My first big bit of advice when going to see The Forbidden City is "ditch the tour group"! I know that it seems easier to join a tour group and leave the stress behind. But taking a tour group is not beneficial to you and a waste of money. The only caveat to this is if you have arranged to go with a private group specifically scheduled to meet the needs of you and your friends - most of these tour groups are VERY good about planning off peak hours.
Why do I say this?
1) There are MANY tour groups going to the Forbidden City DAILY. They all seem to arrive around the same time, meaning that it will most likely be extremely busy the moment your foot steps in the front gate. It's busy all day, but with the added tour groups arriving at the same time it's almost unbearably busy.
2) With tour groups you are not free to roam around at your leisure. They all stick together in a group, are told what you are seeing and occasionally given a moment to take a few photos. The longest free time you'll get is once you are near the souvenir shops.
3) The Forbidden City is very easy to get to. It's in the middle of Beijing and even if you don't want to take public transportation, it's easy enough to get in a taxi and find your way there.
4) When inside the Forbidden City, there are plaques on everything in both Chinese and English. You can easily identify and read the history of each thing you are looking at. If you would like more historical knowledge, they do rent out guided headsets. These are reasonably priced and make it much easier to go around the Forbidden City without any time restrictions and still get all the knowledge you might me craving.
I have been to The Forbidden City on many occasions in many different ways. My preference is to go just as I've explained above. There have been a handful of times where a private tour was more time efficient for me to schedule a private tour for my group. Most recently I have done that when needing to do a lot of stuff in a short amount of time during a layover. It is usually quite a bit more expensive scheduling a private tour instead of doing everything on your own - but sometimes it's just necessary. Tour Beijing has been great to me when scheduling these kinds of tours.
Bonus Advice
If you're wanting a full day of sightseeing, you can see a LOT in a short time. Immediately across the street from the main gate to the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square. The Temple of Heaven is also nearby. If you enjoy adventuring and walking - it's a short 45 minute walk away (probably a bit longer if you REALLY like to adventure and also stop for lunch/dinner on the way there). If you're not looking to try to rush everything in one day, there's also a lesser known place to visit across the street from the Exit of the Forbidden City - Jingshan Park. Also, if you are taking a private tour group and you decide to visit as much as you possibly can in one day - most likely they will also be willing to add in a visit to The Summer Palace. The property here is MASSIVE and I wouldn't suggest it, but is definitely possible.
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