Lungshan Temple
45 minutesFujian settlers founded this temple to honour Guanyin, and later halls brought in Mazu, Guan Yu and other folk deities under the same roof. It stays open daily from 06:00 to 22:00. Ximending is a 17 minute walk north.
Things to do in Taipei
Known for
Steaming night markets, incense-filled temples and the skylines
Must-see landmarks
Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and Lungshan Temple
Best time to visit
October and November, after typhoon season and before winter's rain
Days needed
Three to four days
The one day route through Taipei
Ximending
45 minutesTaipei's pedestrianised youth quarter keeps its neon energy through arcades, boutiques and street food stalls, with cars barred from its lanes at weekends and on public holidays. Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a 26 minute walk east, or a short MRT ride.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
1.5 hoursCompleted in 1980, the 70 metre hall anchors a 25 hectare park of gardens and ponds behind Liberty Square. A drill team performs hourly on Democracy Boulevard in front of the steps, daily from 09:00 to 17:00, since the ceremony moved out of the statue room in July 2024. The red line runs directly to Xiangshan for Elephant Mountain.
Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan)
1 hourA steep flight of steps climbs Xiangshan to the Six Giant Rocks, boulders that frame the classic view over the Xinyi skyline. Arrive before sunset to watch Taipei 101 catch the evening light as the district switches on its lights below. Taipei 101 itself is a 9 minute walk downhill.
Taipei 101
1.5 hoursThe 101-storey tower has anchored the Xinyi skyline since 2004, its tapering profile built to resemble a stalk of bamboo. The mall at its base is free to browse, while a separate ticket rides the lift up to the 89th floor observatory, 382 metres above the streets, now lit for the night.
Other must-see attractions in Taipei
- National Palace Museum displays Chinese imperial art, from bronzes and jade to Song and Qing dynasty ceramics, on a hillside site in Shilin north of the centre.
- Shilin Night Market fills the streets around Jiantan station with food stalls, arcade games and clothing vendors every evening, its basement food court and grilled skewers drawing some of the biggest night market crowds in the city.
- Maokong Gondola carries cable cars from the Taipei Zoo up into the hillside tea plantations of Maokong, some cabins fitted with glass floors, for views back over the Xinyi skyline and tea houses serving the local Tieguanyin brew.
- Beitou sits at the MRT line's northern end around a valley of sulphurous hot springs, where the restored 1913 public bathhouse now holds the free Beitou Hot Spring Museum, and newer bathhouses still draw on the same mineral water.
- Dihua Street runs through Dadaocheng lined with 19th and early 20th century shopfronts, its merchants still selling dried herbs, tea and New Year goods from the storefronts that made the district's fortune.
- National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall opened in 1972 to honour the Republic of China founding father, its Chinese-style roofline framing a plaza used for kite flying and dance practice, with an auditorium that hosts ticketed performances.
- Da'an Forest Park gives central Taipei a wide patch of green, a mix of ponds, jogging paths and a stage used for concerts, prized by residents as a quiet break from the surrounding Da'an and Zhongzheng districts.
- Yangmingshan National Park rings the city's north with dormant volcanic peaks, sulphur vents and the hydrangea fields around Zhuzihu, which draw crowds when the terraces turn blue, pink and purple.
What to do in Taipei for free
Lungshan Temple
The Qing dynasty temple costs nothing to enter, and its courtyards stay open from 06:00 to 22:00 daily. Watching the incense rituals at any of the halls is free; paying for lamps or amulets is entirely optional.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The park, the hall and its permanent Flowers of Freedom exhibition cost nothing to visit; temporary special exhibitions charge their own separate ticket. The park stays open from 05:00 to 24:00, well beyond the hall itself, which closes at 18:00.
Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan)
Climbing the steps to the Six Giant Rocks costs nothing and the trail never closes, so the quietest light for photos of the Xinyi skyline comes at dawn, before the sunset crowds gather for the same view.
Ximending
Browsing the covered lanes, murals and street performers near Ximen station costs nothing at all; spending only starts once a shop, a photo booth or a food stand catches the eye. Cars disappear from the core every weekend, when buskers and cosplay meet-ups fill the main plaza.
Taipei 101
The mall at the tower's base is free to browse and to admire the building from inside; a separate ticket rides the lift up to the 89th floor observatory and the outdoor Skyline 460 deck.
National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
The exhibition halls and the plaza outside cost nothing to visit; ticketed performances inside the auditorium charge their own admission. Locals use the surrounding gardens for kite flying and evening dance practice at no cost.
Da'an Forest Park
This inner-city park is free and never gated, its ponds, lawns and jogging paths open around the clock for anyone passing through central Da'an.
228 Peace Memorial Park
The park of ponds, arched bridges and walking paths costs nothing to enter and stays open around the clock; the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum inside charges its own separate admission.
Beitou Hot Spring Museum
The restored 1913 bathhouse that gave Beitou's hot spring valley its start is free to tour, its Tudor-style hall and old soaking pool open to visitors at no charge; the newer public baths nearby charge their own fee.
Why Taipei is worth visiting
Taipei's character comes from layering, not from any single era. A Qing dynasty market town became Taiwan's provincial capital in 1887, was remade under five decades of Japanese rule after 1895, and was remade again after 1945 when the Kuomintang government relocated from mainland China and the city absorbed a wave of refugees. Temple courtyards, colonial era rail buildings and utilitarian postwar apartment blocks all still stand within a few minutes of each other, ringed by the volcanic hills of the Taipei Basin.
Neighbourhoods to know
Wanhua, one of the city's earliest settled districts, keeps Lungshan Temple and Ximending's pedestrian lanes. Zhongzheng holds the government quarter around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and 228 Peace Memorial Park. Datong's Dihua Street trades dried goods from old Qing era shopfronts, while glass towers rise around Taipei 101 in Xinyi. Shilin pairs the National Palace Museum with its night market, and Beitou's hot spring valley sits at the MRT network's northern end.
When to go and for how long
Autumn brings Taipei's driest, most comfortable weather, while the typhoon season runs from late spring into early autumn. Winters stay mild but grey and damp, and summer heat and humidity can feel far hotter than the thermometer shows. Three to four days cover the main temples, markets and viewpoints at an easy pace.
Getting around
The MRT network reaches almost every attraction in this guide. An EasyCard, tapped at gates rather than bought per ride, covers the metro and buses, and night markets and hillside trails all sit within a short ride of the centre.