On one side of the river, the Art Deco façades of the Bund; on the other, the towers of Pudong. Discover Shanghai between plane-tree-lined lanes, xiaolongbao dumplings, classical gardens and dizzying views.
town of fishers and cotton traders, Shanghai opened to foreign trade in 1842. The International Settlement and the French Concession built banks, hotels and villas: by the 1930s it was Asia’s most cosmopolitan city, the capital of Chinese jazz and cinema.
Since the 1990s, Pudong, once fields and warehouses, has filled with skyscrapers. Yet Shanghai is still a city of lilong, lanes of brick houses, small neighbourhood restaurants and parks where people dance and play cards from early morning.
Find your bearings
For a first stay facing the most famous view, near Nanjing Road and Yu Garden. Central and spectacular, but expensive.
For plane-tree-lined streets, villas, cafés and boutiques. The most pleasant area for wandering, well served by the metro.
For Jing’an Temple, malls and restaurants. Practical and lively, between business and neighbourhood life.
For the towers, observation decks and the view of the Bund. Modern and spacious, but quieter at night and less walkable.
A first visit
A starting point to adapt to the weather, your energy and opening hours.
Morning at Yu Garden and the old town, xiaolongbao for lunch. Afternoon at the Shanghai Museum on People’s Square. At sunset, walk the Bund as Pudong’s towers light up.
Morning on foot in the former French Concession and Tianzifang. Afternoon at Jing’an Temple. In the evening, take the ferry across to Pudong and go up the Shanghai Tower observatory.
