TAIPEI - WHERE TO GO

When you think about a country you always equate it to its capital city or the most popular place in that country. So when Taiwan comes up to your mind, you always think about its capital city - Taipei.

Taipei is at the northern part of Taiwan. Considered as an Alpha City because of its high-tech industrial area, high speed train, railways, airports and buses that connect Taipei to the other parts of the country. Best time to visit Taipei is during September to November. I went here in the month of November when the weather is cold and wearing a nice jacket while going out at night markets and pigging out to their street foods like stinky tofu, beef noodles, flame-torched beef, sausages, etc.

Two Airports are near Taipei City - Taoyuan and Songshan Airport. Most likely you will be landing at Taoyuan Airport since most of the international flights lands here. In this blog, I will tell you where to go while staying in this beautiful city.

By Train: Trains are very efficient in Taiwan. You can always rely on them while visiting the places in the city. From Taoyuan Airport, take the train going to Taipei Main Station. Fare cost 160NT$ and will take you travel time of around 35 minutes. Train is operational from 06:00 to 23:30. I had a very early flight to Taiwan, so what I did was wait for the train to be operational while roaming around the airport looking for something to eat.

By Bus: Buses in the Airport are 24 hours operational with intervals of travel time. Kuo-Kuang Bus is one of the buses you can take going to Taipei main Station. Fare costs 140NT$ which will take you about 45 minutes to 1 hour travel time depending on the traffic.

By Taxi: Taxi is expensive in Taiwan. If you choose this type of transportation going to Taipei, fare cost is around 1,000NT$ to 1,200NT$ depending on the traffic.

Where to Stay: There are a lot of places in Taipei that you can consider where to stay. Some of the favorite locations are Datong District near the Daqiaotou MRT Station, Ximending in Wanhua District, Zhongzheng, Xinyi, Zhongshan, Da'an and Songshan. In my case, I choose the Zhongshan District near the MRT Station and Ningxia night market. At night, I always go to the night market for a quick dinner. Food here are very cheap for tourists like me who are traveling on a tight budget.

Check out the picture link below. This is where I stayed for 4 days or click Taipei City Hotels to find more hotels that would suit you.

Where to Go:

Taipei 101

Opening Hours: Monday - Thursday 11:00 to 21:30

                           Friday - Saturday 11:00 to 22:00

                           Sunday 11:00 to 21:30
Location: Xinyi District, Taipei City

How to get there: Take Taipei Metro Red Line 2 to Taipei 101 Station or the Blue Line 5 to Taipei City Hall Station located Hankyu Depatment Store walk going to Xinyi Shopping District towards Taipei 101.

Taipei 101 according to my research is the tallest building from 2004-2010 until the completion of Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Taipei 101 is composed of 101 floors. This building also holds the fastest elevetor in the world transporting passengers from 5th floor to 89th floor in just 37 seconds. At night, the building is like a candle or a torch that symbolizes liberty and welcome. From 18:00 to 22:00 each evening Taipei 101 displays one of seven colors in the spectrum.

DAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
COLOR	RED	ORANGE	YELLOW	GREEN	BLUE	VIOLET	PURPLE

Taipei 101 Observatory - Located at the 89th floor of the building. Tickets normally cost 600NT$ but if you will book in advance and get tickets online you can avail up to 15% discount. At the Observatory, you can take a look of Taipei that will take your breath away.

Sumptuous lunch inside Taipei 101 Food Court

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Operating Hours: Daily 09:00 to 18:00

Location: Zhongzheng District, Taipei City

Entrance Fee: Free

View outside Chang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Historical view of front gate

The National Theatre

How to get there: Take the Taipei Metro green or red line and go down at Chang Kai-Shek Memorial Station. Walk towards the exit till you arrive at Chang Kai-Shek.

The National Concert Hall

Chang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

                         

Sun-Yat Sen Memorial Hall
Operating Hours: 09:00 to 18:00
Location: Xinyi District, Taipei City
Entrance Fee: Free

How to get there: Take Taipei Metro blue line and alight at Sun-Yat Sen Memorial Hall.

The Memorial Hall is dedicated to the Republic of China's National Father, Dr. Sun-Yat Sen. You can witness the changing of guards here every hour which is a popular tourist attraction.

  

Elephant Mountain

Operating Hours: Daily

Location: Xinyi District, Taipei City

Entrance Fee: Free

View of Taipei 101 at the top of Elephant Mountain

How to get there: Take the Taipei Metro and go down Xiangshan Station. Walk till you get in the end of the road. If you see a temple on the hill turn left and then you will see the entrance of Xiangshan Hiking Trail.

 

Xiangshan means Elephant Mountain in Chinese. It was called Elephant Mountain because of its elephant-like shape. The trail here will take you around 20 to 30 minutes about 1.5 km long. In my experience coming up here, this is much better view than climbing the observatory view in Taipei 101. 

Note: You should be physically fit to climb up the summit of the Elephant Mountain. The trail going up has lot of stairs. Visit the place late afternoon till dusk for a better view of Taipei.

National Palace Museum

Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday 08:30 to 18:30

                            Friday to Saturday 08:30 to 21:00

                            Sunday 08:30 to 18:30

Location: Shilin District, Taipei City

Entrance Fee: Adult - 250NT$

                        Student - 150NT$

How to get there: Take Taipei Metro ride line and go down at Shilin Station. Exit and ride a bus R30. Fare cost is 17NT$.

The museum has 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks. The ticket you pay includes Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines and the Zhishan Garden.

Ningxia Night Market

Operating Hours: 17:00 to 01:00

Location: Ningxia Road, Taipei City

Entrance Fee: Free

How to get there: Take the Taipei Metro red line to Shuanglin Station. Go to exit 1 turn left and walk about 500 meters along Minsheng Road. In my case, the night market is a few steps away from my hotel. I love the food here and every dinner time I go here and eat.

There are a lot of night markets in Taipei to choose from. Ningxi night market is one of them. Other night markets like Shilin Night Market which is the most popular and touristy night market in Taipei. Raohe Night Market is one of the oldest night market in Taipei located in Songshan District. These three night markets are on the top of my list to visit in Taipei.

PLEASE CHECK MY OTHER TRAVEL BLOGS:

Bangkok - Roaming Around The City

Kaohsiung Taiwan Travel Tips