Private Walking Tour: Exploring Shanghai's Former French Concession

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: 24 hours
Highlights

This tour is perfect for city walkers, with a minimum walking time of approximately 3 hours. An English-speaking tour guide will lead participants through the 1930s Art Deco architecture and provide insights into China’s modern history from 1850 to 1950. Enjoy the surroundings and culture on this leisurely walking tour.
Participants will visit the…

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…

Location
Fuxing Park
No.2 Gaolan Road,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(68 Ratings)
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Justin_c
Feb 2, 2026
Amazing French Concession Tour with Ms. Penny!! - Booked this tour solo (did not have the afternoon tea) with my lovely tour guide Ms. Penny. A very knowledgable lady that gave me some fascinating historical tidbits during our walk around the quarter. Something that was not apart of tour which they accomodated was a french costume photoshoot I brought along for my research and reenactment project which Ms. Penny did an amazing jon helping take the photos. Overall I highly recommend her as well as the tour for any curious travellers wanting to learn about the french procession! Transportation was also provided from my hotel to there and Ms. Penny was kind enough to show me some super useful metro tips for getting to Yu Garden after the tour was over.
Review provided by Viator
David
Nov 4, 2025
Amazing tour with Penny of the old French concession in Shanghai - Penny took us straight to the Okura hotel in the old French concession where we could look from a high window over much of the area. She has an amazing amount of historical knowledge and pictures on her iPad to supplement her explanations. Penny loves teaching and being fascinated by history, she was a perfect match for us. She “walked” us through the history of this area for about an hour. It tied in perfectly with some reading we had done prior to our trip and with things we have learned along the way. Following this we explored the nearby hotel where so many famous heads of state have stayed when visiting China. And explained the connections of the Sassoon family to this area. Of course history is full of both good and bad chapters. Then we moved on to some of the parks, landmarks, colonial architecture and neighborhoods nearby. She treated us to a traditional Shanghai “breakfast on the way to work”. A fresh scallion pancake and a coffee from a small shop. Both were delicious. We explored the cafe/bar area where Shanghai night life comes alive. And the restaurant and shopping area that locals prefer called Xintiandi and Huaihai middle road. Finally we saw the building were the Chinese communist party was founded in the French concession (of course - the Paris seems to be the center from which communism spread to other areas). Overall there was never a dull moment. Thanks to Penny we know much more about Shanghai than before. After the tour we stayed in the area for dinner and then took a didi back to our hotel.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Victoria_l
Nov 3, 2025
Exactly what I was looking for! - The best way to spend an afternoon in Shanghai, especially if you're the kind of traveler who wants to actually understand the culture and history of the city you're visiting. I'd been to Shanghai a couple of times before, but this is the first time I felt like I've actually BEEN to the city. My guide Penny was a treasure trove of knowledge with a great sense of humor, and tailored her tour perfectly according to what I'd be interested in seeing: I'd mentioned I was particularly interested in the cultural aspect of Shanghai in the 1930s heyday, and she took extra effort to walk me through the history behind the confluence of international cultures in the area, as well as taking me to see the old apartments that famous Chinese writers at the time once lived in so I could get a feel of their day-to-day lives that inspired their work. This was exactly what I was looking for, and I highly recommend Penny and this tour to any self-professed history nerds who love fun facts and hidden finds as much as I do!
Review provided by Viator
Hamish_r
Nov 2, 2025
Penny was great - Penny PUNG was fantastic tour guide. Highly recommend. Very knowledgeable and took us through some interesting back alleys.
Review provided by Viator
Jennbevan
Nov 1, 2025
Great experience with Penny! - My husband and I had a wonderful time walking through the French Concession with Penny. She was extremely knowledgeable, a great communicator and very enjoyable to be with! We covered a lot of ground walking through various neighborhoods in the FC - all beautiful tree lined streets. It started to rain during our tour so we stopped at a beautiful vintage coffee shop and hung out with Penny and got to learn about her life and experiences living in Shanghai - because Penny was so relatable and easy to get along with that was the highlight of our tour! She's wonderful. Highly recommend her and this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Peterd6592
Jul 7, 2025
Don’t hesitate. Sign up for this tour now! - I have visited Shanghai numerous times. I still have relatives here. I normally entertain myself when in the City but traveling alone on this trip, I decided to book a tour with a guide that I hoped would reveal some history that my relatives have failed to do. The reviews of this tour and of the guide, Penny, were all exceptional so this was my selection. I opted for the solo tour. The reviews are accurate. Penny is an excellent guide with historical knowledge of Shanghai and the evolution of the Concessions granted to foreign powers in the 19th and 20th centuries, the unique aspects of the French Concession, and specific landmarks within it. Penny is also a great and well informed conversationalist able to riff on any number of topics. The tour takes place rain or shine and we had some rain which came down hard at times. As long as I was up for it, Penny was willing to soldier on, which we did. She may have cursed me afterward but she couldn’t have shown a greater spirit in showing me around. It was an excellent day in spite of the rain. I enjoyed the tour and Penny’s company. I recommend this tour whether you’ve been to Shanghai before or are here for the first time. Five Stars +++ !!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maryjane_l
Apr 6, 2025
Excellent exposure of the culture and history of China and its people . - Penny our guide is a fountain of knowledge. How exciting, thrilling has it been to discover the French concession. Highly interesting and we have gained so much in information and knowledge about the history of China and how Shanghai fits in the whole history of China. So true that after hearing her out you fall in love and become mesmerized with Shanghai and how it was and the becoming of it now. One wonder how Shanghai would be like in the years to come. A top notch guide who excels in what she does and is passionate about her job. Fully recommended and thank you Penny and Viator.
Review provided by Viator
Christoph
Mar 21, 2025
Great walking tour in Shanghai - Penny our tour guide was great! Her explanation about the history were very interesting and detailed. We walked through some narrow walkways where we would not be able to do on our own. At the end she brought us to a hidden noodle shop and had a typical shanhgainese noodle soup! All in a great experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Raluca_d
Oct 25, 2024
Great experience with Penny - Penny is a great guide, we learnt a lot from her. Her explanations are accessible and interesting for kids as well. Penny has kindly offered useful information for our stay in Shanghai. Highly recommend her tour 😊
Review provided by Viator
Gilbert
Oct 2, 2024
Excellent Tour Guide for Shanghai - Penny was absolutely wonderful. We walked thru the French Concession area and adjacent neighborhoods and learned alot about the history of China, Shanghai and the current issues facing Chinese living in Shanghai. Penny spoke excellent English and helped us plan other things he to do in Shanghai. She went out of her way to show us how to navigate the subway which turned out to be great way to get around. Overall, Penny deserved a six!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $49
up to 10 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).