Three days is enough to see Shanghai properly without rushing — if you put the sights in the right order. This route starts with old Shanghai, gives modern Pudong a full day of its own, and finishes with a water town that feels a world away from the towers. For background on each sight, read our Shanghai for First Timers guide alongside this plan; this article is the day-by-day order, the transport between stops, and the practical decisions.
The one booking that shapes the whole route: Yu Garden’s Monday closure. The garden is normally closed on Mondays, except on public holidays, and it shuts at 16:30 with last entry at 16:00 — so it is a morning sight, not an evening one. If Day 1 of your trip falls on a Monday, swap Day 1 and Day 3: do the Zhujiajiao day trip on the Monday instead, and move Yu Garden and the Old City to another day. Do not leave Yu Garden to a late-afternoon attempt.
At a glance: the 3-day route
- Day 1 — Old Shanghai: Yu Garden and the Old City in the morning, Nanjing Road in the afternoon, then the Bund at dusk.
- Day 2 — Modern Shanghai: one Pudong observation deck in Lujiazui, a Huangpu river cruise, and dinner in the French Concession.
- Day 3 — A water town: a full day trip to Zhujiajiao by metro, back in central Shanghai for a relaxed final evening.
Stay in Puxi for all three nights — around People’s Square, Jing’an or the French Concession — so that you are never more than a short metro ride from the next stop. See our hotel check-in guide for passport registration and deposit questions, and our Shanghai transport guide for metro lines, DiDi and how to pay with a QR code.
Day 1 — Yu Garden, the Old City, Nanjing Road and the Bund
Morning: Yu Garden and the Old City. Take metro Line 10 to Yuyuan Garden station and arrive at opening (09:00 in recent guides): the garden is small, beautiful and very crowded by midday, so an early start is the whole trick. Allow 1–2 hours for the garden itself. Entry is a modest garden ticket — roughly ¥30–40 for an adult depending on the season in recent guides — and the garden is closed on Mondays except public holidays, with last entry at 16:00, so check the official channel for your exact date before you lock in this order. Afterwards, wander the bazaar around the garden for snacks: xiaolongbao (soup dumplings — bite, sip the soup, then eat) and shengjianbao (pan-fried buns) are the two to try here. See how to order food in China if you are ordering without Chinese.
Afternoon: Nanjing Road. Take Line 10 to Nanjing East Road and walk the pedestrian street towards the Bund. It is Shanghai’s main shopping street — busy, bright and best treated as a stroll rather than a destination: look, snack, and keep walking towards the river rather than trying to see every shop. If you need a break, the side streets off Nanjing Road have cheaper restaurants than the Bund-facing ones.
Evening: the Bund at dusk. Walking the promenade is free, and it is best in the evening when the Pudong towers are lit — roughly from dusk to about 22:00–23:00, when many building lights go off, so do not leave it too late. Walk the full promenade from south to north (or the reverse) in about 30–45 minutes at a strolling pace. Bund restaurants charge for the view, so check the menu and prices before sitting down, or eat one street back and walk the Bund afterwards — the view is the same from the promenade.
Transport today: metro Line 10 to Yuyuan Garden station, then Line 10 or Line 2 to Nanjing East Road. The walk from Nanjing Road to the Bund and along the promenade is part of the route — wear comfortable shoes, and keep an eye on your belongings in the evening crowds, as the Bund is one of the few places in Shanghai where pickpockets work the crowds.
Day 2 — Pudong towers, a river cruise and the French Concession
Morning and afternoon: pick one observation deck. Take metro Line 2 to Lujiazui and cross the river for Pudong’s skyline: the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin Mao Tower cluster here. Pick one deck, not all three — Shanghai Tower’s deck (floors 118/119, about 546 m up) is the highest, the World Financial Center’s has the glass skywalk, and the Pearl Tower is the most recognisable silhouette, with a glass-floor walkway at about 259 m. Deck tickets are typically in the ¥120–220 range depending on the deck and package in recent guides; check the current price and any timed-entry booking before you go, as prices and booking windows vary by venue and season. On a hazy or low-cloud day, skip the deck entirely — the view from the free Bund promenade is the better spend. Combine the deck with a walk through Lujiazui’s shopping malls, or a coffee with the towers in view, in the same half-day.
Evening: a Huangpu river cruise, then dinner in the French Concession. A river cruise (typically 30–60 minutes, evening cruises the most popular) gives you the skyline from the water with no walking — book in advance in peak season and on weekends. Afterwards, take Line 2 back to Puxi and eat in the French Concession: Xintiandi’s restored shikumen lanes are the polished choice for an evening meal, while the plane-tree streets around Wukang Road and Anfu Road are quieter and more local. See how to buy tickets for the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Terracotta Army for the ticket-booking habits that apply to decks and cruises too — timed entry and advance booking in peak season.
Transport today: metro Line 2 to Lujiazui, then Line 2 back to Puxi and Line 10 or Line 1 into the French Concession (Xintiandi station on Line 10, or South Shaanxi Road on Lines 1 and 10). If you use DiDi late in the evening, see our DiDi guide for setting it up with a foreign phone number and payment method before the evening, not on the spot.
Day 3 — Zhujiajiao water town, a full day trip
Morning: get to Zhujiajiao early. Zhujiajiao is Shanghai’s easiest water-town day trip: a canal town of stone bridges, old houses and teahouses about 48 km west of the centre, and — unusually for a water town — reachable by metro. From central Shanghai, take Line 2 to Hongqiao Railway Station, change onto Line 17 towards Oriental Land, and ride to Zhujiajiao Station: about 60–75 minutes from the centre in total, for a metro fare of roughly ¥7–9 one-way. From the station it is about a 15-minute walk to the old town, or a short local bus hop if you would rather not walk. Leave early and check the last Line 17 train back on the day, even though trains normally run into the evening.
Afternoon: bridges, boats and a slow lunch. The lanes themselves are free to wander; a combined ticket (roughly ¥30–60 in recent guides) covers the small sights such as exhibition halls, temples and gardens — buy it only if you actually plan to enter them. The essentials are free: the Fangsheng Bridge, the canalside lanes, and a short boat ride under the arched bridges. Allow 2–3 hours in the town itself, plus the return journey. Eat lunch in the town — canalside restaurants serve local dishes and river fish — and check prices before ordering, as the prettiest tables charge for the view. Weekday mornings are noticeably quieter than weekends, when the lanes fill from late morning.
Evening: a light dinner back in the centre. After a long day, keep the evening simple: dinner near your hotel, or in the French Concession if you want one more neighbourhood walk. Do not plan a second major sight for this evening — the day trip plus the return metro is tiring enough on its own. If you would rather stay in the city, swap this day for a French Concession morning (Tianzifang’s lanes, then Wukang Road) and the Shanghai Museum near People’s Square in the afternoon — the museum is free but check its reservation rule for your date.
Transport today: Line 2 to Hongqiao Railway Station, then Line 17 to Zhujiajiao Station, and the same in reverse. Keep your metro QR code or transport card ready — see our Shanghai transport guide if you have not set up metro payment yet.
Where to stay for this route
One base for all three nights works best. People’s Square puts you on Lines 1, 2 and 8 and close to Day 1 and the museum; Jing’an puts you on Lines 2 and 7 with good restaurants nearby; the French Concession puts you in the neighbourhood itself, close to Lines 1 and 10 and to Day 2’s dinner. Any of the three works — pick the one with the best metro interchange for your arrival station, rather than the cheapest room far from a station. If you arrive by air, check the airport and metro details in the “Arriving in Shanghai” section of our Shanghai guide: Shanghai has two airports (PVG and SHA), and going to the wrong one is a costly mistake.
Practical tips for this itinerary
- Check the Monday rule first, then build around it. Yu Garden’s closure is the only fixed constraint on this route; everything else can be bought or entered more flexibly.
- Do not buy two observation decks. One deck plus the free Bund promenade covers the skyline; a second deck buys height, not a new view.
- Carry your passport for ticketed sights. Several major Shanghai sights use real-name booking, so the name and passport number on the booking must match the document you carry.
- Check times on the day. Opening hours, last entry, last trains and cruise times all vary by season and by day. Treat any time in this article as a guide to planning, not a promise — check the official source or the station display on the day.
- Keep cash as a backup, but expect to pay by phone. Metro, buses, restaurants and small shops mostly take phone payment; a small amount of cash covers the exceptions. See our money guide for daily costs and ATM notes.
- If you have a fourth day, use it for a day trip to Suzhou or Hangzhou by high-speed train from Hongqiao — see how to book train tickets — or for Disneyland (metro Line 11 to Disney Resort station, a full day), or follow the Shanghai leg of our China 10-day itinerary if you are continuing from Beijing and Xi’an.
Last updated: November 2026. Prices, hours and transport times in China change without notice — check the official source for your travel date.
Photos: the Bund photo was supplied by the site; Oriental Pearl Tower photo by Ermell (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Zhujiajiao photo by 钉钉 (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).
See also: How to Get Around Shanghai for First Timers.
When you get hungry along the way: see the Shanghai Food Guide for First Timers for xiaolongbao, shengjianbao, scallion oil noodles and what to watch out for when eating.