Summer Palace

Summer Palace: crowds and conditions

Typical pattern: heavy on weekends and holidays; arrive early morning. Been there recently? Post today’s status and it shows here for the next traveller.

Status options for this fort: Open, good conditions · Very crowded · Approach road bad · Closed / not accessible.

Best time to visit Summer Palace

Season: October to February; carry water in summer.

Busiest days: Weekends, public holidays, Sankranti and Dasara breaks.

Crowd: Heavy on weekends and holidays; arrive early morning.

Typical week: Mon busy · Tue light · Wed light · Thu light · Fri busy · Sat packed · Sun packed.

How to reach Summer Palace — distance from nearby cities

Coordinates: 39.98960, 116.26723. Road distances are estimates; the road-trip planner uses real routes and adds stops worth the detour.

Places to visit near Summer Palace

• Kunming Lake · lake · Haidian · ~1 km · Must-see
• Shi Fang (Marble Boat) · fort · Haidian · ~1 km · Must-see
• Haidian Park · park · Haidian · ~2 km · Must-see
• Yufeng Pagoda · Buddhist site · Haidian · ~3 km · Must-see
• Jade Spring Hill · viewpoint · Haidian · ~3 km · Must-see
• Haidian Christian Church · church · Haidian · ~4 km · Must-see
• Old Summer Palace Park · fort · Haidian · ~4 km · Must-see
• Xiyang Lou · fort · Haidian · ~5 km · Must-see
• Baiwang Mountain Forest Park · sanctuary · Haidian · ~6 km · Must-see
• 正福寺天主堂 · church · Haidian · ~6 km · Must-see
• National Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences · sanctuary · Haidian · ~6 km · Must-see
• Beijing Botanical Garden · sanctuary · Haidian · ~7 km · Must-see
• Beijing Art Museum · temple · Haidian · ~7 km · Must-see
• Wofo Temple · Buddhist site · Haidian · ~7 km · Must-see
• Dazhong Temple · Buddhist site · Haidian · ~8 km · Must-see
• Zizhuyuan Park · park · Haidian · ~8 km · Must-see
• Beijing Air and Space Museum · museum · Haidian · ~8 km · Must-see
• Zhi Yuan Zhai · sanctuary · Haidian · ~8 km · Must-see

See everything within a day’s drive of Summer Palace

Other forts & heritage near Summer Palace

• Shi Fang (Marble Boat) · fort · Haidian · ~1 km · Must-see
• Old Summer Palace Park · fort · Haidian · ~4 km · Must-see
• Xiyang Lou · fort · Haidian · ~5 km · Must-see
• Pagoda of Cishou Temple · fort · Haidian · ~9 km · Must-see
• China Millennium Monument · fort · Haidian · ~12 km · Must-see
• Temple of Earth · fort · Dongcheng · ~16 km · Must-see
• Palace of Earthly Tranquility · fort · Dongcheng · ~16 km · Must-see
• Palace of Heavenly Purity · fort · Dongcheng · ~16 km · Must-see
• Palace Museum · fort · Dongcheng · ~17 km · Must-see
• Forbidden City · fort · Dongcheng · ~17 km · Must-see

All forts & heritage in Beijing

Frequently asked