Where to stay in Shanghai depends mostly on one line on the metro map. Line 2 runs east to west through the middle of the city: from Pudong Airport, through Lujiazui, under the river to East Nanjing Road and People’s Square, then out through Jing’an to Hongqiao station and airport. Stay near it and almost everything is one ride away.
For a first visit, that points to the stretch between People’s Square and the Bund. If you would rather wake up somewhere quieter, Jing’an and the former French Concession are the alternatives. Lujiazui is for the view, and Hongqiao is for a train. Below, the six areas compared.
Where to stay in Shanghai, at a glance
| Area | Best for | To the Bund | Mid-range guide price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bund / East Nanjing Road | Walking to the sights | On foot | US$120–180 |
| People’s Square | Value and transport | 1 stop, Line 2 | US$50–120 |
| Jing’an | Quieter, central | 10–15 min | US$80–180 |
| Former French Concession | Streets, cafés, evenings | 15–40 min | US$100–150 |
| Lujiazui (Pudong) | The skyline view | 2 stops, Line 2 | US$180–350 |
| Hongqiao | Early trains and flights | About 30–55 min | Cheapest per star |
The price ranges come from three travel guides and they do not agree closely, so treat them as rough bands rather than quotes. The one official figure we found: Shanghai’s five-star hotels averaged ¥978.80 a night in 2025, at 71.3% occupancy.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 Price bands from travelofchina.com (Jul 2026), wanderinchina.com (Jan 2026) and babagoeschina.com (Apr 2026); travel times from babagoeschina.com, chinafortravelers.com (Aug 2026) and travelofchina.com, which differ; five-star figures from the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism via Hotel-Online (Feb 2026).
The Bund and East Nanjing Road
The obvious choice, and for once the obvious choice is right if you can afford it. You walk to the Bund in minutes, to Yu Garden in 11 to 15, and East Nanjing Road station (Lines 2 and 10) puts you one stop from People’s Square and two from Lujiazui. The downsides: mid-range rooms are scarce, prices are high, and the streets are packed at weekends and holidays. The landmark hotel is the Fairmont Peace Hotel at 20 East Nanjing Road, which opened on 1 August 1929 and reopened in 2010 after a long restoration; we could not find a current rate to quote.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 babagoeschina.com (Apr 2026), China Highlights (Sep 2026) and chinafortravelers.com (Aug 2026); Peace Hotel history from asiatraveltips.com (2010).
People’s Square
Our pick for value. People’s Square is a major interchange, on Lines 1, 2 and 8, one stop from East Nanjing Road, and the walk to the Bund along the Nanjing Road pedestrian street is one of the classic Shanghai evenings. It is noisy and more functional than charming, and that is why the rooms cost less: one guide puts typical rates at US$50–120. It also puts you next to the old Shanghai Museum building and the soup-dumpling shops of Huanghe Road.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 wanderinchina.com (Jan 2026); Huanghe Road shops from the Shanghai government (Mar–Apr 2026).
Jing’an
A few stops west on Line 2, around Jing’an Temple and Nanjing West Road. It is more commercial than cultural: malls, offices, hotel towers. It is also calmer than the Bund, well connected (Lines 2, 7 and 14 at Jing’an Temple station) and 10 to 15 minutes from the river. A good base for a longer stay, or if you want a big international hotel without paying Bund prices.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 babagoeschina.com (Apr 2026), travelofchina.com (Jul 2026); metro lines from wanderinchina.com (Mar 2026).
The former French Concession
The nicest place in Shanghai to walk out of your hotel in the morning: plane trees, lane houses, small restaurants and bars, Wukang Road and Anfu Road. It is also the least direct by metro. Estimates of the trip to the Bund run from 15–20 minutes to 35–40 via Line 10, depending on where exactly you are, and taxis fill the gap in the evening. Choose it if you would rather spend your evenings in the neighbourhood than cross town to the river every night. Boutique hotels here are pricier than the chains: one guide’s mid-range band is US$100–150.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 babagoeschina.com (Apr 2026) and chinafortravelers.com (Aug 2026) for travel times, which disagree; travelofchina.com (Jul 2026) for prices.
Lujiazui, in Pudong
This is where the tall hotels are, and where you look across the river at the Bund rather than walking along it. Rooms with that view are the most expensive in the city, with one guide’s mid-range band at US$180–350 and luxury from US$400. Two stops on Line 2 take you under the river to East Nanjing Road, about 10 minutes, though one guide counts 20–25 door to door. Lujiazui is also close to Shanghai Museum East on Century Avenue. As one guide puts it, you commute to almost everything else.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 travelofchina.com (Jul 2026), babagoeschina.com (Apr 2026), chinafortravelers.com (Aug 2026).
Hongqiao
Hongqiao railway station and Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 are one complex, on Metro Lines 2, 10 and 17, with the Airport Link line running on to Pudong Airport in about 40 minutes for up to ¥26. Hotels here are the cheapest for their star level, and one guide is blunt that it is “not a place to spend time”. Stay one night before an early bullet train to Beijing, Hangzhou or Suzhou, not for a whole trip; reaching the Bund takes 30 minutes or more on Line 2.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 Station and metro lines from Wikipedia; Airport Link time and fare from the Shanghai government (30 Dec 2024); hotel notes and travel times from chinafortravelers.com (2026), whose two guides give 32 and 50–55 minutes to the Bund.
Arriving from Pudong Airport
Pudong Airport is about 30 km from the centre. The fastest link is the Maglev to Longyang Road, about 8 minutes, ¥50 one way or ¥40 with a same-day air ticket, running roughly 07:00 to 21:40 from the airport; at Longyang Road you change to Metro Lines 2, 7, 16 or 18. The cheapest is Line 2 all the way, about an hour or more to People’s Square for around ¥7. A taxi to the centre costs about ¥150–250 and takes 45 to 70 minutes; use the official rank and insist on the meter.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 Distance from the Shanghai government (Dec 2023); Maglev fares from The Paper (Apr 2024) and hours from China Highlights; Line 2 and taxi from China Highlights (Aug 2026); in March 2026 a Pudong driver was fined ¥2,000 for demanding an unmetered fare (Yangzi Evening News).
Will the hotel accept a foreign passport?
It should. Until recently some cheaper Chinese hotels turned foreigners away because they lacked a licence to host them. A national notice of 24 May 2024 told hotels they may not refuse foreign guests on those grounds, and must register them with the police within 24 hours, which the hotel does from your passport at check-in. Policy and practice can still differ at the bottom of the market, so if you book a small local hotel, confirm by message first.
Checked 3 Oct 2026 Shanghai government English site (29 May 2024), reporting the notice from the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Commerce and National Immigration Administration. The advice to confirm is ours.
Next steps
The 3-day Shanghai itinerary assumes a base near People’s Square or the Bund, and things to do in Shanghai lists what is near each area. Leaving by train? The Shanghai to Beijing train guide covers the trip north, and the Suzhou and Hangzhou train guides cover the short hops.
Built from official announcements, published prices and traveller reports, not from a stay. We have not travelled this route ourselves — see how we check.