Staying near the Bund and East Nanjing Road

This is where every first-time visitor thinks they should stay, and for a short trip it genuinely works: you step out of the hotel onto Nanjing Road and walk to the Bund in ten minutes.

The cost is that you are in the least representative part of Shanghai. Restaurants aimed at tourists, prices inflated, and a pedestrianised shopping street that is exhilarating for one evening and exhausting by the third.

Why stay here

Nothing beats walking out at dusk and being at the river in ten minutes. If you have one evening in Shanghai, being able to do that twice is worth something.

It is also the best-connected area: the metro interchange at East Nanjing Road puts most of the city within thirty minutes.

Why not

There is very little ordinary life here. Cheap good food requires a metro ride. And this is the noisiest part of central Shanghai — Nanjing Road pedestrianises with huge crowds until late.

Hotels here carry the highest markup in the city for equivalent rooms in Jing’an or Xuhui.

Getting it right

Book on Nanjing Road itself or north of it, and aim for the blocks closer to the river. Going even four lanes back from the Bund makes a large difference to both noise and value.

Check whether your hotel faces Nanjing Road for the view or away from it for the sleep. They are different experiences.

The downside

The area south of Nanjing Road is dead after 9pm except along the river, and everything nearby is priced for visitors.