Where To Stay In Shanghai: A First-Timer’s Guide

Shanghai is absolutely massive, and given that Western mapping products like Apple Maps and Google Maps don’t really work, that doesn’t make trip planning any easier either.

I know the feeling all too well, having planned multiple trips to China myself! Luckily, you don’t need to figure out the entire layout of the city before committing to a good area to stay. We’ve done all the heavy lifting for you. 🙂

For a first taste of Shanghai, make Puxi your base. Puxi is the city’s western half, speckled with cute historic lanes, landmark sights, late-night spots, great restaurants, and some of its best shopping.

From there, we’ve gotta narrow it down some more. The trick to picking the perfect home base is deciding what kind of Shanghai experience you want outside your hotel door.

Do you want to walk out and immediately be surrounded by Shanghai’s biggest attractions? Would you rather wake up on a tree-lined street with a coffee shop downstairs? Or do you want a central location that’s convenient to everything without paying the premium to stay in the middle of the tourist crowds?

We’ll help you figure it all out below.

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In A Nutshell: Best Shanghai Areas To Stay

For a first trip, these are the areas I’d narrow it down to:

Want to be in the middle of all the action with the major sights nearby? → Huangpu (near The Bund / East Nanjing Road).

Want tree-lined streets, cafés, historic architecture and trendy neighborhood vibes? → Former French Concession.

Want a central location that’s less touristy and more affordable? → Jing’an.

If you ask me to choose just one “best” area to stay in Shanghai, I’d tell you I can’t. No single neighborhood fits everyone’s bill.

The Bund / Huangpu is the easiest choice if this is your first time and you want to maximize sightseeing. I’d choose the Former French Concession if atmosphere matters as much as attractions. And Jing’an is the middle ground: central and convenient, but with more of a local feel and often better hotel value.

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Where I’ve Stayed On My Shanghai Trips

So far, I’ve stayed in two different parts of Shanghai, and both taught me what I want from a hotel in this city.

On my first trip, I stayed in Jing’an at the InterContinental Shanghai Jing’an. As an IHG person, I’m always on the lookout for IC’s in international destinations; outside of places like Tokyo, they’re usually such good value!

(I was also shocked to find just how many IHG-branded hotels were out in Shanghai. There had to have been dozens!!!)

I liked the hotel a lot (especially waking up to the InterContinental’s iconic breakfast buffet every morning), but I found the hotel’s location a little too far out for the way I like to travel these days.

There wasn’t much nearby that I could get to on foot. I was constantly hopping in a Didi or taking the train to get to the more central areas.

That might not sound like a big deal, but when I’m sightseeing for a few days and trying to make the most of my time, I want to be able to walk out of my hotel in the morning, grab a coffee, wander around, or stop for lunch without having to commit to being out for the next several hours.

For my second trip, I stayed around People’s Square/Huangpu, and I liked the location much more. When we wanted the action, we could walk to it in less than 10 minutes. When we didn’t, we could stay in our own neighborhood, grab food, find a café, and keep things a little more local. Never did I feel isolated.

For my personal travel style, the Huangpu area works well for me.

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The Bund / East Nanjing Road: For First-Timers Who Want To Be In The Action

Best for: Travelers who want maximum sightseeing convenience and don’t mind being in the tourist center.

If this is your first trip to Shanghai and you want to walk out of your hotel and immediately be surrounded by the city’s biggest sights, The Bund and East Nanjing Road area are hard to beat.

These two areas, connected by just a short walk, will put you right in the middle of Shanghai’s tourist core, with the Bund, Nanjing Road, People’s Square and the Old City all within easy reach.

You can even walk from old Shanghai to the futuristic Pudong skyline without spending unnecessary time getting there on the metro.

Hotspots you’ll be close to: The Bund, East Nanjing Road pedestrian street, People’s Square, Shanghai Museum, People’s Park, Yu Garden, City God Temple, Shanghai Old Street, Shanghai Old City, and the ferry over to Pudong and Lujiazui.

Why we recommend it: This is the most convenient choice if your priority is seeing Shanghai’s icons. You can walk to a lot of the major sights, and Nanjing Road gives you easy access to huge malls, Chinese brands, international stores, and plenty of famous must-try restaurants.

The downside: You’d be staying in one of the busiest parts of Shanghai. The Bund and Nanjing Road can get packed, and hotels here tend to cost more than in other Shanghai areas.

👉 Pro Tip: If you want a quieter, more local-feeling Shanghai experience, look farther west into Puxi. More on that below!

People’s Square / Huangpu: Central, without the craze of The Bund

Best for: Travelers who want the easiest possible transportation and a central location… without paying Bund prices.

People’s Square area, located ever so slightly west of The Bund area, is probably the best all-around base for a first trip to Shanghai.

It’s central but not TOO central, if you know what I’m saying. You’re pretty close to the main attractions, but you won’t be tossed directly into the crowds of Nanjing Road/Bund, and with access to three major metro lines (Lines 1, 2 and 8), getting around the city is surprisingly easy!

You’re also sitting right between several major sightseeing areas, so you can walk, train, or call a quick DiDi to places pretty quickly.

Hotspots you’ll be close to: Shanghai Museum, People’s Park, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, East Nanjing Road, The Bund, Shanghai Natural History Museum, West Nanjing Road and, with a short metro ride, Yu Garden, the Old City and Jing’an Temple.

Why we recommend it: If you’re the kind of traveler who wants to maximize your sightseeing time, this is a very practical location. You wouldn’t necessarily be choosing it for its unique atmosphere or anything, but because getting almost anywhere is easy from here.

The downside: It feels more like a central business/tourist district than a neighborhood where you’ll want to spend an entire afternoon wandering. Hotel prices are fairly moderate here, and definitely cheaper than what you’d find in The Bund area.

Former French Concession: Food, Cafés & Local Vibes

Best for: Travelers who care about food, cafés, shopping, nightlife and neighborhood atmosphere just as much as checking off Shanghai’s major sights.

If Shanghai’s endless skyscrapers and giant shopping malls start to feel like too much, head to the Former French Concession.

This is one of my favorite parts of the city to hang out purely for the atmosphere alone. You’ll swap grand skyscrapers and glass buildings for historic architecture, tree-lined streets, charming alleyways, and a slower pace of life.

You still have plenty of restaurants, cafés, cocktail bars, and shops around, but the neighborhood feels much more relaxed and residential than the bigger tourist areas.

Don’t get me wrong, the French Concession is quite trendy, so you’ll still run into plenty of foot traffic. We made the mistake of visiting Shanghai during Labor Day week, when basically the entire country is off work and traveling, so this area was packed on another level.

Even then, though, the French Concession felt downright peaceful compared to East Nanjing Road. The difference is night and day!

South Shaanxi Road is a particularly convenient place to stay, with easy access to Lines 1, 10, and 12, while Xintiandi (another trendy shopping area worth adding to your Shanghai itinerary) is served by Lines 10 and 13.

To give you a sense of the neighborhood…

Around Huaihai Middle Road, Maoming South Road, Sinan Road, and Fuxing Middle Road, you’ll find everything from architectural gems to historical mansions, polished cocktail bars to tiny neighborhood joints serving noodles and handmade wontons.

The Former French Concession is a broad area, so don’t expect everything to be within 5-6 blocks. Pay attention to the nearest metro station when booking.

Fumin Road and the streets around South Shaanxi Road are all good places to start if you want that historic Shanghai atmosphere without giving up convenience.

Hotspots you’ll be close to: All the trendy spots! Like Wukang Road, Wukang Mansion, Anfu Road, Huaihai Middle Road, Tianzifang, Xintiandi, Fuxing Park, Shanghai Museum of Arts and Crafts and the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre.

Why we recommend it: You get a much better balance of restaurants, nightlife, shopping, cafés and historic Shanghai atmosphere while still having multiple metro lines nearby. You can easily head east to the Bund and major tourist sights when you want to, then come back to a neighborhood that feels more chill at night.

The downside: The Former French Concession isn’t one compact neighborhood, so two hotels can technically advertise themselves as being “in the French Concession” but have very different locations. Be sure to check the nearest metro station before booking! Looking for hotels in the South Shaanxi Road area is a good starting point.

Jing’an: Modern Shanghai With Fewer Tourists

Best for: Travelers who want modern Shanghai vibes, cheaper hotels, and easy transportation to Shanghai’s top attractions.

When I travel with friends/family members who just can’t deal with the massive crowds that come along with traveling in China in general, I’ll usually point them toward Jing’an.

It’s a tad further west compared to more touristy districts like The Bund and East Nanjing Road, but it’s still pretty close to everything by car/train.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still busy (with metropolises in China, there’s really no escaping crowds), but with mostly locals packing the neighborhood, you won’t feel like you’re walking through throngs and throngs of foreigners.

Overall, Jing’an has a nice mix of modern Shanghai, residential streets, local restaurants, shopping, and plenty of everyday city life!

The metro connections are excellent, making it easy to get around without staying right in the middle of the Bund or East Nanjing Road crowds. You’re also close to Jing’an Temple, West Nanjing Road, Shanghai Exhibition Center, major shopping centers, and the northern edge of the Former French Concession.

It’s a good middle ground if you want convenience, a more local feel, and cheaper hotel options.

Hotspots you’ll be close to: Jing’an Temple, walking distance to People’s Square, and plenty of museums, and malls. Both Nanjing Road and the French Concession areas aren’t too far away.

The downside: It doesn’t have quite the same old-Shanghai charm as the French Concession, and depending on where you stay, you may still be surrounded by skyscrapers and wide roads that favor cars over pedestrians.

Hongqiao: For Day-Trippers Using Shanghai as a Home Base

Best for: Travelers combining Shanghai with multiple other Chinese cities (Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai’s water towns), especially if high-speed trains are in the itinerary.

We wouldn’t normally recommend the Hongqiao area to first-timers unless you plan to day-trip out of Shanghai a lot.

Hongqiao is home to Hongqiao Railway Station and Hongqiao International Airport, making it one of the city’s most convenient transportation hubs. For the best of both worlds, you can base yourself along Metro Line 2 to get into central Shanghai, so you’re not completely cut off from the sights.

I wouldn’t choose it for a first-time Shanghai trip based solely on sightseeing, but if Shanghai is one small stop on a bigger China itinerary (i.e. you plan on day-tripping to places like Suzhou or Hangzhou), basing yourself in the Hongqiao area (somewhere like the Crowne Plaza Hongqiao) can make your life much easier.

Hotspots you’ll be close to: Hongqiao Railway Station, Hongqiao International Airport, Hongqiao Tiandi, the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Qibao Ancient Town and Shanghai Zoo. Downtown Shanghai, the French Concession, and the Bund are all accessible by metro/DiDi, but you’ll be commuting on wheels rather than walking out your front door into the action.

The downside: You’re sacrificing the city’s iconic locations for high-speed rail/airport convenience. If this is your first and only trip to Shanghai, I would much rather stay in Puxi and take the metro to the train station when needed.

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