Shanghai Private Tours
Day Tour · Private

Shanghai Private City Tour: Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden & the Bund

A museum of Chinese art, a Ming-era garden and the river at dusk, in one unhurried day.

Atrium of the Shanghai Museum · Photo: Lyn Gateley from Silicon Valley, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0

Duration
About 8 hours
Price
From US$220 (estimate)
Pace
Relaxed, with short walks
Pick-up
Your Shanghai hotel
The journey

Shanghai Private City Tour

“The art of Chinese gardens is to compress infinite nature into a finite space, where every window frames a painting and every pavilion offers contemplation.”

Ji Cheng, Ming Dynasty Master Architect & Author of Yuanye (The Craft of Gardens, 1631). Yuanye: The Craft of Gardens / UNESCO Classical Gardens

This day connects three different Shanghais. The Shanghai Museum holds over 120,000 pieces, and its permanent Chinese art galleries are at the East building in Pudong. Yu Garden, first built in 1559 and finished in 1577, is a classical garden on 2 hectares in the Old City. The Bund, a 1.6 km riverfront of 52 buildings, closes the day.

Your guide plans the museum visit around the galleries you care about, rather than walking all eleven. After the garden, the afternoon runs at your pace to the river.

We end on the Bund as the light changes, with Pudong lit up across the water. A river cruise can replace the last walk if you prefer to see the skyline from the Huangpu.

Ideal for

  • First-time visitors
  • Art and history lovers
  • Arrival or departure days

Getting around

Private air-conditioned vehicle

Pick-up: Your Shanghai hotel

Destinations

People’s Square & Shanghai Museum 人民广场 · 上海博物馆 · Yu Garden & the Old City 豫园 · 老城厢 · The Bund & Pudong 外滩 · 浦东

Pavilion and pond in Yu Garden, Shanghai
Pavilion and pond in Yu Garden, Shanghai · Stefan Fussan, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sunset over the Bund, Shanghai
Sunset over the Bund, Shanghai · David Zhang from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0
Highlights

Moments to look forward to

  • Shanghai Museum galleries
  • Yu Garden and the Grand Rockery
  • The Bund at sunset
Itinerary

Your day, unhurried

  1. Morning

    Shanghai Museum East (Pudong)

    The permanent galleries of bronzes, ceramics and paintings. Your guide picks the galleries that suit you. The People’s Square building is showing only a special exhibition until 14 November 2027.

    • SeeThe permanent galleries of bronzes, ceramics, jade, calligraphy and painting. The collection has over 120,000 pieces and the East building has 20 galleries, so we choose a few with you instead of rushing through all of them.
    • PlanWe drive to 1952 Century Avenue in Pudong and enter by the B1 East Gate near Dingxiang Road. The museum’s homepage lists East as open 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:00 and no booking needed for the permanent displays.
    • NoteEast is closed on Tuesdays except national holidays. If your day is a Tuesday we move the museum to another day or swap it for another stop. The People’s Square building shows only an Americas exhibition until 14 November 2027.
  2. Midday

    Lunch near the Old City

    A table chosen to match your tastes and dietary needs.

    • PlanWe book a table near the Old City that matches your tastes and dietary needs. Meals are not included in the price, so you pay for what you order.
  3. Afternoon

    Yu Garden and the City God Temple area

    The 12 m Grand Rockery, the ponds and the covered walkways, then the lanes around the temple.

    • SeeThe Grand Rockery (12 m), ponds and covered walkways across 2 hectares and over 40 scenic spots. The garden was first built in 1559 by Pan Yunduan and created in 1577.
    • PlanYour driver drops you at the nearest point and meets you when you finish, so you do not pay for parking in the Old City. We confirm opening hours and tickets before your date.
  4. Late afternoon

    The Bund

    A walk along the 1.6 km riverfront, with Lujiazui across the Huangpu.

    • SeeThe Bund, a 1.6 km riverfront of 52 buildings. The HSBC building was completed in 1923 and the Customs House in 1927. Across the Huangpu stand the Lujiazui towers, including the 632 m Shanghai Tower.
    • PlanYour guide walks the promenade with you and tells you which building is which. We time the walk for the light you want: late afternoon for the glow on the old buildings, dusk for the Pudong skyline lit up.
  5. Evening

    Optional river cruise or dinner

    A Huangpu cruise or a dinner reservation, then the drive to your hotel.

    • PlanA Huangpu River cruise past the Pudong towers (tickets extra), or a dinner table that we book for you. Afterwards your driver takes you to the hotel.
    • NoteMeals and cruise tickets are paid by you. Tell us your dietary needs when you enquire.

Included

  • Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver
  • English-speaking guide
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off
  • Parking and road tolls
  • Bottled water

Not included

  • Museum and garden entry tickets (we confirm current prices and book where possible)
  • Meals
  • Gratuities
Make it extraordinary

Private upgrades

  • 珍Huangpu River cruise
  • 珍Private dinner reservation
  • 珍Sunrise walk on the Bund
Before you book

Guides for this tour

Before you go

Practical tips from official sources

Each tip names the page it comes from. These are published facts, not our own trip reports, and they can change; we re-check them before your date.

  • Shanghai Museum East lists opening hours of 10:00 to 18:00, with entry stopping at 17:00, and is closed on Tuesdays except national holidays; its permanent displays need no booking. This is from the museum’s homepage, read on 9 November 2026. Shanghai Museum homepage (Chinese)
  • Yu Garden’s ticket price is 40 yuan per person, per the Shanghai government page updated 22 October 2025. Tickets are extra on our tours, and prices change, so we confirm the current price before your date. Shanghai government, Visit Shanghai’s classical gardens
  • Yu Garden is at No 168 Fuyou Road in Huangpu District and is graded AAAA, per the Shanghai government scenic-spot page updated 13 August 2025. Wikipedia says it is reachable from Metro Lines 10 and 14. Shanghai government, Yu Garden scenic-spot page
  • The Bund’s length is given as 1.6 km (one mile) by Wikipedia, but the Shanghai government’s scenic-spot index says “1.5-kilometer-long waterfront”. We use Wikipedia’s figure in our text. Wikipedia, The Bund
Choosing between tours

How this differs from similar tours

  • Shanghai Highlights Day: Adds Tianzifang and lets you choose Yu Garden or the French Concession lanes in the afternoon. About 9 hours instead of about 8.
  • Yu Garden & Tianzifang: Leaves out the museum and the Bund: Yu Garden and Tianzifang only, about 5 hours.
  • Shanghai Museum Visit: Only the museum, about 3 hours, if art and history are the reason you are coming.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the Shanghai Private City Tour cost?

From US$220 per private group of up to 2 travellers, with driver, guide and vehicle (estimate). Entry tickets and meals are extra. We confirm the final price in writing within 12 hours.

What is the difference between the city tour and the highlights tour?

The city tour has three stops, the museum, Yu Garden and the Bund, in about 8 hours. The highlights tour adds Tianzifang and lets you choose between the garden and the lanes, in about 9 hours.

Can we skip the museum?

Yes. The plan is a starting point. We can swap the museum for the French Concession lanes or Zhujiajiao if you prefer.

Sources for the facts on this page

The places and figures named here were read from these pages on 2026-11-09. The route, timing and inclusions are our own plan.

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