Where to Go Out in Shanghai: 5 of the Best Nightlife Areas

1. French Concession: Ju Fu Chang (Julu, Fumin & Changle Roads)

Affectionately nicknamed the 'Ju-Fu-Chang' triangle, this pocket between the Former French Concession and south Jing’an is one of Shanghai’s best areas for casual bar hopping and cocktails. The streets are lined with historic lane houses, plane trees, and intimate venues where people spill onto the sidewalks with drinks in hand.

Key Spots

• The Union Trading Company — Long-running neighbourhood cocktail institution founded by Yao Lu, serving inventive seasonal cocktails and American-style bar food.
• Sober Company / Speak Low — Acclaimed multi-room cocktail concepts from bartender Shingo Gokan.
• Funkadeli (Fumin Lu) — The classic Italian aperitivo and spritz hub with outdoor benches.
• Beer Temple (Changle Lu) — Top-tier craft beer bottle shop and taproom for rare cold-chain Double IPAs.
• Cantina Agave — Margaritas, tequila shots, and street-side patio drinking.
• 624 Changle Lu — A tiny bottle shop packed with imported craft beers — expect plenty of streetside ganbei-ing.

The Vibe: Effortless, walkable, neighbourhood-focused, and social. Perfect for low-key bar hopping with friends.

Go here if you want: strolling and bar hopping

Start Here: Kick things off around Fumin Lu, then wander towards Julu and Changle as the night picks up. Keep heading east along Julu Road and you could even finish the night at Found 158.

2. Shankang Li, Jing’an

Tucked off North Shaanxi Road and Kangding Road, Shankang Li is an open-air industrial compound that has become Jing'an's favourite outdoor drinking and dining courtyard. It’s the kind of place where late-afternoon drinks can effortlessly turn into midnight ones — just move from one terrace to the next.

Key Spots

• Alimentari Grill — Charcoal-grilled meats and an iconic outdoor Campari/Aperol spritz terrace.
• Tap House — Dozens of rotating craft beer taps on wide courtyard picnic benches.
• RIINK — Retro-neon roller-skating bar serving cocktails and diner bites.
• PARLAY — Multi-screen sports bar and lounge for live football, UFC, and pints.
• Homeslice — Pizza by the slice with indoor and outdoor seating.

The Vibe: Sunny terraces, pet-friendly patios, craft beer, casual dining and sociable weekend crowds.

Go here if you want: courtyard drinks with a group

Start Here: Kick things off around Homeslice or Alimentari for a drink and food, then work your way around the courtyard.

3. The Bund: Rooftop Skyline Views, Huangpu

If the priority is the view, this is the part of Shanghai to build your night around. The key thing to know is that there are actually two perspectives: drink on The Bund/Puxi side and you're looking across the Huangpu at the futuristic Lujiazui skyline. Cross to Lujiazui/Pudong and you get the reverse view — the historic Bund stretching along the river. FLAIR and Chili's are therefore technically in Pudong, but they're worth including because they give you the other half of Shanghai's definitive skyline experience.

Key Spots

• The Fellas — Perched on the 7th floor of the Qianchen Building at the southern end of the Bund, its outdoor terrace looks east across the Huangpu towards Lujiazui, giving you the Oriental Pearl Tower and Pudong skyscrapers illuminated directly across the river. A good choice if you want the classic Shanghai skyline with Italian food and cocktails without the formality of a luxury-hotel rooftop.
• The Captain — The more casual option. Sitting six floors above Fuzhou Road just behind the Bund, The Captain's rooftop gives you the Huangpu River and Lujiazui skyline from the Puxi side, including the city's signature Pudong towers. Go here when you want the view with a beer rather than a five-star-hotel experience.
• Sir Elly's Terrace (The Peninsula) — Higher up and farther north on the Bund, Sir Elly's Terrace has one of the area's widest perspectives: Huangpu River, Pudong skyline and, depending on where you're sitting, views north towards Suzhou Creek. This is the polished, special-occasion choice — Champagne, cocktails and a much more refined rooftop atmosphere.
• The Nest — A stylish gastro-lounge in the Rockbund/Bund Source area. Unlike the rooftops above, the draw here is more the bar itself than an unobstructed postcard skyline view: come for cocktails, oysters and a sophisticated late-night atmosphere rather than solely for the panorama.
• Peace Hotel Old Jazz Bar — The opposite proposition again. You're here for historic Bund atmosphere rather than a rooftop view — 1930s Shanghai character, live jazz and one of the city's most recognisable heritage hotels.

And across the river…

• Flair (The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong) — The perspective flips completely. From the 58th floor in Lujiazui, you're looking west across the Huangpu towards the historic Bund and Puxi skyline, while the Oriental Pearl Tower sits dramatically close by. If The Fellas gives you the classic view of Pudong, FLAIR gives you the classic view back at Shanghai.
• Chili's Cafe & Bar (Binjiang Avenue) — Also on the Pudong riverfront, but much lower and more casual than FLAIR. Its glass-fronted dining room and outdoor seating look straight across the Huangpu at the historic Bund, so you see the grand colonial-era waterfront buildings illuminated as a continuous strip rather than looking down on them from a skyscraper. Think margaritas and fajitas with an exceptional front-row river view.

Go here if you want: skyline views and date-night drinks

Start Here: For the classic first-time Shanghai experience, arrive at The Fellas or The Captain before sunset and watch Lujiazui light up across the river. For the reverse, cross to Pudong and finish at FLAIR looking back towards the illuminated Bund.

4. INS Fuxing Park, Huangpu

INS has become one of the biggest draws in Shanghai's late-night clubbing scene: an entire multi-level entertainment complex inside historic Fuxing Park. Instead of taking taxis across the city between clubs, INS houses several distinct nightclubs, live houses, and cocktail lounges in one massive building.

Key Spots

• La Fin / Culture — Massive rooms for commercial EDM, hip-hop, and festival headliners.
• Keen / Playground — Underground techno, house music, and immersive lighting.
• B1 Arcade & Dining — Late-night street food, noodles, and casual drinks between club sets.

The Vibe: High-energy, young, fashionable, loud, and open until sunrise.

Go here if you want: clubbing until late

Start Here: Head straight to INS after 9 or 10pm, check out a couple of floors and follow whichever room has the music and crowd you like.

5. Found 158, Julu Road

Found 158 isn't quite the nightlife juggernaut it once was, but it remains an easy option for casual group drinks and bouncing between bars without leaving the sunken underground plaza. If you like the sound of a ring of international bars, sports pubs, and late-night restaurants wrapping around an open central courtyard, this one's for you.

Key Spots

• Zapfler Craft Brewery — German craft beers and pretzels.
• El Santo — Tacos, tequila shots, and late-night DJ sets.
• Boteco Lounge / Pitas & Dips — Casual outdoor beer buckets and fast bites.
• Revolucion Cocktail — High-energy Latin cocktail bar famous for flair bartending and dancing.

Note: Found 158 changes fast, with new bars and restaurants regularly popping up (and others moving on), so the venue mix may have changed by the time you visit.

The Vibe: Chaotic, fun, rowdy, and unapologetically social. The go-to spot for big groups, live sports finals, and weekend party energy.

Go here if you want: casual spot hopping with a group

Start Here: Head down into the main plaza, find a spot you like the look of then explore the sunken playground.