Shanghai
Zhujiajiao Water Town Private Day Tour
Sixty minutes from Shanghai, a still-working canal town of 36 stone bridges — arrive before the coaches, boat the canal, eat river shrimp for lunch.
From US$129/per person
View tourShanghai
The Bund & French Concession Day Tour
The 1920s riverfront in daylight, the old town at the middle of the day, and plane-tree streets in the Concession — ending on the promenade at blue hour.
The short version
This is the Shanghai day for a first visit: the Bund's 1920s banks and trading houses, the Ming rockeries of Yu Garden, the old town's teahouses, and the plane-tree streets of the former French Concession. It finishes on the riverside promenade about 45 minutes before sunset, when the stone facades and the Lujiazui towers are both lit.
- The Bund, Yu Garden, the old town and the Concession in one loop — about 4 km of walking.
- Blue hour on the promenade is the reason to end here rather than start here.
- Yu Garden is a Ming scholar's garden five minutes from the best snack stalls in the old town.
- The Concession is best on foot; several courtyards open only if you know which bell to ring.
What not to miss
09:00
Hotel pickup
Metro to East Nanjing Road. Your guide sets the day's order around the light and the crowds, not a fixed script.
09:40
The Bund in daylight
Walk the 1920s riverfront north to south: the Customs House clock, the former Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, and the bronze bull nobody agrees about.
11:00
Yu Garden
A Ming scholar's garden — rockeries, koi ponds, moon gates — built to look like a landscape in miniature.
12:30
Old town lunch
Soup dumplings at a shop that has been steaming them since the 1990s, then a walk through the old town's market lanes.
14:30
French Concession on foot
Plane trees, red-brick lanes, Art Deco apartment blocks and the courtyards that open onto Wukang Road.
17:30
Back to the Bund for blue hour
The stone facades in fading light, then the towers across the river switching on one by one. We hold this slot year-round.
What's included and what isn't
Includes
- Licensed English-speaking guide
- Yu Garden entrance ticket
- Metro fares for the day
- Soup-dumpling lunch in the old town
- Coffee and a pastry in the Concession
- Bottled water
Not included
- Bund sightseeing cruise tickets unless requested
- Dinner — we finish at blue hour and can book you a table
- Gratuities
- Alcoholic drinks
Pickup, timing and getting around
Pickup at 09:00 from hotels inside the Inner Ring Road; elsewhere we meet at a central metro station. The finish time shifts with the season, since the whole point is the 45 minutes before sunset.
If you have only a morning free, we compress this to four hours: Bund, Yu Garden, old town, and we drop the Concession. Say so at booking and we re-cut the route rather than rush it.
Route diagrams are schematic and illustrative, not to scale.
More day tours from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai Museum & West Bund Art Day Tour
Bronzes and ceramics in the morning, a noodle lunch, then the riverside galleries of West Bund — China's best general museum plus the country's liveliest art district.
From US$99/per person
View tourFrequently asked questions
How much of this is walking?
About 4 km in total, flat and mostly paved, with metro hops between districts. Comfortable shoes matter more than fitness; there is no climbing anywhere on this route.
Can we go up one of the towers?
Yes. The Shanghai Tower observation deck or the older Jin Mao and SWFC decks can be added for about an hour and the ticket price. We usually slot it in before the Concession walk.
Is Yu Garden worth it when it is crowded?
Yes if you go at 11:00 rather than 14:00, and yes if you walk to the outer pavilions rather than the central rockery. The garden was designed to be seen in sequence, and your guide manages the sequence.
Do we eat anything?
Soup dumplings for lunch in the old town, plus coffee and a pastry in the Concession. Dinner is not included because the day ends at blue hour, but we will book a table if you want one.
Explore next
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Before you fly
- Do I Need a Visa for China? Requirements, Costs and How to Apply
- China's 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit: Who Qualifies and How It Works
- Paying in China: Alipay, WeChat Pay, Cards and Cash
- China's High-Speed Rail: How to Book, What It Costs, How Fast It Goes
- Is China Safe for Tourists? Honest Risks and How to Avoid Them
- Best Time to Visit China: Month by Month, Region by Region
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