a local restaurant, then hike Mutianyu Great Wall with a cable car or chairlift and toboggan option. Hotel pickup, tickets, water, and return transport are included.

“Lucy was our tour guide. She went above and beyond to make sure our family saw everything wev wanted to see and have the best experience. I high recommend Lucy and this tour!!”

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4-Hour Small Group Tour to Forbidden City with Entry Tickets - The Meridian Gate and the first palace story
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4-Hour Small Group Tour to Forbidden City with Entry Tickets

4.4-Hour Small Group Tour to Forbidden City with Entry Tickets

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,863 reviews · from $15

Meet your guide in central Beijing for a 3 to 4-hour small-group walk through the Forbidden City. Your prebooked ticket covers the palace, while guides such as Jimmy, Maria, Miko, and Vivian explain Ming and Qing court life. Choose Tiananmen Square or Jingshan Park as your added stop, and bring your actual passport.

“Great tour! Directions and communication were clear. Our guide (Mike) was professional, friendly and provided lots of useful information.”

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Beijing Full Day Tours: Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Great Wall - The Forbidden City, three hours inside the imperial complex
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Beijing Full Day Tours: Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Great Wall

5.Beijing Full Day Tours: Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Great Wall

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,634 reviews · from $99

Start with hotel pickup, then visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City before driving to Mutianyu Great Wall. This 10 to 11 hour small-group tour includes tickets, buffet lunch, water, headsets, and a cable car or chairlift with toboggan. Guides such as Helen and Rocky are known for clear explanations and helpful photos.

“We had Helen as a tour guide. She is approachable, attentive and accommodating. She provided information about places well. We had a good experience with her.”

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Beijing: Tianmen Square, Forbidden City & Royal Museum Tours - The Royal Treasures Museum Option
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Beijing: Tianmen Square, Forbidden City & Royal Museum Tours

6.Tianmen Square, Forbidden City & Royal Museum Tours

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 1,288 reviews · from $4

Explore Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City with an English or Spanish guide. Choose simple ticket booking, a 15 to 20 person group tour, or a private visit with flexible timing. Some options include the Royal Treasures Museum. Guides such as Linda, Vanessa, Mary, Snow, and Icy are praised for clear stories and thoughtful help in the heat.

“The meeting point could be closer to the entrance, because it's a lot of walking inside the palace anyway.”

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Beijing Forbidden City Ticket Booking (Optional: guide service) - Entering through Meridian Gate
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Beijing Forbidden City Ticket Booking (Optional: guide service)

7.Beijing Forbidden City Ticket Booking (Optional: guide service)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,263 reviews · from $9

Book your Forbidden City admission in advance and enter with your passport after security at Meridian Gate. Choose a morning or afternoon visit, then explore the grand halls, inner court, and Imperial Garden for about three to four hours. Add a guide such as Bobo, Summer, or Marco, or upgrade to the Treasure Gallery.

“Booked for party of 5, 4 UK and 1 Chinese national. Chinese member unable to enter using passport details, apparently need to use Chinese ID. This was not clear at time of booking, due to personal circumstances only 1 member of party used ticket. Attempts to call help number provided were fruitless because the person who answered hung up without engaging in conversation. Extremely disappointed, would not recommend using this service.”

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Beijing: Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square Waking Tour - Starting at Temple of Heaven
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Beijing: Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square Waking Tour

8.Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square Waking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 1,002 reviews · 8 hours · from $2Best value

Spend up to eight hours visiting Tian’anmen Square, the Forbidden City, and, on selected options, the Temple of Heaven. Guides such as Huang and Alice explain palace life, point out photo spots, and help with transport. Choose a small-group visit, a Forbidden City and Jingshan Park tour, or ticket reservation help.

“Joe it’s was really nice tour guy! He meet as in a hotel like 20 min from the place so we can go directly to the place, and then inside of the city he explain the man things”

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Forbidden City&T-Square Small GroupTours w/ ticket(Eng/Esp Guide) - Meeting at the North Gate
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Forbidden City&T-Square Small GroupTours w/ ticket(Eng/Esp Guide)

9.Forbidden City&T-Square Small GroupTours w/ ticket(Eng/Esp Guide)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 995 reviews · from $11

This 4.5-hour Beijing walking tour covers Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Treasure Gallery with an English or Spanish guide. Guides such as Vanessa, Linda, Snow, Ivy, and Icy are praised for clear stories and strong historical context. Groups have up to 15 people, with tickets, an earpiece, and late-arrival support included.

“Today’s tour was truly exceptional. My boyfriend and I visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, and our guide, Vanessa, made the entire experience unforgettable. No matter how many stars I give her, it still wouldn’t be enough to reflect how amazing she was. Her knowledge of history was outstanding. Even though it’s quite a demanding tour with lots of walking and plenty of information, she made it so enjoyable and engaging that we were all hanging on her every word from beginning to end. I’m really happy we chose this tour and had the chance to meet the wonderful Vanessa, who shared so much with us. I would recommend…”

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Beijing: The Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square Entry Ticket - Choosing morning or afternoon entry
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Beijing: The Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square Entry Ticket

10.The Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square Entry Ticket

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 836 reviews · 40 minutes - 9 hours · from $4

Book a morning or afternoon entry to Beijing’s Forbidden City, with optional guiding, Tiananmen Square, Mutianyu Great Wall, and hotel transfers. Your passport is used for entry. Guides such as Anson, Andy, Mina, Yoyo, and Selina have helped visitors with meeting points, ticket questions, and on-site support.

“Unfortunately it was a raining day. Definitely worth it for a visit. The booking was easy and everything goes well”

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Beijing 2-Day Tours: Great Wall, Forbidden City & Top Highlights - Tiananmen Square and the route into the Forbidden City
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Beijing 2-Day Tours: Great Wall, Forbidden City & Top Highlights

11.Beijing 2-Day Tours: Great Wall, Forbidden City & Top Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 688 reviews · from $99

Spend two full days seeing Beijing’s biggest sights with an English-speaking guide, hotel pickup, and air-conditioned transport. Visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, then ride to Mutianyu for the Great Wall. Day two brings the Temple of Heaven, a hutong rickshaw ride, Lama Temple, and Summer Palace. Guides may include Helen, Rocky, Tom, Lucy, or Lisa.

“‘Rocky’ was our guide and we could not have had a more knowledgeable, polite, and supportive person. This was the best excursion of our entire China experience that we had several in different cities. The Forbidden City and Great Wall arRead more”

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Private Beijing Walking Tour of the Forbidden City with 7 Options - Entering through the Meridian Gate
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Private Beijing Walking Tour of the Forbidden City with 7 Options

12.Private Beijing Walking Tour of the Forbidden City with 7 Options

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 675 reviews · from $75

Meet a private guide at your central Beijing hotel and walk through Tiananmen Square before entering the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate. You can focus on imperial buildings, palace museums, gardens, or add the Temple of Heaven and a hutong meal. Guides such as Lily, Cindy, Jason, and May are noted for clear English and flexible pacing.

“The guided tour was very interesting and our guide Jack explained a lot about history and architecture of the forbidden city! Highly recommend!”

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Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven - Tiananmen Square: a vast and serious opening
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Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

13.Beijing Classic Full-Day Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 610 reviews · from $99

This nine-hour Beijing tour covers Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace with an English-speaking guide, lunch, transport, and admission included. Guides such as Jenny, Lee, Mary, Murphy, and Michael are praised for clear history talks and good group care. Expect heavy walking, crowds, and possible shopping stops at a pearl market or tea venue.

“The trip included a lot of unannounced "shopping activities" i.e tea ceremonies, silk factory visit and a traditional chinese medicine visit (the latter one being a visit to a no-name center that claimed to be related to the official TCM- most probably a scam) which consumed a lot of time. As a result e only reached our last destination the Summer Palace late in the evening, with no enough light to enjoy the best part of the whole trip.”

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Beijing Essential Full-Day Tour including Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square - Tiananmen Square sets the political stage
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Beijing Essential Full-Day Tour including Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

14.Beijing Essential Full-Day Tour including Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 609 reviews · from $99

You’ll cover Beijing’s three headline sights in about nine hours with an English-speaking guide, air-conditioned transport, lunch, and central-hotel pickup. Guides such as Lee, Jenny, Murphy, and Michael Shi have been praised for clear explanations and personal help. Expect a full walking day, a jade shopping stop, and cable car tickets at Badaling sold separately.

“Our guide was nice and knowledgeable. But even though all the group members had paid for the entrance to the forbidden city they were told to buy tickets at the gate and this delayed our trip over an hour. This left is just less than an hour at the Great Wall which was disappointing. After all the planning we did not get to spend time at the Great Wall.”

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Mini Group Discovery Forbidden City Tour with Hotel Pickup option - Meridian Gate and the first view of imperial power
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Mini Group Discovery Forbidden City Tour with Hotel Pickup option

15.Mini Group Discovery Forbidden City Tour with Hotel Pickup option

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 512 reviews · from $36

Spend about four hours exploring the Forbidden City with a professional historian guide and pre-booked entry. Hotel pickup is available, and guides such as Sofia, Lucy, Marco, and Jeffrey are praised for clear stories, practical help, and good pacing. The tour ends at the North Gate, with no hotel drop-off included.

“Lucy was our guide and she was wonderful in sharing details on every corner of the Forbidden City which we will never know if we just go by ourselves. The place is hugh so would highly recommend the tour if you would like to know more about its history.”

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New in Forbidden City Tours

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★ 4.92-Day All-Inclusive Tour: Great Wall, Forbidden City & MoreFrom $958 reviews
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