[Taiwan] Taipei - Top 7 Must Visit Spots

Welcome to Taiwan!

“I’m going to Taiwan next weekend, where do you recommend going?”

Well, Taiwan is not that small, and you’ll find it very different from northern cities and the southern ones.

It might be a be difficult to decide where to visit in Taiwan.
So, first of all, Taipei!

Top 7 spots you must visit and with optional 3 if you don't have enough time.

1. Taipei 101 area
2. Da-dao-Cheng area [Old town]
3. Chiang-Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
4. Shilin Night Market x National Palace Museum
5. Huashan 1914 Creative Park
6. Jiou-Fen [Day trip to a Town nearby]
7. Lung-Shan Temple [City centre]
8. Ximen area [City Centre]
9. Beitou area [Hotspring/Onsen town]
10. Tamshui area [Day trip by metro]

It's very convenient to get around by public transportation in Taipei.
You can enjoy tasty food, great nature by easy public transportation from city centre and some other satellite town nearby.

Of course, there're many other nice cities and nature you could visit when you have more time in Taiwan, like Tainan City for a more cultural visit with great food there while Hualian City which is very famous for the Taroko gorge and the Hehuanshan mountain for the amazing scenery.

Plan a trip to Taipei!

So how to plan a weekend trip in Taipei?
Maybe a bit of sightseeing, nature, city, cultural stuff and then some drinks near Taipei 101 area.

Taipei is not that small that you can finish in a day or two.
If your time is limited, this map can give you general idea and how you can plan your way moving around.

Taipei city center which is in the middle of this map has many areas to visit while Tamsui, Jiufen, Beitou and the Yangmingshan Park are not too far from the centre that are popular touristy places you can visit as well.
But if you're there for the first time and you have only a weekend, I guess it 2~3 spots in the city centre and a day trip to Jiou-Fen is the best option.




If you don't really have too much time, at these these 3 spots are the must: XinYi, DaDaoCheng, and then Shilin area

1. XinYi -Taipei 101

This district is called Xin-Yi district that you’ll find the all the fancy modern buildings, pubs, clubbing spots, shopping malls here. It starts from Taipei city hall station to the south end of Taipei 101 Station.

All the malls here are connected with the sky bridge from north to south.
It's recommended to follow the bridge and walk the whole area.

Taipei 101 is easy to spot anywhere in Taipei which is a 509.2m building.

Eslite (Cheng-Ping) book store.
Eslite started their first bookstore in the Japanese town in Taipei (Tian -Mu) and have its biggest branch in Xin-Yi district. It's not just a bookstore but also lots of creative/craft shops from local/oversea are located in this mall as well.

Ce la Vi Taipei

Probably one of the best spots in this area to Taipei 101!

You can have an amazing view right in front of Taipei 101 and you can feel that 101 is literally massive.

Humble House hotel

The other great view to see 101 area is from the rooftop garden of Humble House Hotel.

If they're hosting some rooftop party, it's the other best spots to enjoy the night with the music and the view in town.

W hotel

You know how good W is, there's one in town that you don’t want to miss.

Bella-vita
One of the most astonishing shopping malls in Taiwan with the Italian name and the design. Bellavita is focus on the high-end product and the best cuisine in town. 

Taihu Brewing

One of the local craft beer places in Taipei. It's quite busy over the Friday nights and weekend.

Xiang Shan(象山) - Elephant mountain
Google Xiang Shan to get more information!

This is slightly south of the Taipei 101.
It's a small hiking trail near Taipei 101 that you only need to hike around 30 mins and you'll get the best view of Taipei.

Four Four South Village - Simple Market (四四南村)

It was a Military dependents' village before. Currently there are only four main building still remained. It's a memorable history for Taiwanese since the immigrants moved from China in the 1950s and completed changed the country.

On the weekend, it's a popular place for the "Simple Market", which is a nice flea market in Taipei.
There's a bagel shop GOOD CHO'S in this village selling good quality bagel and meals. 

2. Da-Dao-Cheng 大稻埕

This is the old town of Taipei.
It still keeps lots of old building and culture in this area.

If you visit Taipei 101 area before or after this area, you can feel difference even more.

Visit this area and enjoy some tea or coffee in the traditional houses!
You can also rent the clothes for free from the tourist info center.

Check the government website for more details:

https://www.travel.taipei/en/must-visit/dadaocheng

Taipei XiaHai City God Temple

One of the most famous Temple in Taipei for finding your Mr./Mrs. Right!

People come here to pray the god to give them the direction or chance to meet the right person.

As we all know how hard it is!

Aka Cafe

One of those cafes that renovated from those beautiful traditional houses.

It's a reservation only, so if you would like to visit, make sure book it in advance.

DaDaoCheng Pier

It's nice in the evening with the lights and the bars ensembled by the colorful containers.

3. Shilin Area

Shilin area is famous for the night market and the National Palace Museum.

Now there's a giant ball right in front of the station that you wouldn't miss when you visit. 

The Taipei Performing Arts Center is one of the cool architectures in Taiwan.

Before COVID, Shilin night market is the biggest night market in Taiwan.

It's not just the traditional Night market area, but also the shops and restaurants that make this whole area so busy every day. 

It's been a bit quiet but with the ease of the border restriction, it will be busy again soon.

National Palace Museum
Every museum has their own story about how they got those treasure from... Around 70 years ago, when Chinese moved Taiwan to escape the internal war in mainland China, they brought thousands of golds, treasures from each province, of course including the treasures from 6 palace museums in China. Luckily, they brought it, those treasure did not destroy during further internal war among those decades. The location of the museum is at the entrance of the mountain where they can hide those treasures deeply and safe

How to get there?
You'll need to take metro first and transfer to local bus.
Metro Red line
Shilin station: Take bus S18, 304, 957, 255, R30 (Red 30), 815, Minibus 18 and Minibus 19.

Metro Brown line
DaiZhi station: Take bus B13 (Brown 13)

Metro Jiannan Rd. station: Take bus Brown 20


Shilin night market
Night markets in Taiwan are normally full of street vendors. 

However, Shilin night market area is so big that it also covers shops, restaurants, bars, and the new Taipei Performing Arts Center. You won't miss the art center since it's a massive ball in front of the metro station.

Although it's called Shilin night market, the popular marketplace is near the next station, Jian Tan station so don't get off the wrong stop.

It's too hard to recommend since there's too many choices.

I listed some night market food that you'll find them really tasty and not scary to try :)

Also, if you see there's a little line in front of the shop/vendor, I think they're not too bad in general lol

Oyster omelet (蚵仔煎-HeZai Jian)
Fried buns (生煎包Sheng Jian Bao)
Fried chicken fillet (炸雞排Zha Ji Pai)
Oyster vermicelli (HeZai Mian Xian)
Bubble tea (珍珠奶茶ZhenZhu NaiCha)
Onion pancake with egg (蔥油餅加蛋Chong Zhua Bing jia Dan)
Lemon Aiyu jelly (檸檬愛玉NingMeng Ai Yù)
Small Sausage in Large Sausage (大腸包小腸DaChang Bao XiaoChang)
Stinky tofu (臭豆腐Chou ToFu)[Be careful, you might not be able to bear the smell of fermentation]
Taiwanese "tempura" (甜不辣Tian Bu La)