Special treat The Opposite House (theoppositehouse.com). The avant-garde Opposite House feels like stepping into an Asian version of the future and the service is impeccable. Doubles from £250.
Mid-range: The Emperor Hotel (theemperor.com.cn) has clean modern rooms and is right next to the Forbidden City, with a roof terrace overlooking the roofs of the imperial halls. Doubles from £60-80.
On a budget: The Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Hotel (shadowarthotel.com) rooms open up onto a central atrium, set in an excellent location steps from Prince Gong’s Mansion. Doubles from £60.
Tiananmen Square is may be the world’s ugliest and most forbidding public space. There is nowhere here to even get a cup of coffee, and your every move will be recorded by a forest of CCTV cameras.
Built during the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City's crimson pavilions will take a couple of hours to walk around at least. Climb up the hill at Jingshan Park for a good view of the city.
Wangfujing is one of Beijing’s modern shopping streets. Ignore the hawkers selling novelty skewers of deep fried spiders and scorpions, and head to Haidilao in the Tianyingtai Department Store.
Fans of the Beijing bestseller Midnight in Peking can download an audio tour of the ancient city at http://us.midnightinpeking.com/audio-walk/. Take the metro to Beijing Railway Station to start.
Originally invented in the imperial kitchens, Peking Duck is available across the capital. One of its best high-end interpretations can be found at Duck de Chine (00 86 10 6501 8881).
The New Poly Plaza (00 86 10 6500 8117) has 3,000-year-old bronze artefacts, examples of early Chinese writing and four of the 12 fountainheads looted from the Summer Palace in the 19th century.
