Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Before you go: China in 2026 Set up Alipay (and ideally WeChat) with an international Visa or Mastercard linked, before you fly. Passport and a home phone number are enough; no Chinese bank account required.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Where to base yourself in Hangzhou comes down to how much you want to spend and how much you want the lake outside your window. Compare current rates on Booking.com once you’ve picked an area, and book earlier than usual around Golden Week (1-7 October 2026), Mid-Autumn (25-27 September 2026), or Labour Day (1-5 May 2026), when the whole city fills up.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Hangzhou photographs easily, most of its best sights are free, and the timing matters more than the gear. Here’s where and when. The Su and Bai causeways, first light or last light Both causeways are free and both cross open water lined with willows, the classic Hangzhou frame.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. West Lake is the obvious nature stop in Hangzhou, free, hemmed by hills on three sides, and a genuine UNESCO Cultural Landscape since 2011. It’s covered in full in the main guide ; this list is what’s worth seeing beyond it.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Being honest upfront: Hangzhou’s city core isn’t a hiking destination, and no amount of guide-writing changes that. What it has is gentle hill walking woven into its main sights, plus one real hiking day trip.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. None of these are secret; Hangzhou is too well-visited for genuine secrets. What they are is quieter versions of, or alternatives to, the sights everyone else is standing in front of. Hangzhou Botanical Garden over the lakeside crowds For about ¥10, the Botanical Garden sits close to West Lake but pulls a fraction of the foot traffic of the causeways or Leifeng Pagoda.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Hangzhou doesn’t really run on a festival calendar the way some Chinese cities do; it runs on seasons, and the seasons are the real reason to time a visit one way or another. Spring: tea season and blossoms March through May is tea-picking season in the Longjing hills above the lake, and the prized Mingqian grade, picked just before the early-April Qingming festival, is the flush worth timing a trip around if tea is the draw.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Hangzhou cuisine, Hang cai, is dish-based rather than restaurant-based: a handful of specific dishes matter more here than any single named restaurant, with one honest exception below. Here’s what to actually order and where the confusion usually starts.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. The main guide ranks Hangzhou’s 9 best things in order; this one is about how to actually do each of them, the booking, the timing, and the cost, so nothing surprises you on the day.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Hangzhou’s own honest sight list, West Lake, Lingyin Temple, a tea village, Hefang Street, the Grand Canal, Xixi Wetland, the Silk and Tea museums, and the Six Harmonies Pagoda, fills about 5 days properly. Past that, the smarter move isn’t inventing a sixth Hangzhou-only sight, it’s one of these five day trips.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Seven days based in Hangzhou alone is mostly padding, and this itinerary says so plainly rather than inventing a seventh must-see sight that doesn’t exist. It’s the 6-day itinerary , a Suzhou day trip included, plus a second day trip to the Wuzhen and Xitang water towns.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Six days is the 5-day itinerary plus a day trip to Suzhou, and honestly, this is the point where Hangzhou alone runs out of new ground. Suzhou is about 43 minutes away by high-speed rail, and most people planning a week in this region end up splitting it between the two cities rather than basing entirely in one.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Five days is the 4-day itinerary plus the Silk and Tea museums and the Six Harmonies Pagoda, the last of Hangzhou’s honest core rather than padding. Being direct about it: Hangzhou alone rarely fills much more than this, and from day 6 on, most travelers get more out of a Suzhou or Shanghai pairing than another Hangzhou-only day, which the 6 and 7-day plans build in.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Four days is the 3-day sweet spot plus Xixi Wetland, a genuine change of pace from the lake and temple circuit rather than a filler day. Short on time, the 3-day plan (and the shorter 2-day version) covers the core alone.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Three days is the honest sweet spot for Hangzhou: West Lake and a tea village, Lingyin Temple properly rather than rushed, then Hefang Street and the Grand Canal. Short on time, the 2-day itinerary drops the tea village and the canal.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Two days is West Lake and Lingyin Temple, no more, and this plan doesn’t pretend otherwise. It skips the tea village and the Grand Canal, both of which the 3-day itinerary has room for; if that’s closer to your actual trip, start there.

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use. Nine things earn a place in Hangzhou, a city built entirely around one free lake and one tea. West Lake costs nothing to walk. Lingyin Temple stopped charging admission altogether in December 2025. The tea villages above Longjing are free to wander.