Tucked away in China's biggest city are hidden teahouses, exquisitely manicured parks, bookish cafés, and converted mansions cum nightspots. Emily Prager leads the way

Like the lanes that thread through it, Shanghai is an intersection of worlds and centuries. It can be a 21st-century walking city, a 20th-century architectural feast, or a 19th-century expedition to ancient China. To get a proper sense of the city, you must dip into all three. Try to visit in spring, fall, or even winter because summer can be as hot as a Sichuan peppercorn.

For just a leisurely short stroll, saunter down Sinan Road, enjoying the 1920s Tudor mansions. At Gaolan Road is an entrance to Fuxing Park, formerly French Park. Four or five blocks farther down Sinan Road is the heart of the old French Concession, which is lined with pruned plane trees that form leafy arches.

Unforgettable local experiences include the following. The Gu Yuan Antique Tea House has an authentic Chinese tea ceremony (1315 Fuxing Zhong Rd.; 6445-4625; $30–$50 for two). Hire a dance partner, male or female, at the dance hall at the campy Deco Paramount Theatre and fox-trot the evening away. It's also open for dancing at teatime, or from 2 to 4 P.M., on Sunday (218 Yuyuan Rd.; 6249-8866; entrance fee, $15). Massages are the city's forte. Choose between the rigorous work of the Feining Massage Center of Blind Persons, where the massages by the blind and the nearly blind are simple but fantastic (No. 597 A8 Fuxing Zhong Rd.; 6437-8378; massage, $10), and the opulent Fei Fei Xiang Spa at the Shile Boutique Lifestyle Centre, in Pudong (No.1 Lane 599 Fangdian Rd.; 5033-9113 ext. 7000; massages, $65–$95).

Do not be afraid to explore back lanes. Just walk in when you see something interesting and smile. People will not mind your interest, and Shanghai is very safe.

The country and city code for Shanghai is 86-21. Prices quoted are for October 2008.

Lodging

Shanghai has seven properties on Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List (January 2008): Four Seasons Shanghai (6256-8888; doubles, $397–$426); the Grand Hyatt Shanghai (5049-1234; doubles, $352–$448); JW Marriott Hotel (5359-4969; doubles, $367–$492); (Continued on page 214) Pudong Shangri-La (6882-8888; doubles, $316–$426); Longemont Hotel, until July of this year the Regent Shanghai (6115-9988; doubles, $510–$540); St. Regis (5050-4567; doubles, $465–$561); and Westin Bund Center (6335-1888; doubles, $400–$515). Near the shops of Huaihai Road, the romantic and eclectic Mansion Hotel has a velvety '30s opulence (5403-9888; doubles, $300–$1,200). The streamlined Pudi Hotel, with ocean liner Deco details, is on Fuxing Park. Its specialty is posh separate rooms for pets for $310 (5158-5888; doubles, $300–$700).

The Urbn, Shanghai's only fully green hotel (no smoking!), is near Nanjing Road, a major thoroughfare where you'll find the Museum of Modern Art and the venerable Number One Department Store (5153-4600; doubles, $200–$300). The Old House Inn, on a picturesque lane, is decorated in '30s Chinese style (6248-6118; doubles, $115–$161).

Dining

Food is inexpensive compared with in the West, but drinks cost so much that the law allows people to bring their own into any restaurant.

First, of course, Chinese food. The Old Station occupies a turn-of-the-20th-century convent. In the backyard are two train cars you can eat in, one of which belonged to Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat Sen, and the other to the Empress Cixi. The specialty is spicy food, but the hairy crab is sweet, light, and delicious (201 Caoxi Bei Rd.; 6427-2233; dishes, $10–$25). Its name well describes the Victorian Home Restaurant, which caters to the local elite (27 Shaoxing Rd.; 6433-3506; dishes, $20–$40). Uighur Restaurant's waiters sing folk songs of the Uighur people as they serve succulent lamb and mutton kebabs (1 Shanxi Nan Rd.; 6255-0843; dishes, $8–$15). Cantonese cuisine is served at the Secret Garden, an old mansion beside a fragrant garden (333 Changle Rd.; 5405-0789; dishes, $10–$25). On nearby Changle Road, around 8 A.M., restaurants sell pork and vegetable buns to neighbors going to work. Look for the one with the longest line—you'll know the buns are good.

And then there are the other Asian cuisines. Tandoor, in the Jin Jiang Hotel, is one of the oldest and best of the foreign restaurants—and it's fun, decorated as a maharaja's cave, with Bollywood music and Indian dancers (59 Maoming Rd.; 6472-5494; dishes, $20–$40). In a dreamy colonial villa, Lapis Lazuli has excellent fusion food (9 Dongping Rd.; 6473-1021; entrées, $25–$50). Parkside Bistro Bar, with its Manhattanish air, does a good steak and you can stroll through Fuxing Park after your meal (62 Yandang Rd.; 6385-5998; entrées, $30–$60). Haiku by Hatsune produces the most delicious and interesting Japanese hand rolls (28B Taojiang Rd.; 6445-0021; dishes, $15–$30).

Shanghai now has some of the world's best restaurants, and many of these serve authentic Western cuisines. Two of the newest and best are French, both from chef Justin Quek and both in Xintiandi, the renovated lane house district that, though touristy, must be seen for the architecture and the tiny Shikumen House Museum, which offers a glimpse of how a well-off Shanghairen used to live. Ultra-sedate Le Platane is a duplex: a downstairs bistro (with delicious salmon confit) and a serious upstairs dining room with balanced gastronomy (373 Huangpi Nan Rd.; 5383-2998; entrées, $25–$50). Fountain is more casual, with an outdoor café right next to Shanghai Tang (Unit 4, Bldg. 10-2, Lane 181, Taicang Rd.; 6326-8800; entrées, $15–30). Also in Xintiandi, TMSK is decorated with traditional dark wood furniture and colorful Liuli decorative glazed tiles, an artform that dates back to Emperor Liu Sheng's time, or the second century B.C. Preparations here are an East-West fusion: duck breast miniburgers, shrimp-and-barbecue pork pancakes with fries (Unit 2, Bldg. 11, Lane 181, Taicang Rd.; 6326-2227; entrées, $29–$52).

Cafés & Bars

Shanghai was always a café society, and cafés flourish in the old French Concession. Intimate and atmospheric are the writerish Boonna (88 Xinle Rd.), the '30s scholarly Citizen Café and Bar (222 Jin Xian Rd.), the romantic Old China Hand Reading Room (27 Shaoxing Rd.), and the summer pavilionish Art Deco Garden Café and Bar, which has a terrace in Ruijin Guest House Building 3 (118 Ruijin Er Rd.). Figure $5 to $10 for a coffee and a snack.

There are legions of chic bars, but some of the sweeter ones with outdoor seating are the festive Sasha's, in an old mansion with a great garden (House 11, 9 Dongping Rd.); the sultry Cotton's, good for R and R if you need to speak En-glish (132 Anting Rd.); and Face Bar, an opium fantasy of couches and red lanterns, one of the in expat places (Ruijin Guest House Bldg. 4, 118 Ruijin Er Rd.). Tiny, quiet, but imaginative are the DR Bar, in the Xintiandi area, with couches, jazz, and walls made of roof tiles (15 North Block), and Jasmine Bridge, with its terra--cotta warriors and private cubicles (273 Jianguo Xi Rd.). The glittery, chic Glamour Bar has a shimmering view of the Huangpu River (20 Guangdong Rd.). For live jazz, JZ Club manages to be both intimate and lively (46 Fuxing Xi Rd.). Mao—with an Arabic motif, puffy couches, hookahs, and aromatic tobaccos—is one of the newer clubs (46 Yueyang Rd.).

Reading, Etc.

Garden Books is a charming English bookstore at 325 Changle Rd. Look for Shanghai: A History, by Stella Dong (Harper Perennial, $15); J. G. Ballard's novels The Kindness of Women (Picador, $15) and Empire of the Sun (Harper Perennial, $13); and The Master of Rain, a thriller by Tom Bradby (Corgi Books, $25). Garden Books also has many of Tess Johnston and Deke Erh's gorgeous coffee table books on Shanghai architecture. Favorites are Art Deco Shanghai (Old China Hand Press, $75) and Frenchtown Shanghai (Old China Hand Press, $50); both will help you to remember your trip.

Shanghai is not easy to figure out, so maps are essential. The compact Knopf Mapguides Shanghai has a comprehensive index ($10). Tess Johnston's collaborative work, The Streets of Changing Fortune: Six Shanghai Walks takes you to different parts of the city, from the Yu Garden area to the Bund to Xujiahui, covering the history of the buildings and sights (Old China Hand Press, $23).

For the most part, Web sites are easily Googled—but remember, they often end with .cn, not .com.