Three days, done right
- Day 1 — Old Shanghai: Yu Garden morning → Old Town walk → Bund sunset → Bund Bull night photo.
- Day 2 — Modern Shanghai: Shanghai Museum (free, book ahead) → French Concession lunch → Xintiandi shopping → rooftop drinks (Bar Rouge or Vue).
- Day 3 — Day trip: Suzhou (25 min HSR) for classical gardens, or Zhujiajiao water town (1 hr by car).
Where to stay
- The Bund / Nanjing Road — postcard views, fights tourists for breakfast. Fairmont Peace Hotel for the romance.
- French Concession — leafy streets, indie cafés, walkable. Best neighborhood in mainland China to wake up in.
- Xintiandi — manicured restored shikumen. Convenient, expensive, slightly Disney.
What to eat
- Xiao long bao — Jia Jia Tang Bao for the locals' choice; Din Tai Fung if you want a sure bet.
- Sheng jian bao — pan-fried, crispy bottom. Yang's Dumpling, any branch.
- Cantonese / Shanghainese fine dining — Fu He Hui, Yongfoo Elite, or Ultraviolet if you want to drop $500.
- Coffee — Shanghai now has more cafés than New York. Try Manner, Seesaw, or % Arabica.
Get out of the city
- Suzhou — UNESCO classical gardens; the Humble Administrator's Garden is the one to see.
- Hangzhou — West Lake, 1 hr by HSR. Best at sunrise.
- Zhujiajiao — canal town within metro reach. Half day.
- Wuzhen / Xitang — water towns; better than Zhujiajiao if you have the time.
The 240-hour transit hack
If your passport isn't on the 30-day visa-free list, you can still come visa-free for up to 240 hours as a transit passenger — as long as you're flying onward to a third country. Most US, UK, Canadian, and Australian travelers use this. Full rules here.
Getting around
The metro is the world's largest, signed in English, ¥3–10 a ride. Didi works in English. Maglev to Pudong Airport — 7 minutes, 430 km/h. Pay with Alipay or WeChat.
Next
Pair Shanghai with Beijing for the classic 7-day trip, or chain it into the 14-day classic loop.