City: Taipei
Top Things to do in Taipei
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Things to do in Taipei, Taiwan: The Best Points of Interest & Landmarks
You can eat very well—and very cheaply—in Taipei. The restaurants may not look posh, but the quality of the food is superlative. And there’s a huge variety of restaurants—in addition to local Taiwanese specialties, you’ll find regional cuisines from all over China, as well as great Indian, Japanese and even Italian options. Just make sure to leave some room for snacks—street-vendor food here is addictive.
Restaurants in Taipei
1. Iso House
2. Elephant Mountain (aka Nangang District Hiking Trail)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,294 reviews
Reviewed By 619jeffry - Essendon, Australia
Getting to Elephant Mountain is easy, just take the MRT Red Line to Xiangshan Station, which is the last stop, and take Exit 2. You will soon find the Elephant Mountain Trail (in Chinese, Xiang Shan means Elephant Mountain). The trail, also known as the Nangang District Hiking Trail, goes for around 1.5 kms (about 5000 feet). The mountain is 183 metres (600 feet) tall. You can get a good view of Taipei 101 from the mountain. Remember to take a drink and a snack, it is quite a strenuous walk.
3. Bishanyan Kaizhang Shengwang Temple
4. Xiaoyoukeng Recreation Area
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 90 reviews
Reviewed By maryyeo - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Tips to enjoy this place: 1) Book a private car especially if you want to walk less yet cover more spots on this Yangmingshan mountain national park. Car drop off point is only 50 metres to the viewing point of Xiaoyoukeng. 2) Be nerdy, read up in advance on Xiaoyoukeng, means "small oil pit" on Mt Qixing - highest point in Taipei at 1120 metres above sea level so from here, you'll be able to see the rest of the mountains. Great to plan this as a first stop and work your way down. Love reading the informative and clear information panels at the viewing points at this park. 3) If you're into geography and rock formations etc, the museum at nearby Lengshuikeng (not Xiaoyoukeng) Recreation Area is the one that displays and explains the different kinds of rocks and their formations, as well as the use of these fumes/ fumaroles. 4) Xiaoyoukeng is famous for the sulphur-dioxide 'yellow gas' emitting from the fumaroles on this volcano. Beware of some small ones along the footpath too. Super cool and ethereal sight, especially with the mountain full of silver grass. One of favourite wedding photoshoot spots. Also because the famous Sun Yanzi shot her 天黑黑Cloudy Day MTV here. 5) Check the weather before going. Best to visit on clear sunny summer days and avoid cloudy winter days. But you never know, we visited on 11th November, the beginning of winter and the day was extremely clear! It could be just a tolerable 15 degrees celsius but the winds will send the chills down your spine. Bring wind breaker jackets.
5. TAIPEI 101 Observatory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,565 reviews
Reviewed By 619jeffry - Essendon, Australia
Taipei 101 was once the tallest building in the world. From the Observatory you can see most of northern Taiwan, it's quite spectacular -- it's still the tallest building in Taiwan. Take your time to look around. By the way, the elevator will whisk you from the ground level to the top in a matteer of minutes.
6. Liberty Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 135 reviews
Reviewed By jamesc898989 - Burnaby, Canada
More interesting during the day, but beautiful at night as well. Could go for a nice walk in the area.
7. U-mkt
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 21 reviews
Xinfu Market was established in 1935, and has been designated as the historical site of Taipei City in 2006. Once restored by Taipei City Market Administration Office, JUT GROUP gains 9-year right of management and renews the design of the market. JUT foundation is entrusted to manage the market and let it to be part of its Project UrbanCore. From 2017 on, U-mkt—named after the distinct U-shaped form of Xinfu Market—has been endowed with the honor to be the base for the studies of traditional market culture and everyday life, and the platform to boost up the public participation concerning rebirth of old town.
8. Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 7,650 reviews
Sixty-two landscaped acres of gardens and walkways surround this marble and tile landmark building.
Reviewed By OrderintheHouse
If your time is short in Taipei, like it was for my wife and I on our 6 day Wendy Wu private tour of Taiwan in January 2020, you must make sure that if you visit nothing else in Taipei, you visit the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Park. We were so grateful that our private guide included a visit here as an added extra before we left Taipei for our travel to Taroko Gorge. The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is located in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei. It is an imposing memorial erected as a pyramid as a lasting tribute to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese nationalist politician, revolutionary and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China between 1928 and 1975, first in mainland China until 1949 and then in Taiwan until his death. The memorial stands in the centre of a 25 hectare park housing three large buildings: the Memorial Hall, the National Theatre and the National Concert Hall and it also incorporates Liberty Square, a popular place not only for mass gatherings and protests but also for outdoor concerts, festivals and public exhibitions. Entry into the park is through an ornate archway gate. The gardens are beautifully landscaped and well kept. The four sided, white, 76 metre high Memorial hall was opened in 1980 and constructed using Taiwanese marble. The roof is blue and is in the shape of an octagon. There are two sets of stairs leading to the Memorial Hall each with 89 steps representing each year of Chiang Kai-Shek’s life. Once we walked up the stairs to the main entrance of the hall we stood in front of an impressive doorway which when opened, brought us into the large shrine room where a large bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek stood before us. It was in this hall where we witnessed the solemn daily changing of the guard ceremony which occurs on the hour 9 times in the day from 9 am to 5 pm. This was a ceremonial exercise of great military precision. Visitors are asked to remain silent throughout this ritual and I am pleased to advise that everyone present when we were there appeared to observe this practice, which was very pleasing. It was good that our guide organised our visit here early in the morning because later in the day it often gets crowded when many locals visit the place. After the solemn changing of the guard ceremony we were taken to the impressive Exhibition Hall to view important aspects of Chiang Kai-shek’s life and his achievements in Taiwan. We were able to view with great interest many artifacts and memorabilia left by the great man’s Estate. These included, among other things, his uniforms, medals and even his Cadillac State cars. There were also many historic photos to view showing his influence on other world leaders of his time and of his family life. In a section of the hall there was even a replica of his office where he made his important decisions. The various exhibits on display were very well presented and well spaced out and had good easy to read descriptions and captions. The exhibition is a credit to the staff members who maintain the collections. At the end of our visit we felt we had learnt more about the life and times of Chiang Kai-shek and the influence he had on Taiwan and the world during his time as President than we knew before we arrived. This knowledge was invaluable as we continued our travels through Taiwan over the next 5 days given the important role this man played in Taiwan’s modern history. This is an attraction in Taipei to educate and inspire and one which should not be missed.
9. Huaining Street
10. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,120 reviews
Reviewed By PaulSiow - Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
We took the metro to the Sun Yat Sen station which is just outside the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. He is widely recognised as the father of modern China and was a physician. Inside the hall you can learn more about his contributions and some history on the founding of modern China. We also watched the changing of the guards in front of his statue inside the hall. The building is designed in the Chinese architecturial style and the grounds outside is big and well kept, like the CKS memorial park.
