In-depth Forbidden City tour with Royal Icehouse Lunch | 6 hours

14 Reviews | Beijing
Select Date and Travelers
You can select up to 15 travelers in total.
Adult (0-99) Minimum: 1, Maximum: 15
2
Free Cancellation For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Private Tour
2 Adults x $265.00
$530.00
Approx Total
$530.00
Lunch included
Pickup included

Inclusions / Exclusions

  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English
  • All tickets of the Forbidden City
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Mineral water
  • Lunch with soft drinks/beer
  • Experienced English-speaking guide

Overview

The Forbidden City is listed as the number one must-see in Beijing, which served as the residence of Chinese Ming and Qing emperors for almost 500 years. Go beyond the typical attractions within the City on this comprehensive 6-hour guided tour, which includes access to the Clock Room,Treasure House, living and working places of emperors. In this tour, you will actually get inside some of the buildings in the Forbidden City. Lunch will served in the former Imperial Icehouse inside Forbidden City.

Itinerary

  • Forbidden City-The Palace Museum

    Meet your guide at selected time and start to explore the largest Imperial Palace in the world thoroughly. During this tour, you will also have a very unique lunch experience at one of the Imperial Ice Houses of the Emperor. Those are some of the important places you will see:

    5 hours

  • Turret of The Palace Museum (Pass By)

    Part of the defensive construction of the Forbidden city at each corner of the Wall. You will get inside one of them if the Wall is open.

  • Meridian Gate (Wu Men) (Pass By)

    South gate and main entrance to the Forbidden City. The emperor used to believe the Meridian Line went right through it.

  • Hall of Great Harmony (Taihe Dian) (Pass By)

    The the most important building in the Forbidden City and the largest wooden structure in the world, where the Emperor used to work and hold important ceremonies.

  • Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian) (Pass By)

    Used for banquets and later for imperial examinations. The exam was under the supervision of the emperor, which tested candidates’ understanding of classical and Confucian literature. Then they were either assigned to the provinces or selected to work in the central government ministries.

  • Inner Court (Pass By)

    It was the place where the emperor used to handle daily affairs and the living quarter for the emperor, empress and imperial concubines.

  • Palace of Heavenly Purity (Pass By)

    The largest building in the Inner Court, the residence of the Emperor.

  • The Antiquarium of The Palace Museum (Pass By)

    Also known as Treasure Hall, it is actually made of several buildings which were built for the abdicated Emperor Qianlong. Now they are exhibition rooms with several theme halls and the largest imperial theatre in the Forbidden City.

  • The Nine Dragon Screen of The Palace Museum (Pass By)

    Just nearby the entrance of Treasure Hall, it is one of the three Nine Dargon Screens in China, the other two are in Beihai Park and Datong respectively. The nine dragons engraved on the screen are different in color and posture. No matter where you start to count the nine dragons, from left or right, the first one and fifth one and ninth one would be a yellow color dragon which represents the supreme power of the emperor.

  • The Imperial Garden of The Palace Museum (Pass By)

    Rectangular in shape, containing more than 20 different types of buildings, pavilions, terraces, towers and rockeries. Also, there are four pavilions in the garden, symbolizing the four seasons in a year.

Sample Menu

Additional Info

  • Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
  • Passport name, number, is required at time of booking for all participants

Free Cancellation

June 18100% refund
June 19No refund

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews

4.9

14 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
  • 5 stars
    12
  • 4 stars
    2
  • 3 stars
    0
  • 2 stars
    0
  • 1 star
    0

Reviews by TravelOne travelers

Showing 1-5 of 12 reviews with 5 stars

Great tour !

Published on Sep, 2024

An amazing experience! Our guide Selina was simply perfect, she came tu pick us at our hotel and we spent a lovely day discovering all the forbidden city! The chance to have lunch inside the forbidden city was a one in a lifetime opportunity, we had special noodles very tasty ! Our guide also helped us to reach temple of heaven and to buy tickets after our tour !

Super Informative with Excellent Guide!

Published on Oct, 2019

We took the above tour with Angie today. As soon as we booked, communication was thorough, clear and easy to understand. Angie was prompt, and gave us a few tips before we left the Hotel, including to make sure we had appropriate clothing and our passports. Angie took us on the scenic route from our Hotel, to make sure we had seen a few of the city’s most important areas. Angie’s knowledge is extremely comprehensive and is not limited to the subject of the tour itself. Lunch on the tour was a little underwhelming for our Australian tastes, but it was nice to sit down and have a refresher all the same. Afterward, Angie went above and beyond, helping us arrange additional transport for our transfer to the Airport and has even offered to help us “Like an old friend” if we need her help in the future. We would definitely recommend her as a guide!! Thank you Angie!!

Exclenet tour & dinner

Published on Sep, 2019

I was impressed with the follow up and punctuality of our guide Angie. She contacted us the day before to make sure we were on time and ready for our tour. We visited the Forbidden City and had dinner in a local restaurant. Angie did a very good job explaining us all the details about the Forbidden City. Instead of having dinner at the Icehouse, we went to a local restaurant, It was grate to have Angie there to helped us with the order, excellent dinner, very nice local restaurant and very good conversation. Al lot of food and very good variety of local dishes.

Forbidden City plus Lunch at Royal Ice House

Published on Sep, 2019

We booked this private tour as we have an elderly lady who need more attention touring this Forbidden city. We are extremely glad to have Lily as our guide as she was very accommodating and patiently pacing us thru out the entire tour. Lily took extra care of the elderly in our group and at the same time explaining in details of the history of this large palace. Lunch at the Royal Ice House was a disappointment. food was not unique and service not up to mark. Overall a great experience.

Forbidden City Private Tour with Angie

Published on Sep, 2019

Angie picked us up at the hotel on time. When we arrived at Forbidden City we left our things in the car, and she was really helpful to take it back to our hotel. I was very impressed with her knowledge about the history and she make it interactive with asking some questions. Since the Thien An Men was closed that day, she gladly take us to the shopping mall where we want to go. Maybe on the tour description should be clearer and exact, like inclusive of mineral water and snuff bottle. Overall it’s a great experience to have her to guide us.

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