Ready-made trips · China
Shanghai in 4 days
The Bund by night, the old town and Yu Garden, the French Concession and soup dumplings.
Open the plan to change anything: swap stops, swap or add days, and keep your own copy to share.
- Length
- 4 days
- Best time
- April to May, October to November
- Pace
- Moderate
- Day trips
- None, all in the city
Four days in Shanghai: The Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Road and the Bund; The Yu Garden and the Huangpu. Each full day is one our team has planned, to be walked in order around usual opening hours, with lunch and dinner suggestions close to the stops.
Day by day
1First Evening on the BundArrival
- When you arriveThe BundHistoric waterfront with skyline views.Tip: Shanghai's historic waterfront, with colonial-era buildings facing the ultra-modern Pudong skyline across the river — genuinely striking, especially when both sides are lit up at night.
Lunch nearby: Lost Heaven or Nanxiang Mantou Dian
Dinner: Yang’s Fried Dumplings or Jardin de Jade
2The Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Road and the Bund
- MorningShanghai MuseumChinese art and history exhibits.Tip: Free entry, but timed tickets are required and book up — reserve online in advance rather than risking a walk-up queue.
- AfternoonPeople’s ParkA park beside the Shanghai Museum, home to the weekend “marriage market”.Tip: On weekend afternoons parents advertise their unmarried children on umbrellas.
- EveningNanjing RoadMajor shopping street.Tip: One of the world's busiest shopping streets — genuinely crowded, especially in the evening when it's brightly lit.
Lunch nearby: Jardin de Jade or Yang’s Fried Dumplings
Dinner: Lost Heaven or Nanxiang Mantou Dian
3The Yu Garden and the Huangpu
- MorningYu GardenClassical Chinese garden.Tip: A classical Chinese garden dating back centuries, genuinely well-preserved amid Shanghai's modern surroundings — the adjacent bazaar offers good food and shopping.
- AfternoonFangbang RoadThe old-city street of shops and snack stalls leading to the Yu Garden bazaar.Tip: Nanxiang Mantou Dian nearby is famous for soup dumplings.
- EveningHuangpu River CruiseAn evening boat on the Huangpu between the Bund and the Pudong skyline.Tip: Go after dark, when both banks are lit.
Lunch nearby: Nanxiang Mantou Dian or Lost Heaven
Dinner: Jin Mao Tower Food Court or Nanxiang Mantou Dian
4Oriental Pearl TowerLast morning
- Before you leaveOriental Pearl TowerThe pink-balled TV tower of Pudong, with a glass-floored deck.Tip: The glass-floor walkway on the 259m level is the thrill.
Lunch nearby: Lost Heaven or Jin Mao Tower Food Court
Dinner: Nanxiang Mantou Dian or Lost Heaven
Where to stay
Former French Concession
Plane-tree streets of villas, cafés and bars.
Metro lines 1, 10 and 11.
The Bund & People’s Square
The riverfront of colonial banks and the city centre around Nanjing Road.
People’s Square and East Nanjing Road metro, where lines 1, 2, 8 and 10 meet.
Jing’an
Business towers and malls around Jing’an Temple.
Jing’an Temple station (lines 2, 7 and 14).
Everything in the plan is ready to book
The full plan has a map of each day, directions between stops, opening hours, restaurant choices, hotels in these areas and tickets, tours and trains linked to book with the provider you choose.
Open the full plan →Want different dates, a slower pace or something specific? Plan your own Shanghai trip in about a minute.