Olympic Park & the Bird's Nest

国家体育场（鸟巢）

The Bird's Nest and Water Cube glowing after dark

⚠ Stadium interior is extra

Hours

Plaza always open; stadium tours generally daytime (varies with events)

Tickets

Park free; Bird's Nest interior about ¥50, Water Cube separate (prices vary)

Address

1 National Stadium South Road, Chaoyang; the Water Cube is just west

The park hosted both the 2008 Summer and 2022 Winter Olympics. By day the Bird's Nest is a grey tangle of steel; after sunset red light fills it from inside, like a fire in a nest. Across the way the Water Cube's bubble walls change colour, and the Olympic Tower to the north lights up too. The plaza is so big that a lap outside takes over half an hour, and in the evening it fills with locals strolling and flying kites.