Where to stay

The neoclassical, art deco and baroque hotels of The Bund, the central waterfront promenade in Downtown Shanghai, are great places to stay for those who love history because it's part of the Old Town. Hotels overlooking the Huangpu River (Huángpǔ Jiāng) also give easy access to the Yu Garden, which dates back to the Ming Dynasty and has many historic features, including ancient ginkgo trees. Across the river, the Shanghai Municipal History Museum is housed in the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The many international chain hotels here are part of the Pudong neighborhood with its Lujiazui financial district. For a completely different Shanghai experience, stay in the city's historic Former French Concession (FFC) area, with its tree-lined avenues and beautifully preserved French colonial houses. The FCC is part of the Luwan and Xuhui neighborhoods, which are also very popular places to stay in Shanghai.

Shanghai is a great place for restaurant dining as well as snacking at hawker stalls and markets. The central Huangpu neighborhood of Downtown Shanghai combines many of the city's best tourist attractions with some of the best dining in China. Choose a hotel on West Nanjing Road instead to sample all the delights of the trendy, upmarket Jing'an neighborhood with its youthful cafés and classy restaurants. The city's historic Former French Concession (FFC) area has chic little European-style restaurants, elegant wine bars and well-stocked delicatessen shops that are within strolling distance of the sought-after FCC hotels. A completely different Shanghai city trip experience is Lujiazui, the futuristic financial neighborhood of Shanghai. The peninsula's glitzy hotels provide their own entertainment in rooftop bars, pumping clubs, European-style bistros and panoramic restaurants on the top floors of the city's shiny skyscrapers.

Many Old Town hotels in Huangpu are within easy reach of Nanjing Road (Nanjing Lu), which is one of Shanghai's two major pedestrian shopping streets, and one of the world's longest. Those staying close to Nanjing East Road can also take little side trips to the underground mall of central People's Square and the Yuyuan Bazaar with souvenir stalls in the Yu Garden. Those staying in the Jing'an neighborhood can walk to the more upmarket shops of Nanjing West Road instead. Shanghai's other major shopping street is the more upscale, and a little less touristy, Huaihai Road (Huaihai Lu). Find a hotel between this road and the former Former French Concession (FCC) area in Xuhui to combine shopping in big department stores with browsing little fashion boutiques. The also very popular shopping and dining strips of Xintiandi and Tian Zi Fang, in the adjacent Luwan neighborhood, are surrounded by some of Shanghai's most popular hotels. Across the river, the prestigious business district of Lujiazui has some great ground-level shops and basement malls below its skyscrapers and international hotel towers.

Jing'an Park, opposite the ancient Buddhist Jing'an Temple in the upscale Jing'an neighborhood, is a sprawling green space with topiary sculptures and flower clock. The park is just a stroll away from many of the upscale hotels around Nanjing West Road. Stay in a hotel along The Bund in the Old Town for easy access to the historic Yu Garden (or Yuyuan Garden). Across the river, the Lujiazui district's Central Greenland is a rare open space in this densely developed, bustling business district with its shiny hotel towers. Stay in the "Flowers and Trees Administrative Cultural Center" of the nearby Pudong New Area instead to make the most of Century Park, the city's largest urban park. Hotels in the more residential neighborhood of Changning are close to Zhongshan Park and the leafy Shanghai Zoo, home to giant pandas. Even closer to the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport are the more affordable Xianxia Road hotels, with their nearby urban parks. To the south of the airport is Shanghai's Theme Park Area, including the Gardens of Imagination of Disneyland. Find a great range of family-friendly hotels in this American-style, fun-filled district of East Coast China.