Old City

Founded in 1900, this is the best-known restaurant specializing in small soup-filled buns called Xiaolongbao (also commonly referred to as "soup dumplings"), a characteristic Shanghai snack. This restaurant is popular for take-away and sit-down. The sit-down section (up the stairs) has a range of options - from the cheapest first floor dining room where you sit elbow-to-elbow with other patrons, to the "VIP section" with a large minimum spend. As a guide, the higher you go, the more expensive the offerings: for example, the first floor dining room serves pork and crab meat buns and simple shredded egg soup, whereas the third floor dining room serves crab roe and soft roe buns and egg and scallop soup. The line for take-away is quite long and takes 90 min or more before soaking your teeth in some of the best (and cheapest) ones in Shanghai. Be careful not to scald your mouth with the hot liquid.

Another historic restaurant specializing in Ningbo-style Tangyuan ("rice dough balls" or, confusingly, also "soup dumplings"), another popular snack. This restaurant offers Tangyuan with fillings found almost nowhere else, both sweet and savoury. A separate counter offers a range of Shanghainese small dishes.

In the Yuyuan Gardens and reached by a 9-legged zigzag path to stop evil spirits. One of the most famous tea houses in all of China. A glass (not a pot) of your tea of choice is ¥20-25 downstairs and ¥40-55 upstairs — upstairs you'll get nice views, respite from the crowds, free snacks and even a souvenir or two. Pressure-free.

One of several multi-storey markets near Yuyuan metro station, at the northern end of the Old City - shop here for souvenirs, craft both modern and antique, as well as clothes and toys. Antiques are mainly in the lower basement floor of one of the buildings.

A warren of tailor shops offering custom made clothes, from tuxedoes to dress shirts to fake designer jackets and qipao, the traditional Chinese dress with a slit up the thigh. The prices are cheap but expect a lot tinkering afterward as your tailor will not be able to remake something as you like unless you tell her exactly what you want. The tailoring itself is average. Bargain hard and be familiar with the prices it would cost at a major retailer. Be ware that this is the place to buy cheap tailor-made clothing, it will not necessarily be cheap compared to mass-produced, chain store wares - even after bargaining, just getting a mass-produced shirt from an H&M will be about the same price, but the H&M shirt will likely be much better quality.