Where to Stay in Shanghai: Best Areas for First-Time Visitors

The short version

Shanghai is large, but the part that matters to visitors is compact. Most sights sit along one metro line, Line 2, which also runs to both airports.

Choose the area first and the hotel second. Then check one thing: is the hotel within a five-minute walk of a metro station? Traffic in central Shanghai is slow in the daytime, and the metro is almost always faster than a taxi.

Shanghai’s areas compared

People’s Square and East Nanjing Road

This is the center of Shanghai. People’s Square station is where Lines 1, 2 and 8 meet, and East Nanjing Road station, one stop east, has Lines 2 and 10.

From here you can walk down the pedestrian shopping street to the Bund in 10 to 20 minutes, and reach Yu Garden, the Shanghai Museum and Jing’an Temple in a few stops. Famous soup dumpling and pan-fried bun shops are around the corner.

It suits a short first visit. It is also the busiest and most touristy part of the city. If you dislike crowds, stay a few blocks off the pedestrian street, or choose one of the areas below.

One known annoyance: people on East Nanjing Road who invite foreign visitors to a bar, a massage or a tea house. Ignore them. See tourist scams in China.

The Bund

The Bund is the row of grand 1920s and 1930s buildings along the river, facing the Pudong skyline. Several of them are now luxury hotels.

Stay here if the view is the point. Travelers who know the city add two cautions:

• The North Bund, across Suzhou Creek in Hongkou, often has cheaper rooms with skyline views. It is being redeveloped, and there is less to walk to.
• A view is for the evening. A lively neighborhood is for the whole day. For five nights or more, most people are happier a little further west.

Jing’an

Jing’an is central, modern and less hectic. Jing’an Temple station has Lines 2, 7 and 14, so you reach People’s Square in two stops and Lujiazui in four.

Expect large malls, good international hotels, office towers, and quiet residential streets a block behind them. It borders the former French Concession, so you can walk there in 10 to 15 minutes. It is a good choice for families and for stays of four nights or more.

The former French Concession

This is the part of Shanghai people fall in love with: streets lined with plane trees, old villas, small boutiques, coffee shops and some of the city’s best restaurants. It is a large district, not one street. For a hotel, look near South Shaanxi Road station (Lines 1, 10, 12), Huaihai Middle Road, Fuxing Park or Wukang Road.

It suits couples, repeat visitors, and anyone who prefers to walk out of the door and wander. There are fewer big hotels, more boutique hotels and serviced apartments, and you will use the metro or a taxi to reach the Bund.

Some visitors ask whether staying in a “colonial” area misses the real China. Shanghai’s mixed history is exactly what makes it different from Beijing or Xi’an. If you want the traditional north Chinese feel, get that in Beijing’s hutongs.

Xintiandi

Xintiandi is a small district of restored lane houses turned into restaurants, bars and shops, on the eastern edge of the French Concession. It is polished, easy to navigate, and hotel staff here usually speak good English. It costs more than other areas. Lines 10 and 13 serve it.

Lujiazui, Pudong

Lujiazui is the skyline you see from the Bund: the Shanghai Tower, the Oriental Pearl Tower and the other skyscrapers. The hotels high in these towers are among the most spectacular in Asia.

The streets below are wide roads and malls. There is little street life in the evening, and you cross the river every time you want to eat or explore. Choose it for one or two nights of luxury, not as a base for a week.

Hongqiao

Hongqiao combines Shanghai’s second airport and its main high-speed railway station, in the west of the city. Stay here for one night before an early train to Beijing, Hangzhou or Suzhou, or for a trade fair at the exhibition center. The center is 30 to 45 minutes away by metro.

Near Disneyland

Shanghai Disney Resort is in Pudong, about an hour from the center by Metro Line 11. If the park is your main reason to come, spend those nights near the resort and the rest in Puxi.

How much do hotels cost?

Shanghai is one of the most expensive cities in China for hotels, and still cheaper than most big cities in Europe or North America.

These are estimates for ordinary dates. Prices can double during National Day (1 to 7 October), Labor Day (1 to 5 May), Chinese New Year and large trade fairs. See Golden Week and public holidays.

How to choose the hotel itself

Once you have the area, these checks matter more than the star rating.

• Metro distance. Open a map and measure the walk to the station entrance, not to the station name.
• Age. Hotels in China wear quickly. One that opened or was renovated in the last five years is usually a safer choice than an older hotel with more stars.
• Foreign guests. International chains and most mid-range hotels accept foreigners. Small budget hotels sometimes cannot. See hotels for foreigners in China.
• Reviews. Scores on Chinese platforms run high. Read the newest and the lowest reviews, and look at guest photos. See is Trip.com reliable?
• Smoking. Ask for a non-smoking floor. International brands enforce this more strictly.
• Bathroom layout. Many modern Chinese hotels have a glass-walled bathroom open to the room. If you are sharing with friends or older children, check the photos.
• English. Large international hotels have English-speaking staff. Elsewhere, staff use translation apps, and it works.
• Beds. Mattresses are often firmer than in the West.

Getting from your hotel to the airports and stations

A hotel on Line 2 makes every one of these simple. See Shanghai airport to city center and the China metro guide.

Which area for which traveler?

If you have five nights or more, consider two hotels: a few nights near the Bund for the sights, then a few in the French Concession or Jing’an for the neighborhood.

Want us to shortlist hotels?

Tell us your dates, budget and who is traveling. We will suggest hotels in the right area, close to the metro and confirmed to accept foreign guests. See our hotel booking service, read the Shanghai destination guide, or start with a free China trip plan.