I disagree about the advice given below. You should definitely go on a tour when you are in a hutong. Hutongs are residential neighborhoods, and they are not the best places to go strolling around by yourself or to go alone with another person.

I wouldn’t recommend going with a big tour, however. I went with one other person in a carriage hitched to the back of a bike. That was ideal. Then you have a local tour guide who can show you around, but at the same time you are not with a bunch of awkward people just swinging around their cameras.

If the tour guide knows someone in the area they might even invite you in for tea! We went in to have tea with this little old lady. She was really nice. She even invited us to play mah johng with her!