Private Walking Tour: Exploring Shanghai's Former French Concession
5.0
57 Ratings
Shanghai
Discover the allure of Shanghai's Former French Concession on a private walking tour. Explore the mix of street life, colonial charm, Art Deco architecture, and film noir intrigue that defines this unique neighborhood.
Duration:
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
This tour is designed for city walkers, and minimum walking time is around 3 hours. Your English tour guide will lead you through architecture of 1930’s Art Deco and leading about modern history of China from 1850 to 1950. You will get to know the environment and culture during this relax walking tour.
You will be visiting following places:
- Okura Garden Hotel: The former French club, the lobby in eastern part shows the best case for French classical style in interior design.
- Lanxin Theatre: The first western style theatre in Shanghai.
- Cathay Mansion: Formerly owned by famous Sassoon’s family, known for hosting distinguished guests worldly wide since 1950’s as well as its typical Art Deco style.
- King Albert Apartment: Another name popularly known as Royal Garden, built by French Catholic church for expatriates living in Shanghai. Walking through this living community, which is now hidden between two busy narrow streets, one may take a close look to the French Concession.
- The former residence of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen: A museum of China’s revolutionary history.
- St. Nicholas Church: An Orthodox church built by Russian expatriates in 1920s, small but delicate.
- Fuxing Park: The only one French style garden in the country, which experienced a lot of changes during the past 100 years. Now stays popular both for senior’s exercises in the morning and party animals’ gathering in the evening for its club and KTV partyworld.The walking tours that are designed for the ones of same interests with different options at - routes to go, ways to do and certainly, stories to hear from selected guides who are fond of this part of Shanghai history themselves. This tour offers a choice of morning and afternoon departure time (10am or 2pm). Your guide will come to meet you at your hotel lobby, and either take taxi or public transportation to attractions at your own cost. After tour, your tour guide will arrange taxi for you to go back to your hotel or you can spend time to walk around in the city by yourself.
What's Included
- Transportation to attraction
- Hotel pickup
- Excellent English-speaking guide
- Entrance Tickets
What's Not Included
- Personal expenses
- Gratuities
- Hotel drop-off
Additional Information
A trip to Shanghai wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the once French Concession. Now, it serves as the city’s most popular and fashionable district, where stylish nightclubs and bars continue to flourish remarkably similar to mushrooms following a downpour. The district retains an enticing blend of unrefined Shanghainese street culture, weathered European colonial allure, Art Deco buildings, secluded brick patios and a sense of mystery akin to film noir. This, combined with the majestic stone structures of the bund and the winding streets of Shanghai’s Old city, has shaped the western perception of Shanghai for many years. The unique dynamic between progress and preservation, the old and the new, manifests itself distinctly in the French Concession, offering an entirely one-of-a-kind city experience.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please wear comfortable shoes
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- A maximum of 10 people per booking
- Please indicate morning tour or afternoon tour in special requirement area upon booking
Location
Shanghai
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(57 Ratings)
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Nicola_w
Mar 22, 2024
A great few hours seeing Shanghai from a local perspective - Penny was a great guide. She is really knowledgeable on the history of China, and explains this in a relevant and entertaining way. We saw parts of Shanghai that I would never have found on my own.
Review provided by Viator
Laura
Mar 1, 2024
Outstanding opportunity to learn about the history of Shanghai and China! - I had an excellent tour and history lesson of the French Concession today. Penny was such a knowledgeable and enjoyable guide and presented a vast amount of information clearly and in a highly digestible story. My understanding of China and Shanghai is exponential. I highly recommend spending a few hours with Penny!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Robert_k
Feb 26, 2024
Well worth booking this tour. - It was my first time to visit Shaghai. Miss Penny has a real passion for sharing her in-depth knowledge of Shanghai's culture and history.
Review provided by Viator
Leapyear68
Jan 15, 2024
If you want to learn about the history and culture of Shanghai, take this tour! - Penny picked me up from the hotel and took me on a phenomenal tour! She spoke perfect English and taught me so much about the history and culture of the area. We saw a varied cityscape including the fancy hotels, the shopping district, and the housing complexes. We ended at a trendy tea shop with craft tea concoctions. An absolutely amazing day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M9808dtmaximed
Dec 30, 2023
Great discovery of the colonial past of Shanghai - Excellent tour with Penny, she was an EXCEPTIONAL guide! She made history super interesting, gave us a new view of the city, and was lovely to chat to. Highly recommanded
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richard_c
May 18, 2023
A must in Shanghai!! Thank you Penny!! - We didn’t see the time passing during this great experience! Penny our guide kept us interested during the whole tour and was always available for more questions and more details. She shared her knowledge of Shanghai’s history in a very easy way which make the tour very pleasant while being extremely detailed and clear. We really took our time and at the end of the visit we had so much better understanding about the French concession, its history & organization. We were in family with some member not speaking English but it wasn’t a problem as the pace of the visit allow us to translate to the French speaking member. Really appreciated this tour with Penny and we will definitely take the next tour which focus more on the architecture of the French concession. Highly recommended!!
Review provided by Viator
Sundaytj
May 9, 2023
Strongly recommend - Unexpected fantastic tour giving deep history of the French concession area especially on architecture. I spent most my childhood time here but surprisingly still plenty new things to me. And thanks for Penny's perfect English guide and Kelly's kind arrangement. Wish them good success on the business and thanks for make this tour realive!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jodi
May 10, 2021
Book this tour! - It’s not very often you encounter a tour guide who feels like an old friend leading you through their favorite city - but Penny was so warm and friendly and our conversation was so easy that the time just flew by. Her knowledge of the area and thoughtful responses to my questions not only gave me insight but made me curious to experience more of the local culture. I travel a lot (12 weeks a year.). This is one of the best tours I’ve had in a very long time. Don’t miss out on your chance to see the French Concession up close!
Review provided by Viator
Louise
Jan 13, 2020
Wonderful introduction to Shanghai - This was my first trip to China and I was travelling by myself so I was feeling a little anxious. I am so glad I booked this tour. Penny arrived at the hotel on time and was extremely warm and welcoming. Penny's knowledge of Shanghai and its history was fantastic and she had wonderful communications skills. Her English was perfect! Not only did Penny given me a wonderful tour of the French concession she also showed me how to use the subway and gave me many other tips that came in handy when travelling in Shanghai. We had a wonderful lunch together and she even told me where to get the best coffee in Shanghai. I would highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wben101
Nov 12, 2019
Absolutely Best Way to be Introduced to Shanghai - This was our first trip to Shanghai and we are so glad that we booked this trip early on. Our guide Penny was an absolute delight. She explains the history of both Shanghai and the French Concession in a way that is both educational and fun. Walking through the park, she introduced us to people she knew, making us feel very much at home. Penny then spent extra time with us afterwards at lunch, guiding us through one of our best meals ever.
Just a great experience from start to finish!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
