Photo: Chensiyuan, edit by DXR · CC BY-SA 4.03 Days in Taipei: Temples, Beef Noodles & Night Markets
Three days in Taipei for first-timers: Longshan Temple and old Wanhua on day one, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Yongkang Street eats on day two, and Taipei 101 plus the night markets — Raohe, Ningxia and Shilin — woven through every evening. The plan re-plans itself around your style, pace and budget, so the trip reads like your trip.
Pick a style, a budget and a pace — the route and days below re-plan themselves.
9 stops · 6 meals · 1 hotelThis is the editor’s pick.
3 days
Each day takes one part of Taipei, kept close so you walk more than you ride. The map shows the whole route — pick a day to zoom in.
The 1908 octagonal red-brick market hall anchors Ximending: creative shops, a theatre and a design market around it. Entry is generally free; a good meeting point before the neon streets.
Ximending's busiest Taiwanese diner: famous lu rou fan with a fried egg, oyster omelette and wok-hei turnip cake. The queue moves fast.
- Open 10:30 AM-10:30 PM, closed Mondays; lu rou fan with egg about NT$70.
A Ximending institution: silky mee sua with pig intestines in thick gravy, eaten standing on the street. Cash only, takeaway bowls only.
- Add the homemade chili sauce, black vinegar and garlic paste for the full flavor.
A red-brick Qing-dynasty street turned into heritage exhibition halls and art installations, minutes from Longshan Temple. Free entry, and it pairs naturally with a temple morning.
- Indoor halls Tue-Sun 9:00-18:00; closed Mondays.
Taipei's oldest temple, founded 1738. Buddhist, Taoist and folk shrines share one ornate roof, and the Guanyin icon in the main hall survived the 1945 bombing. Come in the morning, when the incense is thickest.
- Open daily 6:00-22:00; free admission.
- Start at Longshan Temple, then walk over to Bopiliao's heritage halls — they're 8 minutes apart and make one old-Taipei morning.
Worth the trip
Taiwan's oldest Western restaurant, founded 1934: French duck rice and old-school Western set meals in a registered historic building.
- Daily 10:00 AM-9:00 PM.
Closer: Mei Guan Yuan, 9 min out of your way
Cathay's reliable mid-range stay on Zhongxiao East Rd: 123 cozy rooms, a pillow menu and buffet breakfast. Steps from Shandao Temple MRT and Huashan 1914.
- 9.2/10 Expedia — top marks for breakfast, staff, and location.
The white-marble monument with the blue roof on Liberty Square: the hourly guard change, a museum and twin concert halls. A first-timer essential; go at opening to catch the first guard change.
- Changing of the guard runs on the hour, 9:00 to 17:00.
A family-run soup-dumpling shop by the memorial hall: juicy xiaolongbao, shrimp-pork potstickers and clams at canteen prices. Michelin Bib Gourmand.
- Open Sun-Thu 11:00 AM-10:00 PM, Fri-Sat to 11:00 PM.
- Walk off the memorial grounds to Hangzhou Xiaolongbao — juicy soup dumplings at canteen prices, 3 minutes away.
Yongkang Street's mango shaved-ice landmark: mango snowflake ice with mango cubes, mango ice cream and panna cotta. Huge portions — share.
- Daily about 10:00-22:30; mango snowflake ice around NT$275.
Taipei's famous food street: the 1963 beef noodle shop, dumplings, shaved ice and independent boutiques, all in a few blocks. The Yongkang Beef Noodles, original Din Tai Fung branch and Smoothie House are all on or near this street.
- Yongkang Beef Noodles, Din Tai Fung's original branch and Smoothie House are all on or near this street.
The 26-hectare 'lungs of Taipei': jogging loops, ponds, egrets and amphitheatre music right in the city center. Open 24 hours, free; the MRT station exits directly into the park.
- Walk Daan Forest Park's jogging loops, then cross to Yongkang for Smoothie House's mango snowflake ice.
Three-generation Shanghai dim sum on Yongkang Street, famous for pan-fried sheng jian bao, crab-shell pastries and soup dumplings.
- Open daily 11:00 AM-9:00 PM.
Stay put: ~14 min by subway back from Daan Forest Park tonight, ~20 min by subway to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in the morning.
The century-old danzai noodle institution from Tainan: the signature shrimp-pork noodles alongside classic Taiwanese dishes.
- Dine-in 11:00 AM-2:00 PM and 6:00-9:00 PM daily.
The monument to Dr. Sun Yat-sen with hourly guard-changing, exhibitions and Zhongshan Park's Lake Cui gardens. Free entry, and a calmer counterpoint to the CKS memorial.
- Open daily 9:00 AM-6:00 PM; entry free.
- After the memorial hall's hourly guard change, Du Hsiao Yueh's century-old danzai noodles are a 12-minute walk.
Taiwan's tallest building: the 89th-floor observatory, a 37-second elevator and the world's largest tuned mass damper. The view at dusk is the move.
- Open daily 10:00-21:00; last admission around 20:15.
A steep 20-minute stair climb to Six Giant Rocks and the classic Taipei 101 skyline viewpoint. Go for sunset and bring mosquito repellent.
- Trailhead by Xiangshan MRT Station Exit 2; open 24 hours, free.
Michelin Bib Gourmand beef noodles open till 2:30 AM — one of Taipei's most reliable late-night beef noodle counters.
- Open daily 11 AM to 2:30 AM.
Stay put: ~28 min by subway back from the Elephant Mountain hike tonight, ~20 min by subway to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in the morning.
Where to stay in Taipei
Ranked for first-timer travelers on a comfortable budget. The places this plan sleeps in come first.
Hotel Cozzi Zhongxiao Taipei
Cathay's reliable mid-range stay on Zhongxiao East Rd: 123 cozy rooms, a pillow menu and buffet breakfast. Steps from Shandao Temple MRT and Huashan 1914.
Folio Hotel Daan Taipei
A quirky 57-room art-filled boutique steps from Daan MRT: compact spotless rooms, complimentary breakfast and a gift shop, in a quiet lane off Xinyi Rd.
Just Sleep Ximending
143 compact designer rooms a minute from Ximen MRT: a famous pillow menu, an organic breakfast cafe and a 24-hour front desk.
Flights to Taipei
Fly into TPE (TPE)
Flight results via Travelpayouts — we may earn a commission on bookings.
Getting around Taipei
How to actually move around the city — transit, rideshare, bikes, and taxis.
Public transit
Taipei's MRT covers the whole city and the Airport MRT reaches Taoyuan International Airport from Taipei Main Station; buses fill in the gaps and an EasyCard works across all of it.
- Taipei MRT
Taipei's MRT is the fastest way across the city: fares are distance-based, roughly NT$20–65, and trains generally run from 6:00am to midnight. Tap an EasyCard or other IC card at the gates.
Tip: Buy an EasyCard (悠遊卡) at any MRT station — it also works on city buses and YouBike.
- Taoyuan Airport MRT
Links Taipei Main Station with Taoyuan International Airport in about 35 minutes for NT$160 one-way; EasyCard and iPASS are accepted. Purple Express trains make five stops en route, and express and stopping trains charge the same fare.
Tip: Catch the purple Express train at Taipei Main Station (A1); blue trains stop at every station.
Rideshare
Uber runs around the clock in Taipei, and its app can also hail a licensed metered taxi — handy late at night or with luggage.
- Uber
Uber operates in Taipei 24/7 with UberX and other ride options. The app can also request a licensed local taxi with metered pricing — useful late at night or for airport runs (about NT$1,396 on average to Taoyuan Airport).
Tip: Compare the Uber estimate with the 55688 Taiwan Taxi app at peak times; fares vary with demand.
Bikes
YouBike 2.0 docks are everywhere in the central city and cheap for short hops — ideal for the riverside paths and neighborhood rides.
- YouBike 2.0
Taipei's docked bikeshare charges NT$10 per 30 minutes for the first four hours, NT$20 per 30 minutes for hours 4–8, and NT$40 per 30 minutes after eight hours. Taipei City members get a NT$10 subsidy per rental, in effect since February 28, 2024.
Tip: Register an EasyCard with YouBike on the official site before your first ride.
Taxis
Metered yellow taxis are everywhere, regulated and inexpensive; hail one on the street, call 55688, or use the city's toll-free safe-taxi line.
- Taipei taxis
Yellow taxis are metered, plentiful and cheap by world standards: NT$85 starts the meter for the first 1.25 km, then NT$5 per 200 m (NT$5 per 60 seconds under 5 km/h), plus a NT$20 surcharge per trip from 11pm to 6am. Hail on the street, use the 55688 Taiwan Taxi app, or call the city's toll-free safe-taxi hotline 0800-055850.
Tip: Have your destination in Chinese characters handy — most drivers speak limited English.
Keep exploring
More itineraries for this trip.
- Photo: Chensiyuan, edit by DXR · CC BY-SA 4.05 days
5 Days in Taipei: Old Streets, Big Museums & Tea in the Hills
Five slow days in Taipei for deep divers: old Wanhua and Dadaocheng's historic streets first, then the National Palace Museum and the city's art museums, Taipei 101 and a gondola ride up to Maokong's tea houses, and Beitou's hot springs — with the night markets of Raohe, Ningxia and Shilin woven through every evening. The plan re-plans itself around your style, pace and budget, so the trip reads like your trip.
Read the itinerary → - Photo: Chensiyuan, edit by DXR · CC BY-SA 4.02 days
2 Days in Taipei: Taipei 101, Ximending & the Night Markets
A two-day Taipei weekend built around the city's greatest hits: ride up Taipei 101 and hike Elephant Mountain, wander Ximending's neon streets, and graze through Raohe and Shilin's night markets. Day two covers Dadaocheng's historic Dihua Street, Bao'an and Confucius temples, Yongkang Street's food crawl, and Beitou's hot springs. The plan re-plans itself around how you travel - your style, pace, and budget.
Read the itinerary →