I like to invite visiting foreigners to one of the city's most stunning venues, the Park Hyatt in Pudong, whose bar and restaurant offer breathtaking views from the 87th and 92nd floors. Sometimes I also choose the Puli, a magnificent hotel with a sleek Asian design that's a complete change of scenery, or I opt for the very elegant Peninsula, which is literally a stone's throw from the museum. A wonderful place for Five o'clock tea. I also have a soft spot for the Unico bar on the Bund. Opened in 2012, this very chic place, where 50s furniture rubs shoulders with a huge marble bar, is perfect for a date after work.
The world of Yongfoo Elite is a different story, taking you back to the Shanghai of the 1930s. This private club, where you can lunch or dine by prior arrangement, is housed in a villa with a garden that was once the British and then the Russian consulate. It has retained its slightly old-fashioned style, with a real charm. I like to go there for afternoon tea, and also to take the time to relax on its shady terrace, to forget that we are in the heart of a city of 23 million inhabitants.
In the same area as the French Concession, you can dine at Lost Heaven, a restaurant specialising in Yunnan cuisine, which is admittedly rather spicy, but delicious. It's a very popular address, a benchmark. Still in the same district, for shopping, I recommend Dong Liang, an exclusive boutique that brings together the best Chinese designers in an old mansion. The choice is truly daring. What's more, the whole street is full of charming boutiques and little cafés. And if you want to bring back a gift that's both traditional and trendy, head to Song Fang, a pretty tea house founded by a Frenchwoman, where you'll find a wide selection sold in blue tins with a stylised logo, very Maoist China.
For fans of cutting-edge design, I recommend a visit to Design Republic, designed by Shanghai-based Chinese-American designers Neri & Hu. This concept store offers the Chinese a unique collection of the best design products in the world. Located in a vast old house renovated in an ultra-sober style, with raw concrete floors and walls, this shop is coupled with a one-bedroom boutique hotel with a succulent tapas bar-restaurant serving, among other things, nitrogen-glazed popcorn.
Of course, no visit to Shanghai is complete without a visit to the Rockbund Art Museum. This contemporary art museum was renovated by architect David Chipperfield. It is the first contemporary art museum in China to support projects by international and local artists. You can even meet up at the café on the top floor, where the view is sublime. Finally, a visit to the Power Station of Art is a must, another contemporary art museum housed in a former thermal power station that became the "pavilion of the future" at Expo 2010.
Larys Frogier's good addresses
Park Hyatt Shanghai
100 century avenue, pudong
tel.: +86 21 6888 1234
email : shanghai.park@hyatt.com
internet : www.shanghai.park.hyatt.com
Puli Hotel
1 changde road, jing-an district
tel.: +86 21 3203 9999
email : information@thepuli.com
internet : www.thepuli.com
The Peninsula Shanghai
32 the bund
tel.: +86 21 2327 2888
email : psh@peninsula.com
internet: www.peninsula.com
Unico
three on the bund
tel.: +86 21 5308 5399
email : caesar.liu@on-the-bund.com
internet : www.threeonthebund.com
Yongfoo Elite
200 yongfu road
tel.: +86 21 5466 2727
email : exoffice@yongfooelite.com
internet: www.yongfooelite.com
Lost Heaven
38 gaoyou rd, xuhui
tel.: +86 21 6433 5126
email : contact@lostheaven.com.cn
internet: www.lostheaven.com.cn
Dong Liang
184 fumin road
tel.: +86 21 3469 6026
email : info@dongliangchina.com
internet: www.dongliangchina.com
Song Fang
227 yongjia lu
tel.: +86 21 6433 8283
email : songfang.tea@gmail.com
internet: www.songfangtea.com
Design Republic
511 jiang-ning road, jing-an district
tel.: +86 21 6176 7088
email : jnlstore@thedesignrepublic.com
internet : www.thedesignrepublic.com
Rockbund Art Museum
20 huqiu lu, huangpu district
tel.: +86 21 3310 9985
email : info@rockbundartmuseum.org
internet : www.rockbundartmuseum.org/en
Power Station
200 huayuangang lu
email : media@powerstationofart.com
internet: www.powerstationofart.org
Special report - China: discovering Shanghai and Hangzhou
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Hangzhou: address book
Shanghai: the new sustainable course
- Shanghai, the spirit of the place: Larys Frogier
If you have a few hours: Shanghai in a sidecar
