City guide · China
Shanghai
Art Deco Bund facing a sci-fi skyline across the river
March–May & September–November
Chinese Yuan (CNY)
Mandarin, Shanghainese
Asia
The guides
The best of Shanghai, by category
Shanghai splits along the Huangpu River: 1920s Art Deco banks line the Bund on one side while the 632-meter Shanghai Tower anchors Pudong's futuristic skyline on the other. In between, plane-tree-lined former French Concession lanes hide soup dumpling counters, speakeasies and some of Asia's most ambitious kitchens.
The shortlist
If you only have time for the best
The single highest-rated picks across every category in Shanghai.
Hotels
See all 6- 1
Fairmont Peace Hotel
The Bund
4.7★7,500+ reviews - 2
The Peninsula Shanghai
The Bund
4.7★5,000+ reviews
- 3
Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund
The Bund
4.7★3,000+ reviews
Restaurants
See all 6- 1
Mr & Mrs Bund
The Bund
4.5★2,000+ reviews
- 2
Lost Heaven on the Bund
The Bund
4.5★3,000+ reviews - 3
Jesse Restaurant (Old Jesse)
Former French Concession
4.5★1,000+ reviews
Bars
See all 6- 1
Speak Low
Huangpu
4.5★2,000+ reviews - 2
Bar Rouge
The Bund
4.5★3,000+ reviews - 3
Flair Rooftop
Lujiazui, Pudong
4.5★2,000+ reviews
Attractions
See all 6- 1
The Bund
Huangpu
4.7★50,000+ reviews
- 2
Yu Garden
Old City, Huangpu
4.5★25,000+ reviews - 3
Shanghai Tower Observation Deck
Lujiazui, Pudong
4.6★15,000+ reviews
Where to base yourself
Shanghai neighborhoods, decoded
Pick your area first — it shapes everything else about the trip.
The Bund & Huangpu
Jazz Age grandeur, riverfront promenadesThe colonial banking strip and its side streets hold the city's grandest hotels, rooftop bars and restored trading houses. Everything faces the river and the lit-up Pudong towers beyond.
Former French Concession
Plane trees, villas, café societyLeafy avenues like Wukang Road and Anfu Road are lined with 1920s villas now housing wine bars, designer boutiques and the city's best café scene. It is Shanghai's most walkable and most romantic quarter.
Jing'an
Polished, central, temple-anchored modernityNamed for the gold-roofed Jing'an Temple that gleams between malls and office towers, this is the city's most convenient base. Wujiang Road and the backstreets hide superb casual eating from shengjianbao to noodles.
Lujiazui, Pudong
Vertical, futuristic, all superlativesThe financial district packs the Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, SWFC and Shanghai Tower into one bend of the river. Come for observation decks, sky-high hotel bars and the riverside promenade looking back at the Bund.
Beyond the city
Day trips worth the ride
Suzhou
25 min by high-speed trainThe 'Venice of the East' holds nine UNESCO-listed classical gardens, including the Humble Administrator's Garden, plus canalside old streets and a silk heritage going back a millennium.
Hangzhou
50 min by high-speed trainMarco Polo's favorite city wraps around West Lake, where pagodas, causeways and Longjing tea plantations create the most celebrated lake scenery in China.
Zhujiajiao Water Town
60 min by metro line 17A 1,700-year-old canal town of stone bridges and gondola-style boats, the easiest of the classic water towns to reach from central Shanghai.
Eat like a local
What to order in Shanghai
Xiaolongbao
Delicate steamed soup dumplings with pork (and often crab roe) suspended in hot broth inside a thin pleated wrapper.
Try it at: Jia Jia Tang Bao, People's Square
Shengjianbao
Pan-fried pork buns with crisp golden bottoms, fluffy tops and a dangerous core of scalding soup.
Try it at: Yang's Fry-Dumpling, Wujiang Road
Hong Shao Rou
Shanghai's signature red-braised pork belly, slow-cooked in soy, sugar and rice wine until lacquered and wobbling.
Try it at: Jesse Restaurant, Former French Concession
Scallion Oil Noodles
Springy noodles tossed in fragrant caramelized scallion oil and soy, the city's humblest and most addictive staple.
Try it at: Old-school noodle shops around Huanghe Road
Good to know
Shanghai essentials, answered
Three full days covers the Bund, Yu Garden, the French Concession and a Pudong observation deck at a comfortable pace. Add a fourth day for a high-speed-rail trip to Suzhou or Hangzhou, both under an hour away.
