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Grand Hyatt Taipei, Taipei

Things to do guide

The best things to do in Taipei

Updated 7 October 2026 · 16 things to do

Pictured: Grand Hyatt Taipei

Taipei is one of Asia's most likeable capitals, and one of its most underrated. It does not have the swagger of Tokyo or Hong Kong. What it has instead is warmth: smoky temples on street corners, night markets that feed the whole city, steaming hot springs at the end of a metro line, and people who will walk you to your destination rather than point.

It is also ringed by green mountains, so a forest trail or a hillside tea house is never more than a short ride away. Come hungry. The eating here, from soup dumplings to pepper buns to the drink the world now calls bubble tea, is reason enough for the flight.

Don't miss

  1. 1Taipei 101
  2. 2National Palace Museum
  3. 3Shilin Night Market
  4. 4Elephant Mountain
  5. 5Jiufen

The big sights

  1. Taipei 101

    Landmark

    Taipei 101 tower at sunset
    Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0

    For several years the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 rises in eight stacked segments like a giant stalk of bamboo. High-speed lifts shoot you to the observatory, where you can also see the enormous golden damper ball that steadies the tower in typhoons and earthquakes.

    The Xinyi district at its foot is the city's smartest, full of department stores, restaurants and bars.

  2. National Palace Museum

    Museum

    The National Palace Museum in Taipei
    Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 3.0

    One of the world's great collections of Chinese art, built up by emperors over centuries and brought to Taiwan in the 1940s. There is far too much to see in one visit: bronzes, jades, porcelain, paintings and calligraphy spanning thousands of years. The crowd favourite is a piece of jadeite carved into a perfect cabbage.

    Tip: Go first thing or late in the afternoon to avoid the tour groups.

  3. Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

    Landmark

    Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei
    Photo: AngMoKio, CC BY-SA 3.0

    A monumental white hall with a blue octagonal roof, standing at the end of a vast square flanked by the National Theatre and National Concert Hall. Inside sits a huge bronze statue of the former leader, watched over by guards whose slow-motion changing ceremony draws a crowd.

  4. Longshan Temple

    Landmark

    The main hall of Longshan Temple in Taipei
    Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0

    Founded in the eighteenth century in Wanhua, the oldest part of the city, this is Taipei's best-loved temple. Dragons writhe along the roof, incense drifts through the courtyards and worshippers toss crescent-shaped blocks to ask the gods a question. It is busiest, and most atmospheric, in the evening.

Night markets and food

Taipei eats late, and it eats outdoors.

  1. Shilin Night Market

    Market

    Shilin Night Market in Taipei
    Photo: Exec8, CC BY-SA 4.0

    The biggest and most famous night market in Taipei is a maze of lanes north of the centre, crammed with food stalls, clothes shops and fairground games. Try a fried chicken cutlet the size of your face, oyster omelette and, if you dare, stinky tofu, which tastes far better than it smells.

  2. Raohe Street Night Market

    Market

    The west entrance of Raohe Street Night Market
    Photo: Chung Shao Tung, CC BY-SA 2.0

    A single long street beginning beside the ornate Ciyou Temple, which makes it easier to tackle than Shilin. The queue at the entrance is for black pepper buns, baked on the walls of a clay oven until the crust blisters. Join it.

  3. Xiao long bao

    Food

    Xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung
    Photo: Wpcpey, CC BY 4.0

    Soup dumplings: thin pleated wrappers holding minced pork and a spoonful of hot broth. They came from the Shanghai region, but Taipei's Din Tai Fung made them famous around the world. Lift one on to a spoon, nibble a hole, sip the soup, then eat.

  4. Beef noodle soup and bubble tea

    Food

    Beef noodle soup is Taiwan's comfort food: slow-braised beef and thick wheat noodles in a dark, aromatic broth, sold at countless small shops. Follow it with bubble tea, the milky iced tea with chewy tapioca pearls that was invented in Taiwan and is sold on every block.

Neighbourhoods to wander

  1. Ximending

    Neighbourhood

    The pedestrianised youth district, all neon signs, street performers, sneaker shops and snack stalls. It is where Taipei's teenagers come to hang out, and it stays lively late. The octagonal Red House, a brick market building from the Japanese era, anchors one corner.

  2. Dihua Street

    Neighbourhood

    Historic shophouse facades along Dihua Street
    Photo: This Photo was taken by Supanut Arunoprayote. Feel free to use any of my images,, CC BY 4.0

    The oldest street in the city runs through the Dadaocheng district near the river. Its restored shophouses, with arcades below and ornate facades above, still sell dried mushrooms, Chinese medicine, tea and fabric, now alongside design shops and cafés. It is at its most frantic before Lunar New Year.

Hills and hot springs

  1. Elephant Mountain

    Nature

    The Taipei skyline and Taipei 101 seen from Elephant Mountain
    Photo: David Hsieh from Guatemala, CC BY 2.0

    The classic view of Taipei, with Taipei 101 standing head and shoulders above everything else, is from the Xiangshan trail on the edge of Xinyi. It is a short, steep climb of stone steps through the trees to a set of viewing platforms and boulders. Sunset is the popular time, for good reason.

    Tip: Take water and allow longer than you expect: the steps are relentless in the humidity.

  2. Beitou Hot Springs

    Activity

    Steam rising from Thermal Valley in Beitou
    Photo: Andrewhaimerl, CC BY-SA 4.0

    A hot-spring district within the city, reachable on the metro. The Japanese developed it as a spa resort, and their legacy includes a handsome old bathhouse that is now a museum. Steam billows off the jade-coloured pool of Thermal Valley, and there are public baths and hotel spas for a soak.

  3. Maokong

    Nature

    A gondola climbs from beside Taipei Zoo over forested hills to Maokong, a tea-growing area dotted with tea houses. Order a pot of the local oolong, settle on a terrace and watch the city lights come on in the distance. It is a gentle half day that suits all ages.

Day trips

  1. Jiufen

    Day trip

    Jiufen Old Street
    Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0

    An old gold-mining town clinging to a mountainside above the north-east coast. Its steep stairways and narrow lanes are hung with red lanterns and lined with tea houses and snack shops selling taro ball desserts. It is very busy at weekends, and still charming once the day trippers thin out.

  2. Shifen

    Day trip

    A train and sky lanterns at Shifen Old Street
    Photo: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0

    A small town on the old Pingxi railway line, where the track runs straight down the main street between the shops. Visitors come to paint wishes on paper sky lanterns and release them, and to see Shifen Waterfall, a broad curtain of water a walk away. It combines easily with Jiufen.

  3. Yehliu Geopark

    Day trip

    A cape on the north coast where the sea and wind have carved the sandstone into mushroom rocks, honeycombs and candle shapes. The most famous formation, the Queen's Head, is said to resemble a profile in a tall headdress. It is exposed, so bring a hat or a raincoat as the day demands.

Where to stay in Taipei

Not sure which area suits you? Read our guide: Where to stay in Taipei →

Getting around

The MRT metro is clean, cheap, signed in English and reaches almost every sight in this guide, including Beitou and Elephant Mountain. Pick up an EasyCard and use it on buses and the gondola too. You do not need a car; buses, trains and tours cover the day trips.

When to go

Autumn is the most comfortable season, with warm days and less rain. Spring is mild but can be wet. Summers are hot and humid, and it is typhoon season. Winters are cool, grey and often drizzly rather than cold.

Questions about visiting Taipei

What is Taipei best known for?
Taipei 101, the National Palace Museum, night markets such as Shilin and Raohe, soup dumplings and bubble tea, and the hot springs at Beitou.
How many days do you need in Taipei?
Three to four days: two for the city's sights, markets and food, one for Beitou or Maokong, and one for a day trip to Jiufen and Shifen.
Is Taipei worth visiting?
Yes. It is friendly, safe, easy to get around and has some of the best street food in Asia, with mountains and coast close by.
What is there to do in Taipei with kids?
The Maokong Gondola and Taipei Zoo, releasing a lantern at Shifen, the observatory at Taipei 101 and the games and snacks of the night markets all work well with children.

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