Five days is the honest minimum for Beijing: enough for the Forbidden City without jogging, a real museum morning, the Summer Palace by boat, one proper Great Wall day and a slow last day in the hutongs. This plan runs on the subway and one high-speed train, orders food by pointing, and books everything online with a passport. No Mandarin required at any step.
Tiananmen Square → Forbidden City → Jingshan Park
Start on Tiananmen Square early — flag crowds thin out by eight — then walk north into the Forbidden City and give it four unhurried hours. Book your slot online with your passport up to seven days ahead; it is closed on Mondays. Exit by the north gate and climb Jingshan Park for the classic golden-roof panorama at sunset — the whole axis of the old city lines up below you.
National Museum of China → Temple of Heaven
The National Museum of China sits right on the square — free, passport booking required, and worth a full morning for the bronzes alone. After lunch, take the subway south to the Temple of Heaven: the round blue-roofed hall is the postcard, but the long cypress park around it, full of card games and dancers, is the better memory. Enter by the east gate and leave by the south to walk the whole axis.
Summer Palace → Old Summer Palace ruins
Take the subway northwest to the Summer Palace and spend the morning on Kunming Lake — the ferry across to the marble boat beats walking the long corridor in summer heat. The ruined Old Summer Palace next door is quieter and stranger: Baroque columns toppled in a Chinese garden. The university campuses nearby need advance reservations that are hard for foreign visitors, so skip them without guilt and take the extra hour by the lake.
Badaling Great Wall by train → Olympic Park at night
Take the high-speed train from Qinghe station to Badaling Great Wall station — half an hour, passport as ticket, no tour bus, no haggling. Badaling is the grand restored stretch; if you want fewer people, Mutianyu has better woods and a toboggan run, and Jinshanling is the wild one for hikers. Whatever you choose, ignore anyone selling rides at the gates. Back in the city by evening, walk past the Bird's Nest lit up blue.
Lama Temple → Prince Gong's Mansion → Shichahai → Nanluoguxiang
The Lama Temple burns real incense and closes early — go first. Prince Gong's Mansion nearby shows how a Qing grandee actually lived. Then surrender the afternoon to the Shichahai lakes and the hutong grid around Nanluoguxiang: rent a boat, eat something on a stick, get lost on purpose. This is the day that turns Beijing from a list of monuments into a place you liked.
One honest thing — Almost everything here wants an advance booking with your passport — the Forbidden City and the National Museum sell out days ahead in season, and both close on Mondays. Book the first two days before you fly, not after you land.