Things to do · Shanghai · China
19 best things to do in Shanghai
19 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Stefan Fussan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Shanghai are The Bund, Yu Garden and Shanghai Tower. Of the 19 picks below, 7 are free, 7 work on a rainy day and 6 suit children. Allow about 4 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- The Bund
- Free sights
- 7
- Good on a rainy day
- Shanghai Tower
- Time to see the highlights
- 4 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bund | The Bund and People's Square | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Yu Garden | Old City (Yuyuan) | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Shanghai Tower | Lujiazui (Pudong) | 1.5 hours | Mid-priced |
| Oriental Pearl Tower | Lujiazui (Pudong) | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Nanjing Road | The Bund and People's Square | 1 hour | Free |
| Huangpu River cruise | The Bund and People's Square | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Shanghai Disneyland | Pudong | Full day | Expensive |
| Shanghai Museum | The Bund and People's Square | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Former French Concession walk | Former French Concession | Half a day | Free |
| Xintiandi | Xintiandi and Tianzifang | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Tianzifang | Xintiandi and Tianzifang | 1–2 hours | Free |
| Jing'an Temple | Jing'an | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Jade Buddha Temple | Jing'an | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Shanghai Natural History Museum | Jing'an | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Power Station of Art | Huangpu riverside | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| West Bund and Long Museum | Xuhui riverside | Half a day | Low cost |
| Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum | North Bund and Hongkou | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Fuxing Park | Former French Concession | 45 minutes | Free |
| Shanghai Ocean Aquarium | Lujiazui (Pudong) | 2 hours | Mid-priced |
The 19 best things to do
Waterfront · The Bund and People's Square
1.The Bund
The riverside promenade along Zhongshan Road East is lined with more than 50 early-20th-century buildings, including the domed former HSBC building and the green-roofed Fairmont Peace Hotel. Across the Huangpu, the Lujiazui towers form the classic skyline, which is lit up every evening.
Come twice: at sunrise, when locals practise tai chi on the promenade, and after dark for the lit-up skyline.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Views
- After dark
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- Couples
Garden · Old City (Yuyuan)
2.Yu Garden
A Ming-dynasty private garden begun in 1559, Yu Garden packs rockeries, carp ponds, pavilions and the Exquisite Jade Rock into about two hectares. Outside, the zigzag Nine-Turn Bridge leads to the Huxinting teahouse, surrounded by the City God Temple bazaar.
Arrive at opening on a weekday; by late morning tour groups fill the narrow paths.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Architecture
- Photo spot
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Viewpoint · Lujiazui (Pudong)
3.Shanghai Tower
China's tallest building rises 632 metres in a twisting glass spiral. Its observation deck on the 118th floor, reached by some of the fastest lifts in the world, looks down on the Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower and, on clear days, far up the Huangpu.
Check the air quality and cloud base before buying; on hazy days the view from the Bund is better than from the top.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Iconic
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Landmark · Lujiazui (Pudong)
4.Oriental Pearl Tower
The 468-metre TV tower with its pink spheres opened in 1994 and became the symbol of Pudong's rise. Visitors ride to observation levels that include a glass-floored walkway, and the base holds a museum of old Shanghai street scenes that children enjoy.
Combine it with the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium next door for a family morning in Lujiazui.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Views
- Kids
- After dark
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Street · The Bund and People's Square
5.Nanjing Road
Nanjing Road East is a pedestrian shopping street of about 1.2 km running from the Bund to People's Square, lined with department stores, food halls and neon signs. West of People's Square, Nanjing Road West becomes a row of luxury malls in Jing'an.
Walk it after dark from People's Square towards the river so you finish with the lit-up Bund.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Shopping
- After dark
- Iconic
Experience · The Bund and People's Square
6.Huangpu River cruise
Sightseeing boats leave from piers on the Bund and in Lujiazui for loops of about 40–60 minutes past the Bund's heritage façades and the Pudong towers. Evening sailings, when both banks are lit up, are the most popular.
For a cheap version, take the public ferry between the Bund side and Lujiazui; it crosses in a few minutes for a couple of yuan.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- After dark
- Views
- Couples
- Kids
- Iconic
Theme park · Pudong
7.Shanghai Disneyland
Opened in 2016, the park has the largest Disney castle and a Zootopia land, with many rides adapted for Chinese audiences. It sits at the end of Metro line 11, about an hour from People's Square.
Weekdays outside Chinese school holidays have far shorter queues; download the official app to see waiting times.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Tickets are date-specific and priced by demand; buy ahead for weekends and holidays.
- Kids
- Iconic
- After dark
Museum · The Bund and People's Square
8.Shanghai Museum
The drum-shaped museum on People's Square holds one of China's finest collections of ancient bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy, jade and furniture, with clear English labelling. A second branch, Shanghai Museum East, opened in Pudong in 2024.
Start with the bronze gallery on the ground floor, then take the lift to the ceramics and furniture rooms before the crowds build.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Entry is free but usually requires a timed reservation with your passport number; book a few days ahead for weekends.
- History
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
Neighbourhood · Former French Concession
1.Former French Concession walk
A walk from the wedge-shaped Wukang Mansion along Wukang Road, Anfu Road and Fuxing Road passes 1920s and 1930s villas, apartment blocks and lane houses under plane trees, many marked with heritage plaques. Cafés, bakeries and small boutiques fill the ground floors.
Start at Wukang Mansion and finish at Fuxing Park; autumn, when the plane trees turn yellow, is the best season.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Couples
- Food
- Photo spot
Neighbourhood · Xintiandi and Tianzifang
2.Xintiandi
Xintiandi is a pedestrian block of restored shikumen stone-gate houses south of Huaihai Road, now restaurants, bars and shops. The Shikumen Open House Museum shows how families once lived in these lane houses, and the site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China is on the same block.
Visit in the early evening for a drink on a terrace, then walk 15 minutes south to Tianzifang.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Architecture
- Food
- After dark
- Couples
- Free
Neighbourhood · Xintiandi and Tianzifang
3.Tianzifang
Off Taikang Road, Tianzifang is a warren of narrow lanes where former workshops and homes now hold craft shops, tea stalls, small galleries and cafés. It is busier and less polished than Xintiandi, and residents still live upstairs.
Explore the lanes furthest from the main Taikang Road entrance, where the shops are quieter and more interesting.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Shopping
- Free
- Food
- Photo spot
Religious site · Jing'an
4.Jing'an Temple
Rebuilt with gold-roofed halls, Jing'an Temple is an active Buddhist temple squeezed between the malls and towers of West Nanjing Road. The contrast between incense-filled courtyards and glass skyscrapers is one of the city's most striking sights.
Toss a coin at the bronze urn in the main courtyard as worshippers do, and visit late afternoon when the gold roofs catch the light.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- History
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Religious site · Jing'an
5.Jade Buddha Temple
This working monastery was founded in 1882 to house two jade Buddhas brought from Burma: a seated Buddha nearly two metres high and a smaller reclining Buddha. Its yellow-walled halls and vegetarian restaurant draw both worshippers and visitors.
Have a bowl of vegetarian noodles at the temple's restaurant after your visit.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
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Museum · Jing'an
6.Shanghai Natural History Museum
Housed in a spiralling modern building in Jing'an Sculpture Park, the museum has dinosaur skeletons, a hall of African animals and hands-on displays on evolution and ecosystems. It is one of the city's best rainy-day options for families.
Book a weekday visit; school-holiday weekends are very busy.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Tickets are sold by timed slot and can sell out at weekends and in school holidays.
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Gallery · Huangpu riverside
7.Power Station of Art
China's first state-run contemporary art museum occupies a converted power plant on the 2010 Expo site, its 165-metre chimney still standing. It hosts the Shanghai Biennale and large temporary exhibitions in vast industrial halls.
Check the programme before you go; the building is worth seeing, but the shows change completely between exhibitions.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Waterfront · Xuhui riverside
8.West Bund and Long Museum
The former industrial riverbank in Xuhui is now a long promenade for cycling and skateboarding, with the Long Museum West Bund, built around an old coal-unloading bridge, and other private galleries along the way. Locals come at weekends for picnics and sunset walks.
Rent a share bike and ride the riverside path, stopping at the Long Museum for its concrete vaulted galleries.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Low cost
- Art
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Active
Museum · North Bund and Hongkou
9.Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum
Set in the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue in Hongkou, the museum tells the story of about 20,000 Jewish refugees who fled Europe to Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s, through photographs, documents and personal stories.
Walk the surrounding Tilanqiao streets afterwards, where some of the refugees' lane houses still stand.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Park · Former French Concession
10.Fuxing Park
Laid out by the French in the early 20th century, Fuxing Park is where retired Shanghainese gather for ballroom dancing, tai chi, card games and choir singing. Its plane-tree avenues and rose garden make it a good break on a French Concession walk.
Go before 9am to see the park at its liveliest, when dancers and tai chi groups fill the paths.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
- Kids
Aquarium · Lujiazui (Pudong)
11.Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
Next to the Oriental Pearl Tower, the aquarium follows the waters of different continents and includes a long underwater tunnel with sharks and rays and a section on Yangtze River species.
Visit on a weekday morning, when the tunnel is less crowded with school groups.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Natural History Museum, Power Station of Art and West Bund and Long Museum |
| History | Yu Garden, Shanghai Museum, Jing'an Temple and Jade Buddha Temple |
| Views | The Bund, Shanghai Tower, Oriental Pearl Tower and Huangpu River cruise |
| Outdoors and nature | Shanghai Natural History Museum, West Bund and Long Museum and Fuxing Park |
| Food and markets | Former French Concession walk, Xintiandi and Tianzifang |
| After dark | The Bund, Oriental Pearl Tower, Nanjing Road and Xintiandi |
| With children | Oriental Pearl Tower, Huangpu River cruise, Shanghai Natural History Museum and Fuxing Park |
| On a rainy day | Shanghai Tower, Shanghai Museum, Jade Buddha Temple and Shanghai Natural History Museum |
What to book ahead
- Shanghai Disneyland: Tickets are date-specific and priced by demand; buy ahead for weekends and holidays.
- Shanghai Museum: Entry is free but usually requires a timed reservation with your passport number; book a few days ahead for weekends.
- Shanghai Natural History Museum: Tickets are sold by timed slot and can sell out at weekends and in school holidays.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Shanghai?
The Bund. The riverside promenade along Zhongshan Road East is lined with more than 50 early-20th-century buildings, including the domed former HSBC building and the green-roofed Fairmont Peace Hotel.
+What can you do for free in Shanghai?
The Bund, Nanjing Road, Shanghai Museum, Former French Concession walk and Xintiandi. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Shanghai when it rains?
Head indoors to Shanghai Tower, Shanghai Museum, Jade Buddha Temple and Shanghai Natural History Museum.
+What is there to do in Shanghai at night?
The Bund, Oriental Pearl Tower, Nanjing Road and Xintiandi are best after dark.