3 Day's in Beijing

We have visited Beijing, together with my wife, this spring and to be honest Beijing as a destination undoubtedly is one that needs to be experienced at least once in a lifetime.

We chose to book our trip to Beijing during April, as weather conditions are mild and average temperatures revolve around 22 degrees Celsius, just perfect for sightseeing and walks in the city.

Airport:

The first look at Beijing airport from the airplane gives you the looks of a modern, friendly airport but once you get off the plane you'll be confronted with large queues at customs and immigration and rather unfriendly staff when trying to get information on what's where and how we can get there. It was not a pleasant welcome whatsoever, but maybe we came on a particularly busy day.

Taxi:

We've been warned prior our arrival that we should not make contact with taxi touts at the airport, or anywhere else for that matter, and that we should follow the taxi mark which is clearly signed outside the terminals. Taking that into consideration we decided to preorder our taxi, via viator just to avoid any scams or uncomfortable situations. So we ended up with a friendly driver who took us to the hotel without any problems.

Accommodation:

We booked our hotel in downtown Beijing, near the massive complex of the palace museum, so we can stroll around with ease and enjoy as much as possible from our sightseeing tour on foot. The Days Inn Forbidden City Beijing, is relatively cheap compared to it's alternatives around that area. All in all we were pleased with its services, rooms were clean, the bathrooms were spacious enough and their breakfast was decent.

Eating:

Within the 4 day's we spent in Beijing, we tried to keep our diet to local dishes and found some extremely delicious meals which definitely made our day, I can only recommend having a dinner at Dali courtyard. Oh and of course we had to try the famous Peking Duck.

Walking around:

We found that the very soul of the city is its hutong, the ancient alleyways that like a maze interconnect the centre of the city. The ancient hutong are still home to many locals and wandering them is the best way to experience Beijing street life. The Forbidden City, the former home of China's emperors, is the real heart of Beijing, even if nearby Tiananmen Square is its true center. The Forbidden city is a must see once you are in Beijing you can wander through it, gazing at fantastic treasures acquired over 5000 years of Chinese history. Just outside Beijing, you'll find the Great Wall of China, (well at least a part of it), from the city center we took the public transport reach the wall. The S2 train to Badaling directly is the best choice, fast and easy to use.

As a conclusion Beijing is a city of incredible contrasts with ancient alleyways and imperial palaces surrounded by modern high-rises which leaves you with incredible tastes in your mouth and some sorrow due to taxi drivers that try to rip you off (most of the time)