Shanghai in 4 days: an itinerary that works for a first visit from Australia

Four days is the sweet spot for a first visit to Shanghai. Three days covers the city properly and the fourth gets you to Suzhou, Hangzhou or a canal town without feeling rushed. This is the shape we use for our own Shanghai essentials tour, and it works just as well if you are doing it on your own with a day guide for the parts that need one.

Before you start: where to stay

Three areas work for first-timers. Nanjing Road West / Jing’an is central, well connected and full of restaurants. The Bund gives you the skyline from your window but the streets empty at night. The former French Concession (around Wukang Road and Anfu Road) is leafy, walkable and the most pleasant place to come back to each evening. Avoid Pudong hotels unless you are there for business; the views are good but you cross the river for everything.

Day 1: arrive and settle

Flights from Melbourne and Sydney land mid-afternoon or late evening. Do not plan sightseeing. Get to the hotel, sort a SIM and Alipay (ideally done before you fly), and if you have energy walk to the Bund after dark. The skyline lights run until about 10 pm. Dinner near the hotel.

Day 2: old Shanghai and the river

• 8:30 Yu Garden and the old town. Go early. By 10:30 the alleys around the garden are shoulder to shoulder. The garden itself needs about an hour; the bazaar around it is for photos and a quick snack.
• 11:00 Walk to the Bund. About 20 minutes through the old town’s edge. Walk the full length of the promenade; the 1920s bank buildings are on one side and Pudong on the other.
• 12:30 Lunch. Xiaolongbao somewhere unfussy. The famous places have queues; a guide knows the ones that do not.
• 14:00 Ferry to Pudong. The public ferry from the south end of the Bund is a few RMB and gives you the best skyline photo. Shanghai Tower’s observation deck (118th floor) needs a timed booking; late afternoon light is best.
• 17:00 French Concession. Taxi over, wander Wukang Road, Anfu Road and the lanes between, coffee, then dinner in the area.

Day 3: Suzhou or Hangzhou

Both are 25 to 45 minutes by high-speed train, or a 90-minute drive with a private car.

Suzhou is gardens and canals: the Humble Administrator’s Garden or the smaller Master of the Nets, a canal boat, Pingjiang Road for lunch, and Tiger Hill if you have time. It is compact and suits families and anyone who likes a slower day.

Hangzhou is West Lake: a boat across, a bike or walk along the causeways, the Longjing tea fields behind the lake, and Hefang Street for dinner. It is bigger and more beautiful on a clear day, and more tiring.

With a car you are door to door and the passport-only garden bookings are already made. By train you need tickets booked under each passport in advance and a taxi at the other end.

Day 4: canal town and departure

Zhujiajiao is 50 minutes west of the city, a Ming and Qing dynasty canal town with stone bridges, boats and good noodles. Get there by 9 am and it is calm; by 11 the day-trippers arrive. Two hours is enough, then lunch and a private transfer to Pudong for an afternoon or evening flight. If your flight is late at night you can fit in the Propaganda Poster Art Centre or Tianzifang on the way.

How much walking is this?

Day 2 is the big one: 12 to 15 km if you do all of it on foot. With children or anyone who tires easily, add a car for the afternoon. Day 3 depends on your choice; Suzhou is gentler. Day 4 is light.

What it costs on your own vs with us

Doing this independently with mid-range hotels, trains and tickets comes to roughly A$600 to A$900 per person for the four days before meals and flights, plus the time spent booking. Our packaged version with a private car, a guide on days 2 to 4 and everything booked under your passports starts from A$1,190 per person for a group of four. The difference buys the planning, the car, and someone who speaks both languages when something does not go to plan.