Private Tour

Forbidden City with Hutong Cuisine Private Walking Tour

Overview

Available languages

English

7 hours

Mobile ticket

You will experience old traditional hutongs see how people live and taste the local food with drinks in Beijing by choosing morning or afternoon tour. Explore the massive Imperial Palace in the city center of Beijing with your private tour guide.

- Visiting several hidden local restaurants that only local people go;

- Tasting the authentic flavor of local food pairings with local beer;

- Visit the largest square in the world;

- Visit the forbidden city by a less-know route;

- Gain abundant knowledge about history of ancient palace

- With choices of morning or afternoon tour

Additional Info

Wheelchair accessible

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller

Public transportation options are available nearby

Transportation options are wheelchair accessible

All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries

Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health

Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation Policy

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

What To Expect

Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang)

You will be picked up at either 8:30am or 13:30pm at your own preference by private tour guide at the hotel lobby. Then take a taxi or subway at your own cost to the Tian'anmen Square which is the largest city square in the world. You are going to see the ancient Qianmen Gate, the Monument to the People’s heroes and the Great Hall of the people from outside and your tour guide will share with you the history and stories behind all the mentioned architectures.

30 minutes • Admission Not Included

Forbidden City-The Palace Museum

After the square continue walk to the Forbidden City which was the imperial palace from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. For around 500 years , it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. The tour route is from south - north. You will hear interesting stories and facts from the tour guide.

2 hours • Admission Included

What‘s Included

Beijing Wraps, Hutong style BBQ, Mongolian hot pot, fresh noodle；hand made fresh yoghurt, local drinks, unlimited local beers home-made pear herbal soup

Entrance ticket to the Forbidden city

Private transportation

Gratuities

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Options

Afternoon Tour

Pickup included

Morning Tour

Lunch at the hutong
Pickup included

Reviews

5.00

5 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Highly recommend this experience
X3308PMkatem,,Nov 6, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
My husband and I booked a private tour of the Forbidden City and food tasting throughout the hutongs and could not have been happier! Wendy was a wonderful guide who went to so much effort to ensure we made the most of our experience. She greeted us in the foyer of our hotel, had a car waiting to take us straight to the Forbidden City but then rearranged for our driver to loop us past Tiananmen Square on the way. Wendy was so warm and friendly but also very knowledgeable and shared many stories as we walked. She organised for us to enjoy a tea tasting ceremony on the way to our food tour which was fantastic! The food experience was great and in the end we had to say stop as we were so full from all the local delights. Wendy also walked us to our next destination and gave us clear instructions for the metro as well as other tourist spots. Thank you Wendy for your kindness and enthusiasm, we were so grateful to have you as our guide.
Recommended!
Paradise781698,,Jul 31, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
We learned so much on our tour! In addition to the Forbidden City and walking hutong tour, we also saw Tiannanmen square and added in a rickshaw ride. Michael was an excellent guide, keeping a good pace through the Forbidden City and giving informational tidbits that kept the kids interested. We made 3 food stops, and appreciated walking through a hutong that was residential and not commercial.
Amazing
Xiyi W,,Feb 3, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Thoroughly enjoyed the Forbidden Palace and Hutong food tour - Elise is friendly, warm and passionate tour guide that brought the historical places to life! Highly recommend.
Best guide in Beijing
haondv,,Apr 29, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Catherine is super nice and always has the best tips, and managed to get us into the Forbidden City when everybody told us it was impossible. She always make herself available and really is the best guide you could hope for as a foreigner in Beijing. Highly recommended.
Beijing Private Guide -- Catherine Lu
RobertZ50,,May 11, 2010
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00
Catherine Lu was our private guide in Beijing and I highly recommend her. We were in Beijing for 4 nights in March -- she arranged all of our trips, day trips, transportation -- she met us at the airport and structured our visit to Beijing and arranged for return transportation to the airport. She is highly educated and knowledgeable about the history and culture of China and of Beijing and excited to present it to you. She is flexible and very child friendly as the smiles of our 11 year old daughter can well atttest in the photographs we took.. Catherine has a website which I would encourage you to view -- she has many photos of past tours she has led, large and small -- you can't fake the smiles on children! We went to Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, among other sites. One of the highlights of our trip was a meal at a restaurant about a mile from the Forbidden City, a short taxi ride. The food was so delicious that we asked to return the next day for another meal. Catherine arrived promptly after breakfast and stayed with us until past dinner time, until she brought us back to the hotel. She arranged for a van and driver at reasonable rates. Another highlight was breakfast at a restaurant in a nearby (walking distance from the hotel) hutong -- breakfast for 4 (including Catherine) was $4 in total, which included 4 bottles of water. We learned a lot about China, its history, its culture from this very knowledgeable and dedicated woman. I would highly recommend her to anyone needing a private guide in Beijing, or in assistance in arranging tours in other cities. She recommended a guide for us in Shanghai (David) who I reviewed separately in another review.