Shanghai's Bund waterfront delivers one of the great skyline contrasts anywhere, 1920s European-style banks and trading houses on one side of the Huangpu River, the space-age towers of Pudong (including the bottle-opener-shaped Shanghai Tower) directly across.
The Bund and Pudong
Walk the Bund promenade at dusk when both skylines light up simultaneously, then cross via the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel or a short taxi ride to Pudong for the reverse view and a trip up one of the supertall towers' observation decks.
Yu Garden and its surrounding bazaar, a classical Ming-dynasty garden a short walk from the Bund, offers a quieter, older counterpoint to both riverbanks' modern architecture.
The French Concession
The former French Concession, with its plane-tree-lined streets and Art Deco villas, is Shanghai's most pleasant neighbourhood for aimless walking, independent boutiques, coffee shops, and a noticeably calmer pace than the rest of the city.
Tianzifang, a warren of converted lilong (lane house) alleys within the Concession, packs galleries, cafés, and craft shops into a dense, walkable few blocks, go on a weekday to avoid the worst crowds.
Recommended Stay · Shanghai · The Bund
The Peninsula Shanghai
A 1920s Art Deco-style building directly on the Bund, with rooms facing either the historic waterfront or the Pudong skyline across the river, a rooftop bar with one of the best dual-skyline views in the city.
