One Day in Shanghai - Access Shanghai

The Pudong skyline seen across the Huangpu river from the Bund promenade — Photograph by Ermell, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

One day is the west bank on foot: the Bund, the old city, the shopping street and the Concession. It is about six kilometres end to end and every part of it is free.

⚠️ Do not spend this day on Pudong. The towers are better looked at than stood on, and the observation decks will eat three hours and give you a hazy photograph.

The plan

Before 08:00 — ⭐ The Bund, early. At seven the promenade belongs to people doing tai chi, the light is on the buildings rather than behind them, and it is the only hour it is not crowded.
09:00 — Walk the length of the buildings looking up, then into the former HSBC banking hall at number 12 for the mosaic dome.
10:00 — South to Yu Garden. ⚠️ The garden is the walled sixteenth-century one inside; the bazaar around it is 1990s and free. See both, know which is which.
12:00 — Lunch in the old city — shengjianbao, pan-fried, crisp underneath, and full of scalding soup. Bite a small hole first.
13:30 — Nanjing Road west from the Bund end. Walk it once for the scale, look above the shopfronts at the 1930s upper storeys, and ⚠️ decline the tea ceremony.
15:00 — People’s Square and the park — the old racecourse. If it is a weekend morning you will have missed the marriage market; if you can reshuffle to catch it, do.
16:00 — Metro two stops west into the former French Concession and walk Wukang Road end to end under the plane trees. This is the best hour of the day and almost nobody plans it.
19:00 — Dinner in the Concession or at Xintiandi. ⚠️ Check your last train before you sit down.

The tiered tea house standing on its own island in the Yu Garden pond — Photograph by King of Hearts, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

⭐ If you do only one thing on this list, walk Wukang Road. It is free, it is a kilometre long, and it is the part of Shanghai people remember.

The pedestrian stretch of East Nanjing Road packed with people — Photograph by TheBlueRutabaga, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What this plan is built around

Not a list of sights, but the constraints: ⭐ your payment app has to work before any of this does; the Shanghai Museum and the China Art Museum are free and still need an advance reservation with your passport; most museums close on Monday; and the metro stops between about 22:00 and 23:00, which is hours before the restaurants do and is the one deadline that actually strands people here.

Hengshan Road under a full canopy of plane trees, with a cyclist passing — Photograph by Morgenmauer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Other lengths

2 daysTwo Days in Shanghai 3 daysThree Days in Shanghai 5 daysFive Days in Shanghai

Checked on 6 September 2026. Reservation requirements, closing days and entry rules change — confirm before you travel. All sixteen sights, one page each, in Landmarks & Sights.