The Pudong skyline seen from the Bund across the Huangpu River
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Shanghai in 3 days

  • 3 days
  • 7.6 km on foot
  • 16 stops
  • Audio guide

Three days let you get to know Shanghai without watching the clock, with time to go inside places. Beyond the main neighbourhoods, this plan adds the Shanghai Museum, the ride up the Shanghai Tower and a morning on the leafy streets of the west, with Jing'an Temple among the skyscrapers. The Old City is saved for the last evening as a send-off; if you're travelling in autumn, book the hairy crab.

Day 1Villas, rockeries and bronzes

Open your trip with “French Concession Highlights” first thing: the First Congress House in Xintiandi, Fuxing Park and Sun Yat-sen's House, until you lose yourself in Tianzifang. A short taxi ride drops you in the Old City for xiaolongbao at Nanxiang, beside the zigzag bridge. Then visit Yu Garden, right next door, and take metro line 8 to People's Square to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Shanghai Museum. Tonight, take it easy: tomorrow starts on that very square.

  1. Morning

    French Concession Highlights: Plane Trees, Villas and Lanes

    Mixed · 2.5 km · 1 h 50 min

    1. Xintiandi and the First Congress HouseA 1920 shikumen house where, in July 1921, thirteen delegates met to found the Chinese Communist Party.
    2. Fuxing ParkThe old “French Park”, where the city now dances, plays mahjong and practises tai chi under the plane trees.
    3. Sun Yat-sen's HouseThe villa that Chinese emigrants in Canada gave to the father of modern China, where he lived with Soong Ching-ling.
    4. Sinan Road and its VillasThe former Rue Massenet, a street of villas where Zhou Enlai and the great opera star Mei Lanfang once lived.
    5. TianzifangA maze of shikumen lanes that artists saved from demolition, now packed with studios and cafés.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Nanxiang xiaolongbao at Nanxiang Mantou Dian (南翔馒头店). Yuyuan Lu, 85, junto al puente en zigzag, Huangpu, Shanghái

  3. Afternoon

    Yu Garden

    A classical garden that the official Pan Yunduan began building in 1559 for his parents: rockeries, carp ponds, galleries and pavilions packed into a small space. There's an entry fee and it gets crowded; go straight after lunch and check opening times beforehand.

    Directions

    Shanghai Museum

    One of the great museums of ancient Chinese art, with bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy and painting, in a building shaped like a ritual vessel. Since 2024 it has a second site in Pudong, so check which galleries are open. Entry usually requires booking with your passport, and it's normally closed on Mondays.

    Directions

Day 2Stone banks and glass towers

Head back to People's Square for “From the Racecourse to the Bund”: the clock tower of the old racing club, the Park Hotel, the department stores of Nanjing Road and then, on the Bund, the old HSBC Building, the Custom House and the Peace Hotel, all the way to Waibaidu Bridge. For lunch, hongshao rou at Lao Zheng Xing on Fuzhou Road, between the square and the river. In the afternoon, cross to Pudong on metro line 2, wander the Lujiazui riverside and go up the Shanghai Tower shortly before dark.

  1. Morning

    From the Racecourse to the Bund: Shanghai of the Concessions

    History · 3.3 km · 2 h 10 min

    1. The Old Racecourse and Clock TowerWhere People's Square now stands, the British raced horses for almost a century.
    2. Park HotelThe dark-brick skyscraper that was the tallest building in Asia for almost thirty years.
    3. Nanjing Road and the Department StoresChina's most famous shopping street, where two families back from Australia invented modern retail.
    4. The Old HSBC Building and the Custom HouseThe dome of Asia's most powerful bank and a clock modelled on Big Ben, at the heart of the Bund.
    5. The Peace HotelVictor Sassoon's green pyramid, where Shanghai danced to jazz in the 1930s.
    6. Waibaidu BridgeChina's first steel bridge, where Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu opposite the towers of Pudong.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  2. Lunch

    Try Hongshao rou, Shanghai-style braised pork at Shanghai Lao Fandian (上海老饭店). Fuyou Lu, 242, Huangpu, Shanghái

  3. Afternoon

    Lujiazui Riverside Promenade

    The riverside walk in Pudong, a district that in the late 1980s was mostly warehouses and fields. From here you see the Bund end to end, while behind you rise the Oriental Pearl Tower and the circular footbridge linking the skyscrapers.

    Directions

    Shanghai Tower observation deck

    At 632 metres and completed in 2015, it's China's tallest building; the deck is on the 118th floor, reached by one of the fastest lifts in the world. The neighbouring Jin Mao and Shanghai World Financial Center have decks too. Booking ahead is a good idea.

    Directions

Day 3Western avenues and a farewell among temples

Give the morning to Shanghai's calmer side: start by Wukang Mansion, walk up Wukang Road between villas and plane trees and carry on to Jing'an Temple, its golden roofs rising among shopping malls. From there, metro line 2 takes you back to Nanjing Road for shengjianbao at Da Hu Chun. Take the afternoon slowly, then at dusk do “Gods, Pirates and Spirits of the Old City”, from Dajing Pavilion to the City God Temple and Huxinting Teahouse. Round off the trip with hairy crab at Wang Bao He.

  1. Morning

    Wukang Road and Wukang Mansion

    One of the loveliest streets of the former French Concession, lined with villas from the 1920s and 1930s. It begins at Wukang Mansion, a building shaped like a ship's prow designed by László Hudec, the same architect as the Park Hotel.

    Directions

    Jing'an Temple

    A Buddhist temple whose origins tradition places in the 3rd century, moved to this site in the 13th. What you see today is a recent rebuild, all golden roofs among skyscrapers, right on Nanjing West Road. It has its own metro station.

    Directions

  2. Lunch

    Try Shengjianbao, pan-fried buns at Da Hu Chun (大壶春). Sichuan Zhong Lu, 136, Huangpu, Shanghái

  3. Early evening

    Gods, Pirates and Spirits of the Old City

    Mysteries & legends · 1.8 km · 1 h 40 min

    1. Dajing Pavilion and the Last City WallThe only surviving stretch of the wall built in 1553 against pirates, watched over from above by the god of war.
    2. Fangbang Road, the Old StreetA canal buried in 1913 and a secret society that held the city for eighteen months.
    3. The City God TempleThe temple of Shanghai's three guardians, one of them a scholar who refused to serve the emperor while he lived.
    4. Huxinting Teahouse and the Zigzag BridgeShanghai's oldest teahouse, in the middle of a pond, and a nine-turn bridge against evil spirits.
    5. Chenxiangge, the Agarwood PavilionA small Buddhist temple born of a statue of Guanyin rescued, so the story goes, from a sunken boat.

    Start the audio guide See the route

  4. Dinner

    Try Hairy crab (dazhaxie) at Wang Bao He (王宝和酒家). Fuzhou Lu, 603, esquina con Zhejiang Zhong Lu, Huangpu, Shanghái

The map

Shanghai in 3 days, on the map

Each route’s stops are numbered in order; the stars are the extra sights.

Mixed History Mysteries & legends Extra sight

Loading the map…

Before you go

Tips for Shanghai in 3 days

  • Hairy crab is seasonal, roughly September to December. If you're visiting outside those months, order another house dish at Wang Bao He or go back to hongshao rou; in autumn, book a table, as it's peak season.
  • Many Shanghai museums, including the Shanghai Museum, are usually closed on Mondays and ask you to book in advance with your passport. If your first day is a Monday, swap days 1 and 3, and check the official website for which galleries are open.
  • Foreign apps and websites such as Google or Wikipedia usually don't work in China. Before you arrive, set up a map app that works there, a translator with offline downloads and mobile payments; the metro can usually be paid by QR code too.

Questions

Shanghai in 3 days: your questions

What day trip can you do from Shanghai?

The two most popular are Zhujiajiao, a water town of canals and stone bridges you can reach by metro, and Suzhou, famous for its classical gardens, about half an hour away by high-speed train. If you can stretch your trip to four days, either one fits in nicely.

What else is there to see in Shanghai if I have spare time?

The Jade Buddha Temple, with two jade Buddhas brought from Burma; the Propaganda Poster Art Centre, a private collection of 20th-century posters; and the West Bund, a stretch of riverside where old wharves have become promenades and museums such as the Long Museum.

How far will I walk in 3 days?

The routes add up to about 7.6 km (4.7 miles): 2.5 km on day one in the French Concession, 3.3 km on day two from the racecourse to the Bund and 1.8 km on day three in the Old City. Wukang Road, the Lujiazui promenade and the museums add plenty more, but at an easy pace.

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