Where to stay · Shanghai, China
Where to stay in Shanghai
6 areas worth booking in Shanghai, sorted by the budget each one actually suits — what the neighborhood feels like, and what a night there costs.
Budget — best areas
≈ $20 / nightThe hub of the metro, three lines under one square: the Shanghai Museum, the pedestrian end of Nanjing Road and the city's best-value hostels and chain hotels.
The old walled city around Yu Garden: the bazaar, the City God Temple and some of the last lanes of shikumen houses. Cheap rooms and street food, fifteen minutes' walk from the Bund.
Budget picks to book
Mid-range — best areas
≈ $80 / nightThe tree-lined lanes west of the centre: art deco apartments, garden villas turned into boutique hotels, Wukang Road and the bars of Yongkang Road. The most walkable part of the city.
Around the gilded Jing'an Temple: malls, office towers, many of the best cocktail bars and good mid-range hotels, between the Bund and the Concession.
Mid-range picks to book
Luxury — best areas
≈ $260 / nightThe banks and trading houses of the waterfront facing Pudong's towers across the Huangpu: the Peninsula, the Waldorf and the rooftop bars, with Nanjing Road at the back door.
The skyline itself: the Shanghai Tower, the Jin Mao and the Pearl Tower, with hotels on floors where the view is the point. Quiet at night; the Bund is one metro stop away.
Luxury picks to book
Now pick the hotel
The Shanghai guide carries the full shortlist for each tier, with why each hotel is on it.