kerrylou

We are flying into Shanghai on May 9th and need help planning our itinerary. We are into museums, galleries, architecture and shopping. Also wouldn't mind seeing one of the "water towns" outside of the city.

Two women - 60ish

Thank you

thursdaysd

If you don't know what you want to see, why are you going?

Personally I think one or two full days (two or three nights) is enough for Shanghai, but I don't shop. After that I, would go somewhere else, at the very least Hangzhou, Suzhou and perhaps one of the other water towns. I also went to Putuoshan, but that is off the main tourist trail, requiring a ferry. Better yet, go to Beijing.

kerrylou

We are going because a client has generously offered to put us up in a lovely hotel for a week.

We are considering going to Hangzhou but weren't sure if it was advisable given the limited time
frame but haven't completely out ruled it.

Thank you for your input.

dgunbug

If you go to hangzhou, which we thought was lovely, I would not miss the Impressions show which is simply fantastic. I'm not sure of the logistics in going to the show without staying overnight.

Can you extend your trip past the week to see other parts of china?

As for your time in shanghai, you will have time to so a water town and Suzhou, known for its gardens. There's plenty to do wandering around in shanghai, but I would not spend my entire time there when day trips are easy to take.

rhkkmk

you will love shanghai..

the hop on hop off bus gives you a good outline of the city and then you can select where you want to return for a closer look.

we stayed near yu gardens and loved that area.

taxis are super cheap... we hired a van to go to a watertown for a day...

look at my trip report to read about our trip last fall. click on my name to find report

rhkkmk

my shanghai date for the report starts on oct 25, 2012

rkkwan

Since you get free accommodation in Shanghai, just stay there. Then plan long day-trips to Suzhou and Hangzhou - on separate days. Each has lots to see, so arrange a car on yet another day to visit one of the water towns near Shanghai.

laurie_ann

In planning our trip to China in May (with a few days in Shanghai) I found some great resources:

www.frommers.com (besides all the sightseeing, restaurant and shopping information you can find good walking tours with maps by searching for "Shanghai")

www.timeout.com (find the Shanghai online magazine with good recommendations for activities, arts, shopping etc.)

www.shanghaihighlights.com (has some fun pages like "Shanghai Restaurants with Killer Views")

www.exploremetro.com (has good information about Shanghai subway and an iphone/ipad app if you use those)

www.culture.sh.cn (has a cultural calendar for Shanghai)

I also like the small book I bought from Lonely Planet "Shanghai Encounters".

sophiefriedman

Hi kerrylou,

I'm Shanghai's Fodor's correspondent. While I obviously like Shanghai enough to have lived here almost 4 years, I think 9 days for a visitor is way too long. Hangzhou is a quick 45-minute train ride, so you could do one overnight there. If your budget allows, I would strongly suggest getting out of Shanghai after a maximum of three days. While Guilin and Yangshuo (a 2 hour flight) are touristy, the scenery is gorgeous, which is why people keep packing in. If you go, book The Giggling Tree guest house. If you prefer not to fly anywhere, you can take the bullet train to Beijing (5 hours, 550RMB) and, if that's too far, do day trips - one to Hangzhou, one to Suzhou, one to Nanjing, one to Chongming Island. You could also do one overnight in Moganshan, the bamboo forest outside Hangzhou.

Enjoy your trip!