Among the Chinese, Suzhou is one of the most highly favoured tourist destinations in the country, and the city is packed with visitors from far and wide. This can make for a festive atmosphere, but it also means that you are rarely able to appreciate the gardens in the peace for which they were designed. The three most famous gardens - Wangshi Yuan, Shizi Lin and Zhouzheng Yuan - are on everyone's itinerary, attracting a stream of visitors year around, but many of the equally beautiful yet lesser known gardens, notably Canglang Ting and Ou Yuan, are comparatively serene and crowd-free. (The best strategy is to visit as much of the three popular gardens as possible before 10am and spend the rest of the day in the smaller gardens.) Seasons make surprisingly little difference as the gardens can be appreciated at any time of year, although springtime brings blossom and brighter colours.

 

Suzhou is one of the more enjoyable cities in China for simply roaming without special purpose. Stray from the main streets and you'll come across pagodas, temples, lively shopping districts and hectic canal traffic. Avoid taking taxis and buses downtown where possible: Suzhou is in the throes of major reconstruction and traffic is a nightmare. Distances are too large to rely purely on walking, but cycling is an excellent alternative as the terrain is pretty flat.