The Forbidden City should be fascinating for children. It’s a palace where princesses dreamed and schemed for love, emperors and courtiers plotted power plays in remote courtyards, and epic battles were fought in the shadow of the throne room. And dragons. Lots and lots of dragons. Dragons everywhere. You can’t walk two steps without coming face-to-face with this serpentine emblem of royal power. The Forbidden City is basically Game of Thrones minus the gratuitous nudity. (Although adult visitors will want to know that there was plenty of that going on within the palace walls as well …)
But let’s face it: The Forbidden City can be a test of endurance for most people, not just those young folks with shorter legs and even shorter attention spans. Making a three-hour walk through an old palace appealing to younger visitors is all about how you approach your Forbidden City trip.