Taipei
Recommended Tours

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Tour One: Central Focal Points

On the weekends and holidays, a great place to start the morning is with some bargaining at the Jian Guo Jade and Flower Market held under the overpass at corner of Ren Ai and Jian Guo roads. The MRT (Ta An station) will put you nearby, one block west is Jian Guo Road. Although the quality of many items may not be the best, the quantity is impressive. Begin your walk at the Jade Market on Ren Ai Road and continue through the Flower Market to Hsin Yi Road.

From Hsin Yi Road, catch the #22 bus going west to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall to visit the magnificent grounds of the memorial or National Concert Hall or the National Theater. This is one of the favorite gathering areas of local Taiwanese and foreigners alike. As you stroll past people flying kites and roller blading, try to make your way by the pond stocked with Japanese koi and up the stairs of the blue-topped memorial building. If you are there on the hour, you can observe the ornate change of guard.

If you walk about one block north of the National Taiwan University Hospital on Zhong Shan South Road, the Chinese Handicraft Market is on the next corner. While this shop has a nondescript exterior, inside there are four floors full of every kind of handicraft imaginable. This is a terrific place to purchase small gifts to take home.

The late afternoon is a great time to taxi your way to the Di Hua Street Traditional Market. Items found here include all sorts of bulk dried fruits, candies, and beautifully carved moon cake molds.

Making your way back south by taxi to the Taipei Train Station will put you next to the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi building the top floor of which is the Shin Kong Observatory. After an elevator ride to the 46th floor, a spectacular view of Taipei awaits you - sunset over Taipei.

If you have enough energy left, an unusual way to end your evening is with a walk through the twists of 華西街 , a mix of snake blood vendors and tourist kitsch. The popular 龍山寺 is also in the vicinity.

Tour Two: The Northern Trek

Whether you feel like going through the museum or not, a relaxing way to start out the morning is to walk the park grounds adjacent to the 故宮博物院. The grounds have numerous sculptures, open-air pavilions, and carp ponds with koi.

If you still want more gardens to wander, you can make your way back to Shi Lin district's Zhong Shan North Road to visit the grounds of the Former Estate of Chiang Kai-shek<. While entering the building is not yet possible, you can stroll around the surrounding grounds.

From Shi Lin, it is only a 20-minute MRT ride to the Tamshui station, from which the Spanish Fort San Domingo is about a mile north. After visiting the fort and touring the consul's residence, wander through the streets of this small fishing/college town.


On your way back toward Taipei proper, the Shi Pai station, combined with Bus #19 will place you directly in the expatriate Tien Mu shopping haven. Prices range from cheap to affordable, and the selection is comparable to the Women's Market in Hong Kong.

If hungry, Tien Mu dining offers French, Thai, Italian, Zhejiang and Japanese cuisine and more. If you can wait a bit longer, however, a five-minute ride on the MRT to the Shihlin station will place you at the beginning of the Shi Lin Night Market. From eight or nine in the evening on, this market, one of the largest and oldest markets in Taipei, becomes a bustling hubbub of activity. Traditional Taiwanese foods, clothing items, mazhong sets, and bamboo souvenirs are among the items found here.

When your energy is flagging, but you don't want to call it a night, taking the MRT to the Hsin Bei Tou station followed by a short taxi ride will take you to one of many hot springs where you can soak your day's pain away.

Tour Three: The Southern Expanse

Start by taking the MRT to Mu Zha where you can get off at the Taipei Zoo station and visit the Taipei City Zoo. After the zoo, continue on to the Mu Zha MRT station. From there, a quick taxi ride or bus ride will take you to Wen Shan and the Mu Zha Tea Park. This area makes for a nice stroll, but even better are the teahouses (such as Yao Yue) where you can spend some time sipping locally grown Chinese tea, staring at the clouds floating through the valleys, and chatting with friends.

While in the area, if feeling adventurous, the Zhinan Temple that can be seen off in the distance is one of the largest in the area, but is also quite a hike to reach.

On your way back into Taipei by MRT, stop at the Kung Kuan station to visit National Taiwan University. The grounds of the university are beautiful with its tall palms, wide roads, flowering bushes and Japanese architecture. On the other side is Gong Guan and a plethora of shopping and eating options catering to the university crowd.

If this is not really up your alley, try finishing off your evening with a stroll around the Zhong Xiao-Dun Hua area of town where the continuum of restaurant after restaurant is broken up only by coffee shops, KTV palaces, shopping plazas, and bars.