Photo: King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.03 Days in Shanghai: The Bund, Old Lanes & Soup Dumplings
Three days in Shanghai for first-timers: the Bund's lit promenade at night and a Huangpu river cruise, Yu Garden and the Old City's snack streets, and the French Concession's lanes, Xintiandi, and Pudong's towers at sunset. Answer a few questions and the plan re-plans itself around how you travel — your pace, your budget, your stops.
Pick a style, a budget and a pace — the route and days below re-plan themselves.
9 stops · 6 meals · 1 hotelThis is the editor’s pick.
3 days
Each day takes one part of Shanghai, kept close so you walk more than you ride. The map shows the whole route — pick a day to zoom in.
Nearly 150 years old and still the benchmark for classic Benbang Shanghainese — sweet, rich, soy-braised dishes in a grand old hall on Fuyou Road, a short walk from Yu Garden.
Closer: Mr & Mrs Bund, 10 min out of your way
Walk the 1.5-km promenade after dark, when the colonial banks glow on one side and the Pudong towers light up on the other. Free, open around the clock; get off the metro at East Nanjing Road and walk east ten minutes.
- Open 24 hours and free — go after dark, when the Pudong side is lit up.
China's first all-steel bridge (1907): a 107-meter steel truss linking the Bund to the North Bund at the mouth of Suzhou Creek. Cross it at sunset, then stay for the LED-lit night.
China's No.1 commercial street: a 1.2-km car-free stretch of department stores, snack shops and neon running down to the Bund. Ride the vintage 'dangdang' sightseeing tram the length of it.
Renowned Cantonese restaurant on Fuzhou Road, famous for its mooncakes. Serves lunch 11:00–14:00 and dinner 17:00–21:00 daily.
- Dinner on Fuzhou Road: Xinghualou's renowned Cantonese, seven minutes from Nanjing Road — famous for its mooncakes. Lunch 11:00–14:00, dinner 17:00–21:00.
Time-honored traditional Chinese pastry and dim sum shop on Sichuan Road — buttery sesame cakes, rice balls and festival mooncakes since the 19th century. Takeaway counter for a Bund-walk snack.
- Shen Dacheng's buttery sesame cakes and rice balls on Sichuan Road — a time-honored pastry shop for a Bund-walk snack.
Long-running nautical-themed hostel in a 1930s building near East Nanjing Road — dorm bunks and private rooms, plus a famous rooftop bar overlooking the Bund and Pudong skyline. The best cheap view in town, and the most central base for all three days.
A 450-year-old Ming maze of pavilions, rockeries and koi ponds. Go at opening and give it 1.5 to 2 hours; the evening illumination on select days is a separate draw.
- Closed Mondays except public holidays — plan the Old City day for any other day.
Shanghai's oldest teahouse (converted 1855), on stilts mid-lake at the end of the Zigzag Bridge. Linger over Longjing and dim sum with a view; upstairs seats have the best atmosphere.
- Sit upstairs for the best atmosphere — over a zigzag bridge built to deter evil spirits.
A 600-year-old Taoist temple to Shanghai's guardian deity, ringed by Ming-style market streets thick with snack stalls and tea houses. Pair it with Yu Garden next door.
- Entry is about 10 CNY and it closes around 16:30, so go in the morning.
- The temple is an 8-minute walk from the garden — do the garden first, then the temple and the bazaar.
- End the Old City morning mid-lake: the teahouse sits on stilts at the end of the Zigzag Bridge, two minutes from the temple. Upstairs seats have the best atmosphere.
The original xiaolongbao house since 1900 in the heart of Yuyuan — paper-thin skins, juicy pork filling, and the famous straw-sipped 'super' soup buns. Expect a 20–30 minute queue at peak.
- Bib Gourmand — take a number from the ground-floor window for grab-and-go, or head upstairs to sit down.
- Refuel steps from the temple — the original 1900 xiaolongbao house is a minute away. Take a number from the ground-floor window for grab-and-go, or head upstairs to sit down.
Lantern-lit market streets in Ming/Qing-style buildings around the garden — snack stalls, tea houses, souvenir shops. Come after dark, when it's most magical, and graze: xiaolongbao, shengjianbao, pear syrup candy.
- Go after dark — that's when the lanterns light up and the bazaar earns its fame.
Time-honored tangyuan restaurant by the City God Temple serving sweet black-sesame and savory pork glutinous-rice balls.
- Sweet ending by the temple: time-honored tangyuan — black-sesame or savory pork glutinous-rice balls, a minute from the City God Temple.
Stay put: ~11 min by taxi back from the Yuyuan Bazaar tonight, ~15 min by taxi to the First Congress memorial in the morning.
Taiwanese chain famous for xiaolongbao folded exactly 18 times: impeccable dumplings, noodles and fried rice at about ten times the street-stall price. Daily 10:00–22:30; arrive early or expect a long wait.
The preserved 1920 Shikumen house where the CPC held its first congress in July 1921, with a memorial hall across the street. Free entry; bring ID.
- Free entry with no reservation, but bring ID — and it's closed Mondays.
Shikumen stone-gate houses redeveloped into a polished pedestrian quarter of restaurants, boutiques and nightlife. The First Congress site sits within the quarter. Best in the evening.
- Dumpling lunch in the quarter: the 18-fold xiaolongbao are two minutes from anywhere in Xintiandi. Open 10:00–22:30; arrive early or expect a long wait.
Shanghai's only fully French-style park, laid out in 1909: plane-tree lawns, a central lake and fountains where locals do tai chi and dance. Free, open roughly 5:00–21:00.
- Free and open from about 5:00 — morning is when the tai chi crowds are out.
- The First Congress memorial sits within the Xintiandi quarter — walk seven minutes to Fuxing Park's tai chi lawns.
A stretch
Yunnan cuisine on the Bund's rooftop, open since 2009 — one of the classic terrace settings for taking guests to dinner. Popular, so reserve ahead.
Stay put: ~15 min by taxi back from Fuxing Park tonight, ~15 min by taxi to the First Congress memorial in the morning.
Where to stay in Shanghai
Ranked for first-timer travelers on a comfortable budget. The places this plan sleeps in come first.
Captain Hostel
Long-running nautical-themed hostel in a 1930s building near East Nanjing Road — dorm bunks and private rooms, plus a famous rooftop bar overlooking the Bund and Pudong skyline. The best cheap view in town, and the most central base for all three days.
Yitel Premium Shanghai Lujiazui
Yitel's premium-tier hotel on Pudong Avenue near the Yuanshen Road metro — mid-range modern rooms with free WiFi and an on-site restaurant. A practical Lujiazui base for tower-hopping.
Hanting Hotel Shanghai Yu Garden
Budget chain hotel renovated in 2024 near Yu Garden and the Bund — clean compact rooms, 9.2/10 from 722 Trip.com reviews, breakfast CNY 18. The cheapest tier in the Old City.
Flights to Shanghai
Fly into PVG (PVG)
Flight results via Travelpayouts — we may earn a commission on bookings.
Getting around Shanghai
How to actually move around the city — transit, rideshare, bikes, and taxis.
Public transit
The metro is the backbone of getting around Shanghai — one of the world's largest networks — with buses covering the gaps, the maglev sprinting to Pudong Airport, and ferries crossing the Huangpu. Contactless bank cards and phone QR codes work at the gates.
- Shanghai Metro
One of the world's largest metro networks — 19 lines and 800+ km linking both airports, the railway stations and every major district, with English signage throughout. Distance-based fares start at ¥3 for the first 6 km; trains run roughly 5:30am to 11pm.
Tip: Skip the ticket machines: tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay or Amex card at the gate, or ride with a QR code from the Metro Daduhui app.
- Shanghai Maglev
The world's first commercial maglev line, running between Longyang Road metro station and Pudong International Airport in about 8 minutes at up to 300 km/h. The standard one-way fare is ¥50 (¥40 with the Shanghai Public Transportation Card); trains run 6:45am–9:40pm every 15–20 minutes.
Tip: Flying out of Pudong? Show a same-day boarding pass for the discounted air-passenger fare, and budget the 10-minute Line 2 ride from downtown to Longyang Road.
Rideshare
DiDi is the default way to hail a car, with full English support and foreign cards accepted; Amap aggregates DiDi and smaller fleets so you can compare prices. Both are far cheaper than taxis in most Western cities.
- DiDi Chuxing
China's dominant ride-hailing app, with a full English interface, English-speaking support and international credit cards accepted. DiDi Express is the cheap everyday option; DiDi Taxi books a metered cab; Premier handles airport pickups.
Tip: Set up DiDi before you land — it accepts foreign phone numbers, and in-app chat auto-translates between you and the driver.
- Amap (Gaode)
Alibaba's map app (Gaode) doubles as a ride-hailing aggregator, comparing DiDi, Xiangdao and smaller fleets on one screen with upfront prices. It also replaces Google Maps here, with metro, bus and walking directions.
Tip: Get Amap Global from your app store; log in with Alipay or WeChat to unlock hailing, bike rental and transit QR codes in one place.
Bikes
Dockless shared bikes are the city's best last-kilometer option — unlock one outside any metro station with Alipay or WeChat and ride the flat, bike-laned streets. No deposit or local phone number required.
- HelloBike
One of Shanghai's three big dockless bike networks alongside Meituan and DiDi's Qingju — blue bikes clustered outside every metro station. Unlock with the HelloBike app or the Alipay mini-program; rides run about ¥1.50–2.50 per 30 minutes.
Tip: End the ride inside the service zone shown on the map and flick the rear-wheel lock shut manually, or the meter keeps running.
- Meituan Bike
The yellow bikes of Meituan's dockless network, everywhere in central Shanghai and rentable through the Meituan app or Alipay/WeChat mini-programs. Same short-hop pricing as rivals — handy when no HelloBike is in sight.
Tip: A 7-day unlimited pass costs only a few yuan — worth it if you'll bike more than twice a day.
Taxis
Licensed metered taxis are plentiful and cheap, though most drivers speak little English. Hail on the street, call a fleet hotline, or book through DiDi — never accept a flat fare from a tout.
- Qiangsheng Taxi
One of Shanghai's biggest licensed taxi fleets (orange cabs), bookable by street hail, the 62580 English hotline or DiDi. Flagfall is ¥14–16 for the first 3 km, then ¥2.7/km; night rates run 11pm–5am. No tipping — pay the meter and take the fapiao receipt.
Tip: Have your destination written in Chinese characters — most drivers speak little English — and never board a cab whose driver won't run the meter.