Shanghai

Yang's Fried Dumpling on Ningbo Road is known for shengjian bao, Shanghai buns pan-fried until crisp underneath. Order shengjian bao (pan-fried pork buns) as a quick local snack.

Nanjing Road is Shanghai’s classic commercial axis, linking People’s Square toward the Bund through department stores, neon, heritage façades, and dense street life. Its value is not a single shop but the transition it creates between civic center and waterfront, especially when walked rather than experienced only as a shopping.

Yu Garden compresses classical Jiangnan landscaping into rockeries, ponds, pavilions, corridors, and framed views. Its dense design contrasts sharply with Shanghai’s modern skyline, making it essential on a first visit. The surrounding Old City lanes add atmosphere, but the garden itself deserves focused time rather than a rushed photo stop.

Booking recommended

Jia Jia Tang Bao is a specialist dumpling stop known for xiaolongbao, soup-filled buns with a thin wrapper. Go for the signature dish and allow time for a queue at busy meal periods.

Huxinting Tea House stands beside Yuyuan Garden above the pond reached by the zigzag bridge. Stop for tea and traditional snacks as a quiet break from the Old City’s crowded lanes.

The Bund is Shanghai’s defining waterfront promenade, pairing grand early-twentieth-century architecture with one of the world’s most recognizable modern skylines across the Huangpu. Walk it slowly, compare façades, and return after dark when Pudong’s towers transform the river into the city’s most cinematic urban scene.

The lower Suzhou Creek shows a different Shanghai waterfront, where historic bridges, warehouses, renovated public space, and the meeting with the Huangpu create layered industrial and urban views. Waibaidu Bridge anchors the walk and connects naturally with the Bund, making the area a compact essential rather than a separate excursion.

Senator Saloon is a classic-cocktail bar with a vintage American saloon mood. Its intimate format contrasts with Shanghai’s larger rooftop venues.

Booking recommended

Ren He Guan serves Shanghainese cooking in a dining room styled around old Shanghai. Crab roe rice and braised pork are among the dishes associated with the restaurant; plan this as a full meal.

Speak Low is a multi-floor cocktail bar hidden behind a barware shop, with a speakeasy-style entrance and a focus on inventive drinks. The concealed entry is part of the experience, so allow time to find it.

Booking recommended

Baker & Spice began on Anfu Road as a neighbourhood bakery and now serves sourdough, rye bread, pastries and café meals. It is a relaxed breakfast or coffee stop in the former French Concession.

Shanghai Museum East presents Chinese art and material culture across galleries devoted to objects such as bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy and furniture. Check the current exhibition layout when choosing how much time to allow.

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant is a Yuyuan-area stop for Shanghai soup dumplings. Order pork xiaolongbao and crab-roe xiaolongbao, the two classic fillings highlighted by the city tourism guide.

Shanghai Tower gives the clearest vertical reading of the metropolis, rising above Lujiazui with panoramic views over the Huangpu, historic Puxi, and the surrounding megacity. The observation experience is most valuable in clear weather, so keep timing flexible and treat visibility as an operational variable rather than a guaranteed feature.

Booking recommended

The Oriental Pearl remains Shanghai’s most instantly recognizable retro-futurist landmark. Its spheres, elevated viewpoints, and riverfront position explain the visual language of 1990s Pudong better than any photograph. Pair it with Shanghai Tower and the riverside rather than treating it as an isolated attraction requiring a separate cross-city trip.

Museum of Art Pudong is a large riverside exhibition venue in Lujiazui, with changing shows spanning Chinese and international art. Its galleries and river-facing setting make it a modern counterpart to the historic museums across the Huangpu.

Book ahead

The Long Bar at Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund recreates the original Shanghai Club bar and its long counter. The menu centres on spirits and cocktails, with the historic setting adding a sense of place to an evening drink.

Booking recommended

Jianguo 328 is a neighbourhood restaurant for Shanghainese home-style cooking on West Jianguo Road. It offers a sit-down meal away from the central tourist corridors.

Bar No. 3 is a cocktail bar in the former French Concession known for seasonal, ingredient-led drinks and house interpretations of classic cocktails. Its focus on the drink makes it a good choice for a quieter evening.

Booking recommended

Pain Chaud is a French-style bakery on West Jianguo Road, adding bread and pastry to a neighbourhood route otherwise focused on Shanghainese dishes. Use it for a light breakfast or bakery pause.

Wukang Road is Shanghai’s most rewarding compact architecture walk, anchored by the wedge-shaped Wukang Mansion and shaded by mature plane trees. Villas, cafés, small shops, and residential details reveal a softer city scale than the Bund or Pudong, making this an essential counterpoint to Shanghai’s monumental skyline.

The Hengshan–Fuxing Historic Area preserves Shanghai’s atmospheric network of tree-lined streets, lane houses, villas, gardens, and adaptive reuse. Rather than a single monument, it is a neighborhood-scale anchor best explored on foot, with the route adjusted to access and stopping briefly where architecture and local life are strongest.

Da Hu Chun is a long-running shengjian specialist: its pan-fried pork buns have airy dough and a crisp base, with less broth than the soupier style. It is a focused snack stop rather than a banquet meal.

Jing’an Temple creates one of Shanghai’s sharpest contrasts: gilded Buddhist architecture framed by office towers, malls, and intense traffic. The active religious setting matters as much as the photogenic exterior. A short, respectful visit provides spiritual and historical texture while fitting naturally between the former concession and central commercial districts.

Booking recommended

Tianzifang turns a tight web of former residential lanes into studios, cafés, craft shops, bars, and small galleries. It can be busy and commercial, yet its compressed shikumen texture remains distinctive.

Xintiandi is Shanghai’s best-known example of restored shikumen lane architecture transformed into a polished dining, retail, and nightlife district. It is more curated than residential, but the preserved urban fabric makes it useful for understanding how old lane-house forms have been repurposed within contemporary central Shanghai.

Sinan Mansions is a block of garden houses built in the 1920s and 1930s in Huangpu, showcasing residential architecture from that era. Boutiques and cultural venues give the area a lively feel today. Take time to explore its lanes and façades on foot.

Jin Xuan serves Cantonese cuisine high above Lujiazui inside the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, with broad city and river views. It is a formal option for a planned lunch or dinner.

Booking recommended

Sober Company combines several concepts, moving from café and dining spaces to cocktail rooms. Its multi-part format makes it suitable for an evening that starts with food and continues with drinks.

Booking recommended