Taipei walking tour & city guide

Old Taipei and the new city

The west of the city is old Taipei. Longshan Temple, founded in the 18th century, is busy with worshippers from early morning; nearby Bopiliao preserves a street of Qing-era shophouses, and Dihua Street is lined with traditional shops selling dried goods, tea and herbs, especially lively before Lunar New Year. Ximending, a few minutes away, is the city's pedestrian youth district of fashion stores, street performers and snack stalls.

To the east, Xinyi is modern Taipei: department stores, wide plazas linked by skywalks and Taipei 101, once the world's tallest building, with an observatory near the top. Between the two, the vast Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and its square are flanked by the National Theater and Concert Hall.

A classic walk: Xinyi and Elephant Mountain

Start in the afternoon at Taipei 101 and walk through the Xinyi shopping district and its skywalks. From there, it is a short walk to the trailhead of Elephant Mountain, where a steep stairway climbs for about twenty minutes to viewpoints facing Taipei 101 head-on. Stay for sunset, as the tower and the city light up below.

Come back down and take the metro to one of the night markets for dinner: Raohe Street, a single long lane of stalls by the river, or the sprawling Shilin Night Market, the city's largest.

Good to know

October to December and March to May are the most comfortable months; summer is hot and humid, with typhoons possible from July to September. An EasyCard covers the metro, buses and convenience-store purchases. Day trips are easy: the hillside old town of Jiufen, the hot springs of Beitou on the metro, and the gondola up to Maokong's tea plantations.