There’s quite a number of decent things to do in Shanghai but not necessarily all in one place but the best place to stay is around the Bund area where all the action is.  As usual make sure to have a squizz at Toucan’s Map of Shanghai for where most of the good things to do in Shanghai are shown. Here’s a quick rundown of a few of them to get you started.

The Bund is what comes to everybody’s mind when it comes to things to do in Shanghai, it’s basically a 1.5km promenade along the side of the Huangpu River with some nice views of the city.  If it’s the first time you’re visiting China, you might be forgiven for forgetting that you’re actually in China because the architecture is a mix of old colonial buildings mixed in with new. It’s very un-China like and definitely worth visiting if you’re in Shanghai.  You can probably spend half a day or a day around the Bund alone just walking around, having coffee’s, lunch and admiring the architecture and scenery.

The Oriental Pearl tower is maybe one of the most iconic or at least identifiable buildings in the world.  You can go up the top to the revolving restaurant and have some views but unless you get lucky, you’re going to be cuing up for a long time to do that.  There are better buildings in Shanghai to view the city from (Notably the Shanghai World Financial Center, aka the Knife Building).  Unless you like waiting in long lines, there’s not much need to go up to the top of Oriental Pearl tower but it’s still should be on your list of things to do in Shanghai even if it’s just to look at.

Yu Garden is also pretty much a staple on any things to do in Shanghai list but for a reason. It’s basically just a Chinese Garden but worth going to as near it is Yuyuan Old Street, a local market street with some nice traditional Chinese architecture, framed up by the skyline of new buildings in the background across the Bund.

For things to do with kids in Shanghai, check out this page.