Shanghai in 1, 2 or 3 days: an itinerary for history lovers

The short answer. With one day, walk from the old city around Yu Garden up the length of the Bund, and stay on the waterfront until dark. With two days, give the second to the former French Concession: the Wukang Road side in the morning, the Fuxing Park side and Xintiandi in the afternoon. With three days, add Pudong’s towers and museums, the Jewish refugee quarter in Hongkou, or a canal town. Keep to one area a day, and check closing days before you choose the order: several of the museums below close on Mondays.

How these plans are built

Most published Shanghai itineraries start in the same place: Yu Garden, the Bund and Nanjing Road on day one, then a choice between Pudong’s skyscrapers and the French Concession, then a day trip. That order works, and we keep it. What we change is the zig-zagging: many plans cross the river twice in a day or send you back to the Bund a second time. Here each day stays in one part of the city, and each sight links to its own page, with the Chinese address to show a taxi driver and buttons to open it in Amap or Apple Maps.

Walking distances below are measured on the map, not timed on foot. Opening hours change, so each place page shows only what the venue or the city government has published, with the date we read it.

Closing days to plan around

Closed on	Places
Monday	Shanghai Museum on People’s Square, Soong Ching-ling’s Former Residence, Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence, Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
Tuesday	Shanghai Museum East in Pudong

The Shanghai Museum’s two buildings close on different days and both open on public holidays (Shanghai government guide). Soong Ching-ling’s house moves its Monday closure to the next working day when a holiday falls on a Monday (museum visitor page). If your French Concession day falls on a Monday, swap days one and two. More on booking with a passport is in Booking sights with a passport.

One day: the old city and the Bund

Morning: the old city. Take Metro Line 10 or 14 to Yuyuan Garden station and go to Yu Garden when it opens, before the tour groups. Next door is the City God Temple, in the middle of the rebuilt bazaar. If you have time, walk west to Dajing Pavilion, the last piece of the old city wall, about 900 m away on the map.

Midday: walk to the Bund. From Yu Garden it is under a kilometre on the map to the south end of the Bund at the Gutzlaff Signal Tower. Have lunch on the way or on the side streets behind the waterfront.

Afternoon: the Bund, building by building. Walk north on the inland pavement, where you can read the doorways and carvings: the Asia Building at No. 1, the Shanghai Club, the domed HSBC Building and the clock tower of the Customs House, the Peace Hotel at the corner of Nanjing Road, and at the north end the former British Consulate and Waibaidu Bridge. The row is about 1.3 km on the map. Our Bund visitor’s guide has the order and what you can go inside.

Evening: the river side. Come back south along the promenade as the light goes. The Bund’s facades and the towers of Lujiazui across the river are lit in the evening. For dinner, walk inland along East Nanjing Road, whose station (Lines 2 and 10) takes you back to most hotels.

If it is raining, swap the old city for the Shanghai Museum on People’s Square (not Mondays), one stop from East Nanjing Road on Line 2, or a walk west along Nanjing Road. Until November 2027 the building shows only an exhibition on the ancient Americas, which needs a ticket; for Chinese art, go to Shanghai Museum East in Pudong instead (not Tuesdays).

Two days: add the former French Concession

Day one as above. On day two, take the metro west. This area is about the streets more than single sights, so wear walking shoes. The French Concession visitor’s guide has both routes in more detail.

Morning: the Wukang Road side. Take Line 10 or 11 to Jiao Tong University station. A few hundred metres away is Wukang Mansion, the wedge-shaped apartment block, and right beside it Soong Ching-ling’s Former Residence, which you can go inside (not Mondays; book through the museum’s WeChat mini-program). Then walk north up Wukang Road, about 1.2 km of villas and plane trees, past Ba Jin’s Former Residence, and turn east along Anfu Road for lunch.

Afternoon: the Fuxing Park side. From Changshu Road station take Line 1 one stop to South Shaanxi Road. Walk past the Cathay Theatre and the Jin Jiang Hotel to St Nicholas Church and Fuxing Park; Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence is a short walk from the park (not Mondays).

Evening: Xintiandi. Walk on through the garden houses of Sinan Mansions to Xintiandi, the restored stone-gate lane houses, for dinner. To see lane houses that are still lived in, go instead to Tianzifang, near Dapuqiao station.

Three days: choose one more area

Days one and two as above. For the third day, pick the option that fits your interests and the day of the week.

Pudong: the towers and the river. Line 2 runs one stop under the river from East Nanjing Road to Lujiazui. Choose one observation deck rather than several: the Shanghai Tower, the Jin Mao Tower or the Oriental Pearl Tower; bring your passport, which the Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower ask for when you buy tickets. Then go further along Line 2 to the Shanghai Museum East (not Tuesdays), the Science and Technology Museum and Century Park. Families tend to like this day best.

Hongkou: the Jewish refugee quarter and Lu Xun. For a history day, take Line 10 and change to Line 12 for Tilanqiao for the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum (not Mondays), then Lu Xun Park, Duolun Road and the concrete former slaughterhouse at 1933 Old Millfun. The sights are spread out, so plan short metro or taxi rides between them.

A canal town. Zhujiajiao is on Metro Line 17; from People’s Square it takes a change at Hongqiao Railway Station. Go early, and come back in time for a last evening on the Bund. Qibao Old Town on Line 9 is closer and fits in half a day. For Suzhou or Hangzhou by high-speed train, see Day trips by train.

Arrival and departure days

Count your arrival day as half a day at most. From Pudong Airport, Metro Line 2 takes about an hour to the centre; from Hongqiao it is closer. The arrival guide and getting around guide have the options. On an arrival evening, walk the Bund promenade; it is free, open in the evening and close to many hotels.

Practical notes

• Where to stay: for these plans, the Bund or People’s Square keeps day one on foot and day two one metro ride away. Compare areas in Where to stay.
• Before you go: set up mobile payment and data; see How to pay and Is Shanghai easy for first-timers?
• Holidays: the Bund, Yu Garden and Wukang Road are very crowded during the national holidays; see When to visit.
• Carry your passport every day. Museums and towers ask for it.