Location: Shanghai
Top Things to do in Shanghai
Top Restaurants in Shanghai
- 1. Epicure on 45
- 2. Scena (The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai Pudong)
- 3. Flair Rooftop
- 4. Shanghai Haidilao Hot Pot (Zhangyang Road)
- 5. Jin Xuan Chinese Restaurant (The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong)
- 6. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet
- 7. Efes Restaurant Turkish & Mediterranean Cuisine
- 8. Tock's - A Montreal Deli
- 9. Goodfellas
- 10. The 1515 West, Chophouse & Bar
The 10 Best Things to do in Shanghai, Shanghai Region
The largest city in China is also its most cosmopolitan, offering visitors a chance to experience the past, present, and future all at once. The Huangpu River splits Shanghai into two districts: Pudong and Puxi. The Pudong skyline looks like it was ripped from the Jetsons, with the bulbous Oriental Pearl TV and Radio Tower looking a bit like a two headed lollipop. On the Puxi side, you can walk the Bund riverside district to get a taste of old Shanghai.
Restaurants in Shanghai
1. South Bund Soft Spinning Material Market
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,287 reviews
A bespoke company based in Shanghai. Our main business is tailor-made men's and women's wear. Within more than ten years of experience in the bespoke industry, customers are all over the world. We have our own tailors and factories for both shirts and suits.
Reviewed By 617kristineg
We visited the fabric market on the first day of our family visit in order to have things custom made in time to pick them up 5 days later. Had a BEAUTIFUL yellow trench coat made at BOOTH #285, Gorgeous blue suit for my son made at Suits by Susan #233 (they spoke English very well and were super helpful on the choices to be made), Also had a shirt made from Cloud at booth # 172 (I brought in one of my favorite shirts and they had an exact copy in one of their fabrics) and my daughter had a dress made at #172 as well. DEFINITELY negotiate with the price!
2. Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,847 reviews
This elegant museum, opened in 1996, features eleven state-of-the-art galleries housing China’s international-standard exhibits of bronzes, paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jade and Ming and Qing dynasty furniture.
Reviewed By DeveanCook - Lubbock, United States
The Shanghai Museum is an expansive museum covering many collections of art from ancient Chinese history and it is both informative and impressive. The museum covers 4 floors and has 11 galleries. The galleries are all quite vast and are informative. Information cards are almost all in both English and Chinese, making it very easy for Westerners and non-Chinese speakers to understand the descriptions. A better job of this could've been done in the exhibition on currency, however, as a number of signs were in Chinese only. Just about every aspect of ancient Chinese arts are covered including calligraphy, paintings, pottery and ceramics, and sculpture. There are also exhibits covering bronze, jade, currency, and furniture. In addition to the ancient Chinese exhibits there are also exhibitions in other categories including Silk Road coins, artifacts from Oceania, and others. The sheer size of the collection means that at least 3 hours should be spent here and it is nearly impossible to cover the entire museum in one day. In all, this museum is well worth a visit in Shanghai.
3. The Bund (Wai Tan)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 19,488 reviews
This is a designated section of Shanghai’s port along the Huang Pu River lined with beautiful neo-classical buildings and a waterfront promenade that is packed with tourists, locals and street sellers.
Reviewed By gollyg2017 - Shanghai, China
This is where the vast spread of this huge city really connects-the true centre of Shanghai.A great view of both sides of the river- the 19th and early 20th century ornamental British and European buildings on one side, and the futuristic boldly designed skyscrapers on the other. No scammers or pickpockets to worry about here,as it's heavily guarded.Nice for a brisk walk during the day, but amazing to stroll and gaze in wonder at night with all the lighting! Keep walking and you'll find the ferry.Its a 10 minute ride to the other side, and only about 2 or 3 rmb per person!Do your research, and find a fancy restaurant or bar looking across the river to relax and finish off the evening. You can't go wrong!
4. Oriental Pearl Tower (Dongfang Mingzhu)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,605 reviews
Speed to the top of the world’s third tallest TV and radio tower for a spectacular view, or just gaze at this beautiful structure from afar, especially striking when lit up at night.
Reviewed By MinuHyd - Hyderabad, India
This is indeed one of the nicest place to visit in Shanghai.Though this is not the tallest building in Shanghai,its really worth it.Its an amazing looking building and the views are awesome.The biggest highlight is the glass bottom viewing point..As many other places ,wifi is available in this attraction as well.However we had trouble reading the otp since it was in native language. Note:-Please mind that this is one of the most crowded places in Shangahi.The queues can get really big,and you might end up being in the line for a long time -The washrooms are not very well maintained and better to stay away unless its an emergency.
5. Yu Garden (Yuyuan)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 10,566 reviews
A classical garden complete with period style buildings. The Garden was created by Pan Yunduan a Government Officer for his family finishing in 1577.
Reviewed By Emmi35
This 400-years-old garden built in Ming dynasty is an authentically old Chinese style garden with wooden bridges, old style houses, ponds with carps and turtles, mountain-like rock, carved dragons and greenery garden. A temple is nearby that one should visit too.
6. Former French Concession
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,964 reviews
A residential area of Shanghai once designated for the French, the French Concession is popular with tourists and expats, and appreciated for its cafes, tree-lined avenues, and tudor houses.
Reviewed By Hugary1 - Sydney, Australia
Part of our walking tour with Penny which also took in The Old Town, Yu Gardens Markets, Confucius Temple, a house were Albert Einstein stated in the 1920's and the oldest and largest house which is to be renovated. Penny was a fantastic guide who picked us at the hotel and organised transport to a couple of the attractions. Her English was outstanding and her knowledge was vast and extensive. We really enjoyed her commentary and general conversation. At the end of the tour she helped us get a Metro card and put enough funds to keep us going for 3 days of city travel. That gave us great freedom to explore the city and points further out and for that we are very grateful. She went above and beyond. The walk showed us areas that will be demolished soon. Houses left and bricked up. People on the day we walked were being served with their date to leave. Then onto the last of the areas still fully populated with its quaint shops and wonderful market place. These are sites that are disappearing and we felt that we were seeing a passing of a way of life in this city. The Temple was a place of calm and quite in a busy city and penny gave us the history behind it in a clearly articulated way. I suggest you get to see this before it all disappears.
7. Shanghai World Financial Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,340 reviews
Three observation decks offer different experiences at the 94th, 97th, and 100th floors. The 100th floor is the highest observatory in the world, with transparent glass-walled walkways.
Reviewed By 737stefanr - Lidkoping, Sweden
Take the lift to the top and walk over the glass floor the view is fantastic you will see hole Shanghai.
8. Huangpu River
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,101 reviews
Reviewed By Thinktink16 - New York City, United States
The evening river cruise is one of the most gorgeous city lights tours I've ever been on. The buildings are all lit up, and many have video shows projected on them. We paid a bit extra on our boat to sit in the VIP area (50 RMB, $7) which included cordoned off places to sit and a beer or hot chocolate.
9. Shanghai Tower
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,920 reviews
Reviewed By kanchanar2016 - Dhaka City, Bangladesh
Shanghai tower was a great experience. It is a must visit site if your go to Shanghai.. it is the 2nd tallest building in the world sitting at a height of 632m with 127 floors this becoming the tallest in China/ Asia and only second to Burj Khalifa Dubai. This tower operates the worlds fastest elevators taking 50 seconds to reach the top of the tower and mere 17 seconds to come down. The view from the top is mesmerising and loved every minute of our visit.
10. Jade Buddha Temple
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,588 reviews
This Chinese Buddhist Temple hosts two jade Buddha statues imported from Burma, along with many other cultural relics. It is a peaceful refuge from the modern bustle of Shanghai, where monks may be seen and heard conducting Buddhist ceremonies.
Reviewed By 997DanielC - Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
Found in the middle of Shanghai, you'll need to check the times for when it's open to make sure you don't turn up and have to go back like i did the first time; when I came back the next day I was able to get in but the place was packed with people. There were film cameras and the whole area was filled, so much that it was difficult to move around; they were all here to watch footage of real monks chanting inside their temple. Once the ceremony ended people starting moving around and I was able to explore, plus I was able to see real monks in their robes with their shaved heads. In one of the building sat three large golden Buddha statues (you'll notice swastikas on them, don't be alarmed its a buddhist symbol here). People often give food to the statues, or burn incense sticks in large braziers with huge flames plus there are statues of other gods like the gods of Hinduism or ancient China. The best part is the Jade Buddha statue that the temple is named after, a life sized statue with pearl white skin laying on its side with a smile, striking a pose.
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