Private Shanghai Tour: Museum, Yu Garden & Tower with Pickup

The 118th floor of Shanghai Tower reaches 632 meters—you're there in 55 seconds by express elevator.

A private tour of Shanghai's cultural and historical landmarks, departing from your hotel at 9 a.m. and returning by late afternoon. The guide meets you at your hotel and handles all transport, entry fees and timing across six major stops: the Bund's 26 architectural styles, Yu Garden's classical Ming-era gardens, M50 Creative Park's contemporary galleries, the Shanghai Silk Museum's production process, Shanghai Museum's eleven galleries of ancient Chinese art, and Shanghai Tower's observation decks. Lunch is at a restaurant your guide recommends based on your preference.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Shanghai's top attractions

• Meet guide at hotel at 09:00 a.m.
• Visit the Bund and admire buildings
• Walk along Yuyuan Old Street
• Visit Yu Garden classical garden
• Explore M50 Creative Park art galleries
• Visit Shanghai Silk Museum
• See scenic spots around People’s Square
• Tour Shanghai Museum exhibits
• Walk along Lujiazui Ring Bridge in Pudong
• Visit Shanghai Tower observation deck
• Transfer back to hotel

The Experience

Your guide arrives at your hotel at 9 a.m. and the day unfolds as a sequence of Shanghai's layers—old and new, waterfront and inland, art and history. The Bund comes first, a famous stretch of the Huangpu River's west bank where 26 buildings of different architectural styles stand side by side, each one a marker of Shanghai's century-old history and its modern ambitions. You'll see the Peace Hotel, Shanghai Customs House and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and across the river, the skyscrapers of Pudong rise into view.

From there, the tour moves to Yuyuan Old Street, a business district that has held its shape since the earliest days of Shanghai—the first bank, gold shop, jeweler's store, wine shop and tea house of the city all stood here. Walking the old alleys is how you encounter the real life of the Shanghainese, and then you enter Yu Garden itself, a classical Chinese garden built in 1559 by Pan Yunduan as a comfort for his aging father. The garden is small but complete: pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters, each with its own character, arranged across six distinct areas. M50 Creative Park follows—contemporary art galleries, cafes and craft shops tucked into the industrial buildings of a former textile mill, where galleries like ShangART, Chronos Art Centre and Antenna Space occupy spaces that preserve the character of the original structures.

After lunch at a restaurant your guide selects, you visit the Shanghai Silk Museum, which covers 6,000 square meters and walks you through the silkworm planting, silk reeling and production process—China is the world's largest silk producer, and most of it originates from mulberry silkworms. Then comes People's Square, the demarcation point between East and West Nanjing Road and the center of Shanghai, where you'll see the Municipal Government Mansion, Shanghai Grand Theater and the ruins of the old racetrack that stood here before 1949. Shanghai Museum sits at the square's edge, a large museum of ancient Chinese art divided into eleven galleries covering bronze, ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, jade, coins, Ming and Qing furniture, seals and minority nationalities. The exterior design—a round dome on a square base—symbolizes the ancient Chinese idea of a round heaven and square land.

The final stop is Shanghai Tower in Pudong, the tallest building in Shanghai at 632 meters. You'll take the express elevator to the 118th floor in 55 seconds—the speed reaches 18 meters per second—and step into the world's highest indoor observation deck, called the Top of Shanghai Observatory. The 119th floor gives you time to stop and admire both sides of the Huangpu River, and if the weather is clear, you may catch a sunset. Your guide then transfers you back to your hotel.

What’s included

• Knowledgeable tour guide fluent in English, Spanish, French, German or one of two additional languages.
• private transportation for the entire day.
• bottled water.
• entrance fees to Yu Garden, Shanghai Silk Museum, Shanghai Museum and Shanghai Tower's 118th-floor observation deck.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcome

Operated by MoreFunAsia Shanghai Tours

Is this one for you?Hotel pickup at 9 a.m. means you don't arrange transport to the first stop or navigate between sites on your own—the guide handles the route, timing and entry to all six attractions, which is what makes a full day of Shanghai's history and culture possible without a car or advance knowledge of the city's layout.

Top questions

What are the 26 buildings I'll see at the Bund?

The Bund's 26 buildings represent different architectural styles accumulated over Shanghai's history as a trading port. Your guide will point out landmarks like the Peace Hotel, Shanghai Customs House and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank as you walk the waterfront, each one a visual marker of a different era and influence.

How old is Yu Garden and what's inside it?

Yu Garden was built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yunduan for his father, the minister Pan En. Though small in size, it contains all the elements of a classical Chinese garden—pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters arranged across six areas, each with its own distinct style and character.

What will I see at M50 Creative Park?

M50 occupies the industrial buildings of a former textile mill and houses contemporary art galleries, cafes and craft shops. Galleries like ShangART, Chronos Art Centre and Antenna Space have created exhibition spaces there, and many smaller creative businesses are tucked away upstairs, making it a place worth exploring for current art and design.

How does the Shanghai Tower observation deck work?

The express elevator reaches the 118th floor in 55 seconds at a speed of 18 meters per second, delivering you to the world's highest indoor observation deck. You'll have time to stop on the 119th floor as well to view both sides of the Huangpu River, and on clear days you may see a sunset from the tower.

What does Shanghai Museum cover?

Shanghai Museum is divided into eleven galleries covering the major categories of Chinese art: ancient bronze, ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, jade, coins, Ming and Qing furniture, seals and minority nationalities. The building's design—a round dome on a square base—symbolizes the ancient Chinese cosmological idea of a round heaven and square land.

Can I choose where to eat lunch?

Your guide will recommend a restaurant based on your preference, which could be a small local eatery or an elegant cuisine restaurant. The choice is yours, and the guide's recommendation comes from local knowledge of what's available near the stops on that day.