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Best Attractions in Shanghai (2026)

Shanghai's sights fall into two groups that sit on either side of the Huangpu River. On the Puxi bank, the Bund's 52 historic buildings tell the story of the treaty-port era, Yu Garden preserves a Ming-dynasty private garden in the Old City, and the Shanghai Museum on People's Square holds more than 120,000 objects, from bronzes and ceramics to painting and calligraphy. Jing'an Temple, the Jade Buddha Temple and Longhua Temple, with its brick pagoda of 977, show three very different faces of the city's Buddhist heritage. Across the river in Lujiazui, Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower offer the highest views.

Plan the Bund for late afternoon and evening, when the buildings on both banks are lit, and visit the towers on a clear day, ideally booking close to the date once you know the forecast. The Shanghai Museum no longer needs booking on ordinary days, but its People's Square site closes on Mondays, while Shanghai Museum East in Pudong closes on Tuesdays, so you can see one or the other on any day of the week. Bring your passport to museums, temples and observation decks, as ID is checked or required for tickets. Yu Garden is busiest at weekends, so go early on a weekday, and pair the Power Station of Art with a walk along the South Bund riverside.

10 places · Updated October 27, 2026

Our top 3 attractions in Shanghai

  1. The Bund Historic waterfront, HuangpuShanghai's colonial-era waterfront, a 1.6-kilometre line of 52 banks, hotels and trading houses facing the Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River.
  2. Yu Garden Classical Chinese garden, Old City, HuangpuA Ming-dynasty private garden of rockeries, ponds and halls in Shanghai's Old City, begun in 1559 and set beside the Huxinting Teahouse and Yuyuan Bazaar.
  3. Shanghai Museum (People’s Square) Museum of ancient Chinese art, People's SquareA museum of ancient Chinese art with more than 120,000 objects, housed in a ding-shaped building on People's Square with galleries of bronzes, ceramics, painting and jade.

Attraction

1. The Bund

Historic waterfrontHuangpu

Shanghai's colonial-era waterfront, a 1.6-kilometre line of 52 banks, hotels and trading houses facing the Lujiazui skyline across the Huangpu River.

View details — The Bund

Attraction

2. Yu Garden

Classical Chinese gardenOld City, Huangpu

A Ming-dynasty private garden of rockeries, ponds and halls in Shanghai's Old City, begun in 1559 and set beside the Huxinting Teahouse and Yuyuan Bazaar.

View details — Yu Garden

Attraction

4. Shanghai Tower

Skyscraper observation deckLujiazui, Pudong

A 632-metre supertall tower in Lujiazui with a twisting glass facade and an observation deck on the 118th floor, reached by high-speed lifts in under a minute.

View details — Shanghai Tower

Attraction

9. Longhua Temple

Buddhist temple and pagodaXuhui

A working temple in Xuhui whose origins go back to 242 AD, with a 40-metre brick pagoda from 977, a 14th-century bell and a New Year's Eve bell-ringing.

View details — Longhua Temple