The heritage center offers educational tours through the city’s traditional, and fast disappearing, hutong neighborhoods.

Address:
Fangjia Hutong, Andingmennei Dajie, Room 309, Bldg. E, No.46
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-6403-4932

For an authentic Peking Duck experience, locals swear by Dadong, just a 10-minute walk from Chaoyang Park Beach. After a complex process of inflating and drying their skins, the birds are roasted in fruitwood-fueled brick ovens. The result: an authentic Peking duck with supernaturally light, brittle skin and moist, greaseless flesh—served, pr... Moreoperly, in three courses.

Address:
3 Tuanjiehu Beikou
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-6582-4003Less

Also known as Factory 798, this Bauhaus-style complex houses the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art.

Address:
4 Jiuxianqiao Rd., 798 Yishuqu
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-8456-2421

It doesn’t have a street address—which is only fitting for a place that was once considered the center of the universe. The Forbidden City’s vast, gorgeous compound of buildings, courtyards, and pathways—all surrounded by fortress-like walls—was completed during the reign of the Ming dynasty in the 15th century, and fo... Morer hundreds of years it was open only to emperors and their kin and servants. Today, however, it’s a public museum space that occupies the literal and figurative heart of Beijing. Properly exploring it requires at least half a day; history buffs should definitely take part in the self-guided audio tour, which gives intriguing insights into the way the emperors lived. (For Sons of Heaven, every second of every day followed a rigid ceremonial theme.) Tip: Avoid the plausible-sounding students at the entrance offering to be guides. Scams are common whereby the visitor is whisked to a post-tour tea ceremony and presented with a whopping bill.

Address:
North of Tiananmen Square, Haidian
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-6513-2255Less

The central Houhai Lake is lined with lively waterfront bars and cafés, take a stroll along the promenade before sitting down to dine.

Address:
Beijing
China

Treat yourself to an over-the-top dinner at the Philippe Starck-designed LAN, full of Baroque accents and crowd-pleasing dishes (oysters in spicy-sauce; stir-fried lobster).

Address:
12B Jianguomenwai Dajie, LG Twin Towers B 12, 4th floor
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-5109-6012

A high-end restaurant, entertainment, and cultural development set within the former American Embassy compound.

Address:
Beijing
China

A colossal monument to theatre, opera, and classical music opened in the Fall of 2007, just in time to impress the Olympic crowds.

Address:
2 West Chang’an Ave.
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-6655-0000

It isn’t often that a building defines a city, and even becomes its icon, but that seems destined to be the case of Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron’s National Stadium in Beijing, the primary site of the 2008 summer Olympic games. The stadium is a stunning attraction, a woven-basket form that seems to have grown organically on the ed... Morege of town like an enormous mushroom, or, as the locals have called it, a bird’s nest. Lit up in colors at night, the crosshatched latticework façade announces the city as a capital of the 21st century.

Address:
Olympic Village
Beijing
ChinaLess

The epicenter of the Beijing games, the green is the site of Herzog & de Meuron-designed "Bird’s Nest" National Stadium where the gymnastic and aquatic competitions are held; and Olympic Village, where more than 10,000 Olympians set up camp.

Address:
Datun Rd.
Beijing
China

P... Morehone:
86-10-6669-9185Less

For really distinctive souvenirs, avoid the dreary state-run stores and samey hotel-lobby shops in favor of this boisterous, treasure-filled market. The rows of shops (augmented by a sprawling outdoor market on weekends) sell every kind of Asian antiquity a collector could want—including centuries-old carved mahogany furniture; Buddha statues... More; embroidered silk wall hangings; scrolls with classical calligraphy; and ornaments and jewelry made from silver, jade, and other precious stones. Even casual browsers will want to spend hours here; it’s great fun to poke around among the antique toys, photos, prayer beads, and ragged editions of Mao Tse-tung’s Little Red Book of quotes.

Address:
Panjiayuan Bridge, Third Ring Rd.
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-5120-4671Less

In-the-know shoppers head to this Tianamen square locale for bespoke qipaos (traditional full-length dresses) in rich silk or brocade.

Address:
5 Dazhalan Jie
Beijing
China

Phone:
86-10-6303-5313

Capable of holding a million people, the 100-acre Tiananmen is the world’s largest public square. Built in 1949, when the Communist Party took power, the square is flanked by hulking, Stalinist-style structures such as the Great Hall of the People and, to the north, the Forbidden City, with Mao’s massive entranceway portrait. The mausol... Moreeum of the man himself is located in the heart of the square.

Address:
Beijing
ChinaLess