Qingdao was a sudden trip for me, quickly planned through boredom in my own city. Qingdao is most famous for its beer, with the Tsingtao Brewery located right in the centre of Qingdao. Below is an itinerary I followed for my trip, I arrived Monday afternoon and left Wednesday evening. It was long enough, but I would visit again in the summer for the Beer Festival going on. Under my itinerary, I’ve outlined some of my highlights! Feel free to use the ideas for your own trip.
Day 1:
Arrival
Food – Superbowl!
Olympic Sailing Centre
Day 2:
Shilaoren Beach – Brunch (So Book)
St Michael’s Cathedral
Qingdao Railway Station (Photos)
Day and Night Cafe
German Viceroy Mansion
Zhanqiao Pier – Huilan Pavilion
Signal Hill Park
Badaguan Scenic Area
May 4th Square
Food – Rhino Grill
Shilaoren Beach – The Way Brewery
Day 3:
Vanilla Cafe
Qingdao No. 1 Bathing Beach
Tsingtao Beer Museum
Haitian Centre/ St Regis Hotel
Qingdao No. 2 Beach
Qingdao Sculpture Park
Sightseeing:
Olympic Sailing Centre –
Here you can walk around the pier, at night its fully lit up in bright colours. When I followed the path round, it led to a bar street (mostly closed given the time of year), at the end of this area though, the Lighthouse. Worth a walk and also its free and just generally a nice calm area to walk through.
St. Michael’s Cathedral –
Take Line 2 to reach the area and its a 10 minute walk from. As one of Qingdao’s more famous landmarks, St Michael’s is popular for photographs outside. For 10RMB, you can enter the cathedral and have a walk round. It has been designed with a European influence.
Signal Hill Park –
The park has a viewing spot located at the top. There is a single path which is used for going up and down from the viewing platform. You can go into the rotating platform for a 360 degree outlook over Qingdao. I visited as the sun was setting which was really nice.
Tsingtao Brewery –
The brewery was one of the most popular recommendations for Qingdao. There is a choice of tickets available for entry, I chose the option which gave 6 beers at the final location. As you walk through its quite interesting and you get a free beer in one room. After this you can enter the main dining area where you collect your wristband beers and can have food.
Qingdao Sculpture Park –
I stumbled across this while walking back to my hotel, the park is spread along a stretch of beach and is really interesting to see. There is also a small gallery in the same area, unfortunately closed when I visited.
Food in Qingdao:
Super Bowl: Amazingly tasty food, western options, ranch available for the American’s. Great choice of pizzas and sandwiches.
So Book: Brunch place, interesting choices. Cake and tea was lovely. Also they have an option for actual meals which are quite tasty. They are located on the beach as well so its incredibly scenic.
Vanilla Cafe: Popular choice for a cake and coffee, also have tea and other beverages available.
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