Where to stay in Beijing: neighbourhoods, metro and hotels

For a first visit, stay in Wangfujing or the Dongsi hutongs. Both sit in Dongcheng, a short walk from the Forbidden City, with direct metro lines to most of the other sights. Qianmen costs less and puts you near the Temple of Heaven. Sanlitun is for people who go out at night, and Xidan makes sense for the Summer Palace or a Daxing arrival. Beijing is huge, and that is why the choice matters: Wangfujing is 15 km from the Summer Palace as the crow flies, so your neighbourhood decides how many hours you spend underground.

Which area to stay in Beijing?

Almost every first-visit sight lies inside or near the Second Ring Road, with the Forbidden City at its heart. The Great Wall is reached from the northern stations. The distances below are straight-line, measured from each area’s metro station. On foot they grow, because of the wide avenues and the Tiananmen checkpoints.

Updated: November 2, 2026

These areas fill up on public holidays. When the Beijing culture and tourism bureau listed the city’s ten most visited places for Golden Week in October 2026, five of them were in this table: Wangfujing first, Xidan fourth, Qianmen Street sixth, Shichahai eighth and Nanluoguxiang ninth. Expect crowds and higher prices then. From November to March the same streets are far quieter.

Wangfujing and Dongdan

Why it is the default base

Nothing is far from Wangfujing*. Its station serves lines 1 and 8, and line 1 takes you one stop to Tiananmen East, 700 metres from the Meridian Gate. From Dongdan, the next station along, line 5 runs three stops south to the east gate of the Temple of Heaven and five north to the Lama Temple. Stay on line 5 for four stops and you reach Beixinqiao, the city end of the Capital Airport Express. Beijing railway station is 900 metres from Dongdan.

The trade-off is character. This is a district of department stores and chain hotels.

In April 2026 the first 20,000 square metres of the 277 block, at the south end of the pedestrian street, were signed up for a gradual renovation, according to the Beijing News. If your hotel faces that stretch, ask about building work.

Hotels in Wangfujing

Ratings are Booking guest scores. Prices are for a double on the night of Wednesday 9 December 2026, checked on 27 October, in euros as Booking displayed them.

• Inner Mongolia Grand Hotel*: 9.2 out of 10, from €75, the best balance of rating and price in the area on that date.
• Sunworld Dynasty Hotel*: right by the pedestrian street, 9.1 across almost 4,000 reviews, from €134.
• Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing*: 9.0, from €119.
• Grand Hyatt Beijing*: above the Oriental Plaza mall, 9.0, from €237.
• The Peninsula Beijing*: the dearest in the search at €438, with a 9.5.

Filtering for a score of 8 or more within one kilometre brought up 26 properties. The first twenty ranged from €75 to €438 a night.

If you collect hotel points, three international chains sit in the same streets. Checked on 29 October for the same night, the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing*, 250 metres from the pedestrian street, had an 8.7 from 888 reviews and started at €187. The Renaissance Wangfujing*, a Marriott brand, on Wangfujing Street itself, scored 8.6 from €184, and the Regent Beijing*, part of IHG, 800 metres away, 8.9 from €174. Bear in mind that the chains’ programmes generally give no points or elite nights for a stay booked through Booking: if they matter, compare the price here and book on the chain’s own site or app.

The hutongs: Dongsi and Nanluoguxiang

Dongsi

Dongsi* is the most residential stretch of the eastern lanes: hutongs numbered one to fourteen, courtyard houses and few tourists. Dongsi station, on lines 5 and 6, is three stops from the Lama Temple. Further north, Dongsi Shitiao combines lines 2 and 3. From there it is one stop to Dongzhimen, where the airport train and the Mutianyu buses leave, and one more to the Sanlitun bars. Since September 2025 an underground passage has linked Dongsi station to the Longfusi mall, according to Dongcheng district.

Nanluoguxiang and Gulou

Nanluoguxiang is the best-known hutong and the busiest. It is a narrow shopping lane, packed day and night, with quiet alleys running off both sides. Its station combines lines 6 and 8, and the north exit of the Forbidden City is 1.4 km away. Gulou Dajie station, further north on lines 2 and 8, is two stops from the Lama Temple and two from Xizhimen, the station for Beijing North. Pick a side alley for the night, not the main lane.

Courtyard hotels

The Beijing tourism office recommends the courtyard-house hotels in the Dongcheng hutongs. Expect a small place with rooms set around a courtyard, often down a lane too narrow for a taxi to reach the door. The Lezai Nanluo Courtyard Hotel*, in Shajing hutong, scored 9.8 out of 10 from more than 1,100 reviews, with rooms from €129 on 9 December.

Heating works differently here. Since 2015 hutong houses have been heated by electricity, room by room, after the city removed coal from Dongcheng and Xicheng, according to Xinhua. For a December stay, ask how the room is heated before you book.

Within one kilometre of Dongsi station, Booking showed 37 properties scoring 8 or more for 9 December. Four stood out:

• Happy Dragon Hotel Forbidden City*, 400 metres away: 9.4, from €58.
• Jingmao Alley Hotel*, 500 metres away: 9.4, from €114.
• Hutong Moli Garden Courtyard*, a courtyard hotel: 9.2, from €136.
• Hotel Cote Cour*: 9.4, from €152.

Shichahai and Houhai

Shichahai* is a string of three lakes north of the Forbidden City, Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai, with bars along the shore and lanes all around. Shichahai station, on line 8, is 1.7 km from the museum’s north exit. The cheapest courtyards in this guide are here. The Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Courtyard*, on Songshu Street, scored 9.4 and cost from €39 on the night of 9 December.

The lake freezes in winter. Last season the Qianhai rink opened on 10 January 2026, from 8:00 to 21:00, according to Xinhua, and the Houhai rink on 20 January, from 8:00 to 17:00, with tickets bought by QR code on site only, according to the Beijing tourism office. On 3 November 2026, this winter’s opening date had not been announced.

Qianmen and Dashilar

The area

Qianmen* begins just south of Tiananmen Square with a restored pedestrian street. To the west lie the shopping lanes of Dashilar, older and cheaper. Qianmen station, on lines 2 and 8, is 1.5 km from the Meridian Gate, and line 8 gets you to Tianqiao, on the west side of the Temple of Heaven, in two stops. It is also the best-placed area for two big railway stations: Beijing South, for Shanghai trains, and Beijing West, for Xi’an. At the end of September 2026 the Xixinglong lane, east of the street, reopened as the Qianmen Changxiangli complex, with 16 restored courtyards.

Hotels in Qianmen

This is where the centre is cheapest. For 9 December 2026:

• Beijing Hyde Courtyard Hotel*: 8.3 from more than 900 reviews, from €47 a night.
• IMMERSING Hotel*, on Dazhalan West Street in the middle of Dashilar: 8.5, from €62.
• Nostalgia Hotel Tiananmen Square*: 8.8, from €67.
• The Yard Hotel*, 450 metres from the station: 8.8, from €74.

The top scores went to the Manxin Hotel Qianmen Street*, with 9.7 from €113, and the Blossom House Beijing Tiananmen*, with 9.2 from €171.

Sanlitun and the CBD

Sanlitun

Sanlitun* means bars, international restaurants and the Taikoo Li mall, next to the embassy quarter. No station bears its name. You use Gongrentiyuchang, on lines 3 and 17, or Tuanjiehu, on lines 3 and 10. Line 3 opened on 15 December 2024 and put the district two stops from Dongzhimen and four from Beijing Chaoyang, the station for Harbin trains, according to the Beijing government. The Forbidden City is 5.4 km away.

On 9 December, the ibis at Hujialou had an 8.6 from €53. The Stey Sanlitun* had an 8.5 from €76, and base Sanlitun*, which rents serviced apartments, a 9.0 from €75. The Swissotel* also scored 9.0, from €118.

For points, checked on 29 October: the Holiday Inn Express Dongzhimen*, on Chunxiu Road between Dongzhimen and Sanlitun, had a 9.0 from almost 5,000 reviews and started at €65. At the top end, the InterContinental Sanlitun* scored 9.2 from €294 and the Conrad Beijing*, on the East Third Ring Road, 8.9 from €214.

Guomao

Guomao is the business district, home to the towers and the large international hotels. Lines 1 and 10 serve it, and line 1 reaches Tiananmen East in five stops with no change. The JEN Beijing by Shangri-La*, in the China World complex, had a 9.2 from 888 reviews and started at €177 for 9 December, checked on 29 October.

Xidan and Financial Street

Xidan, west of the Forbidden City, is a shopping district with few tourist hotels. It does have two advantages no other area offers. Line 4 runs from Xidan to Beigongmen, the north gate of the Summer Palace, in 15 stops without a change. And for Daxing, line 19 runs three stops from Taipingqiao, on Financial Street, to Caoqiao, where that airport’s express terminates.

By arrival airport

Capital Airport

For the winter season, from 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027, Capital plans about 252 international and regional flights a day, according to the Beijing Shangbao business daily. Daxing plans about 105, according to China News. Flying in from Europe or North America, this is where you are most likely to land.

The express train links Terminals 2 and 3 with Sanyuanqiao, Dongzhimen and Beixinqiao for 25 yuan. It runs roughly every ten minutes, leaving T3 between 6:22 and 22:52, according to the airport. Dongsi Shitiao is one stop on from Dongzhimen, Sanlitun two. A taxi to the centre costs about 90 to 110 yuan at the official fare, toll included, with 20 % added from 23:00 to 5:00.

Daxing Airport

The Daxing express takes 19 minutes to reach Caoqiao, in the south of the city. A standard seat costs 35 yuan, and trains leave the airport from 6:00 to 23:00, according to its operator. At Caoqiao, line 19 runs three stops to Taipingqiao on Financial Street, and line 10 connects with line 4 towards Xidan. Landing here, the west of the centre is the easier side. The extension of the express west to Lize will not open before the end of June 2027.

Sleeping at the airport

Terminal 3 at Capital has a 36-room JI Hotel rented by the hour, opened in 2022, before security. The Cordis*, about 500 metres from T3 with a free shuttle, scored 8.6 from €107 on the night of 9 December. The Hilton Beijing Capital Airport* scored 9.1 from €94.

By railway station

Beijing has five large stations, each serving a different part of the country. Distances are straight-line from the nearest area’s metro station.

Updated: November 2, 2026

Planning a day on the Great Wall? The fast train to Badaling leaves from Qinghe, five stops on line 13 from Xizhimen, and the Mutianyu buses go from Dongzhimen. That makes the northern and eastern hutongs the best base for it.

What a night costs in Beijing

December prices

In 2025 an average room in Beijing cost 831 yuan in a five-star hotel and 502 in a four-star, with average occupancy at 64.4 %, according to the city’s official tourism report. Searches for 9 December 2026 came out similar or lower. With a score of 8 or more, doubles started at €39 in Shichahai, €47 in Qianmen, €53 in Sanlitun and €75 in Wangfujing. December is low season. Prices climb for Golden Week in October and for Chinese New Year, which falls on 6 February in 2027.

Sleeping cheaply

For the lowest rates in the centre, look at Qianmen, Dashilar and the Shichahai courtyards. On 9 December the cheapest well-rated courtyard was €39, and the cheapest Qianmen hotel €47. Chinese chains such as Atour and Hanting turn up in the results for almost every area. To pay at the hotel, set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card before you go. The guide to paying in China walks through it.

Rules for foreign guests

The hotel registers you

Any licensed hotel can take a foreign guest. In May 2024 the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Commerce and the immigration administration reminded hotels that they may not turn a foreigner away on the grounds that they lack a licence for it, China Daily reported. You hand over your passport at reception, and the hotel registers you with the police.

Holiday flats and Airbnb in the hutongs

Since 1 February 2021 short-term rentals by the day or the hour have been banned in Dongcheng and Xicheng, the two districts at the core of the capital, according to the Beijing government notice. Those districts cover the hutongs, Wangfujing, Qianmen and Shichahai. Outside them, if you stay in a private flat, you or your host must register you with the police within 24 hours of arrival. That can be done online anywhere in the country since 21 September 2026, according to the immigration administration.

Beijing in winter

The city’s central heating runs from 15 November to 15 March, and the government can switch it on or off earlier or later depending on the weather, according to the city. A modern hotel feels no different. A courtyard house does. Its heating is electric, room by room, and the courtyard you cross on the way to breakfast is open to the sky. Between December and February, a hotel in Wangfujing, or in Dongsi near the metro, saves you long walks home in the cold. The upside is that winter is the cheapest and quietest time of year.

Staying in Beijing with children

Wangfujing is the easiest base with children: big hotels, rooms larger than in the courtyards, and the metro at the door. On the metro, children 1.30 metres tall or under ride free with a paying adult, and since 2021 there has been no limit on how many per adult, according to the tourism office. Courtyard houses, with their steps, high thresholds and small bathrooms, are harder going with a pushchair. Cots and family rooms follow no general rule, so ask the hotel.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Booking on the outskirts to save money: from Guomao or the airport, the metro takes an hour a day.
2. Booking a holiday flat in a Dongcheng or Xicheng hutong: banned since 2021.
3. Sleeping on Nanluoguxiang itself: it stays busy late, and the side lanes are just as pretty.
4. Picking an area without checking your airport: Capital and Daxing sit on opposite sides.
5. Looking for a “Sanlitun” metro station: there isn’t one. Use Gongrentiyuchang or Tuanjiehu.
6. Counting on a taxi to the door of a courtyard hotel: many lanes are too narrow.
7. Booking near renovation work without asking: south of Wangfujing and east of Qianmen, blocks are being renovated in 2026.
8. Leaving your passport in your bag: reception asks for it at check-in.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best area to stay in Beijing for a first visit? Wangfujing is the safe pick. The palace museum is one metro stop away and the big temples are easy to reach; the Dongsi hutongs nearby offer more character.

Where to stay in Beijing on a budget? South of Tiananmen and around the northern lakes, where the small courtyards are. For a December 2026 night, well-rated doubles started under €50.

Can you rent an Airbnb in the Beijing hutongs? Not in the old city. The two central districts have banned rentals by the day since 2021, so only licensed hotels and guesthouses can host you there, courtyard houses included.

Which Beijing airport is closer to the centre? Capital, in the north-east: its express train reaches Dongzhimen in under half an hour for 25 yuan. Daxing lies far to the south, and its train ends before the centre.

Is it better to stay in Sanlitun or Wangfujing? Wangfujing if your days revolve around the sights, Sanlitun if bars and restaurants come first. The imperial palace is more than five kilometres from the bars.

Where to sleep near Beijing airport? Beside Capital’s Terminal 3. There is an hourly hotel inside the terminal, before security, and the Cordis about 500 metres away, with a free shuttle.

Can a hotel refuse me because I am a foreigner? It should not happen. Since May 2024 the authorities have told hotels they cannot refuse on the grounds of lacking a licence for foreigners. Keep your passport with you.

Are courtyard hotels cold in winter? They can feel cooler than a modern hotel. Each room has its own electric heater, and moving between rooms means stepping outside.

Do I need a visa to stay in Beijing? Fifty nationalities, including the United Kingdom, Canada and most of Europe, can enter without a visa for up to 30 days until 31 December 2026; United States citizens still need one. The guide to visa-free entry to China has the full list.