Most people give Beijing three days. I think four is the honest number, because the city is enormous and the two headline sights, the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, each eat the better part of a day once you count travel time. Here is the plan I keep giving friends, adjusted after watching several of them make the same mistakes.

Day one: the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park

Start at Tiananmen Square early, not for the flag ceremony necessarily, but because security queues double in length after 9am. The Forbidden City needs a timed ticket booked in advance; foreign passports work at the gate but the online system prefers a local phone number, so book through your hotel or a tour operator. Walk the central axis from south to north, then exit through the north gate and climb Jingshan Park hill across the street. The view over the golden roofs at sunset is the single best photo in the city, and it costs about two euros.

Day two: the Great Wall, Mutianyu section

Badaling is the section you have heard of, which is exactly the problem. Mutianyu is 90 minutes away, has a cable car, and on a weekday morning you can find stretches of wall with nobody on them. Go early, take the toboggan down, and be back in the city by mid-afternoon. If your legs still work, an evening stroll through the hutongs around Nanluoguxiang resets you nicely.

Day three: Temple of Heaven, then the Summer Palace

Morning at the Temple of Heaven, ideally before 8am when local retirees fill the park doing tai chi, dancing, and card games that are far more interesting than the altar itself. Rest at lunch. The Summer Palace in the late afternoon is cooler and quieter, and Kunming Lake at golden hour is worth the metro ride out.

Day four: markets, food, and whatever you missed

Keep it loose. The National Museum is world class if that is your thing. Otherwise hunt down a roast duck that locals actually queue for (Siji Minfu near the east gate of the Forbidden City is a safe bet), and leave buffer time, because Beijing traffic does not care about your flight.

Things I would skip on a first visit

• The 798 art district, unless you genuinely love galleries; it eats half a day.
• Badaling at the weekend. Just don't.
• Trying to see the Great Wall and the Summer Palace the same day. It looks fine on a map.

If you would rather not handle tickets, trains and guides yourself, our private Beijing tours cover this exact route with an English or Spanish speaking guide. Four days, done properly, beats six days done in a panic.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.