Taipei is one of my favorite cities. Can’t really explain why, but it was love at first sight and what got me hooked up on wanting to live in Taiwan and get to know more about Taiwanese culture. Over the years, I’ve been to most of what people would consider the top tourist attractions, with many of those more than once, and so it’s time that I sit down and write a tribute suggested itinerary for those lucky to stop by and have a chance to explore the city.
The following is based on an itinerary I created for my mother when she came to visit Taiwan, followed by some recommendations I’ve sent friends over the years. I’ll start off with detailed descriptions, and as the days progress it will become more generalized.
Day 1 : National Palace Museum, Taipei Eye, Shilin Night Market
09:00 – Meet at the airport. Head out to Taipei.
11:00 – Arrival in Taipei, settle down in hotel, have a Taiwanese lunch.
12:30 – head out to Shilin (MRT to Shilin, bus or taxi to National Palace Museum).
Check out the Shung Ye Museum Formosan Aborigines (If you’re there on a weekend, 2pm offers a guided tour )
15:00 – National Palace Museum (English guided tour – sign up at the entrance. Open on Saturdays till 8:30PM,)
- Have tea break with light food and cake to get us going till dinner.
- See the Chih-shan Gardens.
Take taxi to…
19:30 – Taipei Eye 台北市中山區建國北路二段66號
- (Bring camera, can take photos with actors dressing up and putting make up.)
20:00 – Taipei Eyetraditional Chinese opera performance.
Book 2 tickets – 02 2517 7060, need to pick up and pay on location (880NT$ adult, ~700NT$ for students)
- First part : Taiwanese Acrobatics
- Second part : Joys of Peking Opera
21:30 – Taxi to Shilin night market. Late Dinner. Walk around.
23:00 or when we get tired – Head back to hotel by MRT or taxi.
Food recommendations for lunch: Xiao Long Bao based or a hotpot. Dinner : Taste everything you can at the night market.
Day 2 : Art Museum, Temples the Taipei 101 area
09:00 – Wake up, have breakfast.
10:00 – Take MRT to YuanShan MRT station.
10:45 – Taipei Story House+ Tea break.
11:00 – Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
- Address:181, ZhongShan N. Road, Sec. 3, Taipei 104, Taiwan
- General Telephone:+886 2 25957656
- Museum Hours:Tuesday-Sunday 09:30 to 17:30. Open on national holidays.
- Arrange tour with : 02-2586034 300, Viser
12:00 – Two nearby temples
- Bao An Daoist Temple
- Confucius Temple
My post on this part : Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei Story House, Bao-An and Confucius Temples
13:00 – Lunch somewhere nearby.
14:00 – Take MRT to SYSMH MRT Station.
15:00 – Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and/or Taipei City Hallabout Taipei . Walk around shopping malls?
16:30 – Go up Taipei 101. Sunset is at 17:10. Have coffee&cake ontop of the world.
18:00 – Dinner at Taipei 101 food court (first floor) or many of the Warner Bros restaurants.
19:00 – Some live music in one of the jazz clubs in Warner bros.
When tired – Head back to hotel/airport.
My posts on this part :
- Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Warner Village and Taipei 101
- Beautiful Taipei city from the top of Taipei 101
Day 3 : Museums, Parks, Temples and Shopping
Head over to Taipei Main Station, browse the large food court and grab something to eat.
Walk south through the busy street and visit the following attractions, all within walking distance from one another:
- National Taiwan Museum
- Taipei 228 Memorial Museum 台北二二八紀念館
- Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall
- Taipei Botanical Gardens and the National Museum of History 國立歷史博物館 (a brief visit is enough)
- Longshan Temple 龍山寺
- (my post : Temple action in Taiwan – Longshan Taipei and Confucius Tainan).
- Since you’re already there visit the nearby tourist trap Snake Alley.
- Ximendingarea at dark or the Shida night market and the lively Gongguan area.
Day 4 : Hotsprings, Mountains and Danshui
Soak on some hotsprings in Beitou. Be sure to catch the Ghost Lake: Beitou’s Thermal Valley.
Visit the nearby Yangmingshan. My posts : Touring Taipei-Taiwan : Yang Ming Shan national park ; Revisiting Yang Ming Shan
Visit Danshui (my quick post: Chinese New Year 2009 – Danshui)
Day 5 : Muzha and the Gondola
Take the MTR all the way to Taipei Zoo.
Take the Maokong Gondola (my posts : Maokong Gondola : Cable Car & Lion Dance ; Taipei’s Maokong Gondola : Traveling through clouds)
Be sure to stop by Zhinan Temple (my post: Zhi Nan Temple : Taipei
Take the Gondola all the way up to Muzha’s tea houses with a great view of Taipei (my post – Maokong Tea Houses – Muzha)
Day 6 – Daytrip East, the Keelung side : Jiufen, Jinguashi, and He Ping island
- Touring Keelung – An Aboriginal Overlook
- Touring Keelung – He Ping Island
- Jinguashi–Gold Ecological Park
- Jiufen’s Tea Houses
- The Alleys of Jiu-Fen : Taipei County
- Views from Magical Jiufen : Taipei County
Day 7 – Choose one of the following
Day Trips – Option 1
Sanxia 三峽 (Sanxia : Old Street & Zushi Temple)
and
Yingge 鶯歌 (Yingge Old Street : Taipei County)
Day Trips – Option 2
Option 3
Relax, eat well, and try to fit it any combination of the smaller attractions:
- Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art 台北當代藝術館
- Miniatures Museum of Taiwan @Taipei
- Taiwan’s Storyland at Taipei
- Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum 林柳新紀念偶戲博物館
- Miramar Ferris Wheel 美麗華摩天輪
Day 8+
Still have time? there’s more …
- Bali 八里
- Beitou 北投
- Dharma Drum Mountain 法鼓山
- Guandu 關度
- Northeast coast
- Pinglin 坪林
- Sanzhi 三芝
- Shenkeng 深坑
- Yuandao Guan Yin Temple 緣道觀音廟
- Yuantong Chan Temple 圓通禪寺
- Banqiao
- Tucheng
(photo credits: Prince Turtle ; Zehawk ; Jaboney ; Dear Nicola)
What if you have only limited time? this is what I wrote for a friend visiting for a day:
The Taipei 101 area (https://goo.gl/maps/6dSnq3eCjvq) has a lot to offer, with an observation deck overlooking the city from above, the Sun Yat Sen Memorial hall nearby (https://goo.gl/maps/Sk9uhj6TsvH2), culture parks within walking distance (Songshan Cultural Creative Park – https://goo.gl/maps/kMxyGJG8xgt), and then night markets (close to 101 – Raohe Street Night Market (https://goo.gl/maps/KkwpkAUY6Pu), with temples (near the Raohe night market – Songshan Ciyou Temple (https://goo.gl/maps/6QYfkqTbWDA2)
The Taipei 101 area and then the very long Zhongxiao street are shopping areas with endless restaurants/bars/shopping.
Comments, suggestions and feedback welcome.
hi how many days is sufficient if i were to visit hualien?
I’d say 2 days should be good enough. 3 days if you really want to chill out and take things slow. Enjoy!
Hi, we’ll be in Taipei for 3.5days. Do you think such a location/schedule makes sense Day1 (0.5day): National Palace Museum and Taipei 101 (+ surrounding night market) Day2 and 3 (2 days): 饶河夜市,高美湿地, 逢甲夜市, 日月潭, 九族文化村, 清境草原, 小瑞士花园; 清境, 七星潭, 渔人码头,淡水老街,中正纪念堂, 士林夜市 Day3: Yeh Liu, Shifen waterfall, Northeast Coast Nanya, Yingyang Hai, Bitoucape, Longdong Bay, Chiu Fen Thanks.
Yeah, sounds like a wonderful plan. Seems like you’ve collected some of the best of that area.
Keep me posted on how that went. Enjoy Taiwan!
A huge thank for your blog! It really helped me planned my holidays here. Plenty of useful information, with all we need, links, pictures…
I’m glad I found it, and I even more glad that you took the time to right all this down! So, thanks again
Thank you, Clovis, I’m very happy to hear that. Heartwarming. 🙂