Penghu Islands
This large, family-friendly experience is home to an engrossing collection of living sea life, from a rescued three-legged turtle and magical family of…
Must-see attractions in Taiwan
Hualien
Built in 2000, this gigantic temple-cum-performance venue has a simple yet striking, white-and-grey exterior. At its tallest point, the building is…
Tainan
This horticultural Eden is a home with a fantastical garden overrun with plants, and seeds, seeds, seeds – some 500 species, most endemic to southern…
Chiayi
Ming Yuan was a pharmacy; now it's a shrine to Taiwan's indigenous flora. Owner Mr Tsai has managed to cram every corner of the tiny shop with unusual…
National Museum of Taiwan Literature
Tainan
This serious and excellent museum details the development of Taiwanese literature from the time of the pre-Han indigenous peoples to the modern era…
Northern Taiwan
The only Taoist temple on the mountain, Quanhua Temple (c 1897) is dedicated to the Jade Emperor. The elaborate main hall is built into a recess in the…
Kinmen
Blasted out of solid granite by soldiers in the 1960s, this V-shaped arc of sea tunnels was designed to protect boats from bombs during the war years…
Taipei
This graceful memorial to the victims of the 2-28 Incident is housed in a beautiful Japanese building dating back to 1931. The excellent permanent…
Taipei
Oxford College was the first western university in Taiwan and founded by Presbyterian missionary George Leslie Mackay. The original building, built in…
Taipei
Dating back to 1661, this gawdy, grand, massive multistorey temple (one of Taipei's oldest) is built right into the side of a mountain. In fact, a 100m…
Penghu Islands
Penghu's most photographed icon is a double hoop of stone walls linked to breakwaters in an ocean bay. Built with narrow openings, they were designed to…
Chiayi
This is the spiritual centre of Chiayi and is dedicated to the City God. First constructed in 1715, many of the best parts of the temple hail from a 1941…
Western Taiwan
Located 2km south of Changhua Train Station, this remarkable temple is one of the stops on the Mazu Pilgrimage. The distinctive character of the complex…
Tainan
Cafes, art galleries, fashion boutiques and B&Bs have flowered in the hub of Tainan's former Five Canals area, taking full advantage of the long, narrow,…
Kinmen
Also known as Jiugong Tunnel (九宮坑道), this four-entrance network of wide sea tunnels was blasted out of the gneiss in the 1960s to provide bomb shelters…
Tainan
In focus here is Koji pottery that is used to embellish roof ridges and walls by sculptor Ye Wang (1826–87). The first such artist to be born in Taiwan …
Taipei
Built in 1913 as the Beitou Public Baths, this handsome building is a copy of the bathhouses in Shizuokaken Idouyama in Japan. It is also a good example…
Matsu
At a towering 28.8m, this serene 2009 statue is said to be the world's tallest image of the sea goddess Matsu (Mazu). As well as facilitating many a 'See…
Shuitou Village
Built in 1931, this is Kinmen's most famous 'western' building thanks to the 11m-tall gun tower in its yard, erected to ward off (or at least spot)…
Taipei
Throughout the Japanese era this geothermal valley was considered one of Taiwan's great scenic wonders. The area has been much altered since, so it isn't…
Nantou County
Don’t miss this superb museum adjacent to the main Chung Tai Chan Temple; it is a fabulous showcase of Buddhist artefacts dated as early as AD 386.
Pingtung County
One of Taiwan's most iconic landmarks, Vase Rock, close to the pier, is a 9m-tall block of coral-limestone with a large head and a tapering body. It's…
Penghu Islands
In the west coast fishing village of Zhongshe, over 130 small, traditional houses survive, most tightly packed in two photogenic huddles. Made of local…
Taipei
Set in a restored heritage house at the top end of Dihua St is this permanent exhibition showcasing the history of Taiwanese 'comfort women' – sex slaves…
Penghu Islands
Magong's cute if minuscule historic heart is a forked alley of old-style shops directly east of the Tianhou (Matsu) Temple.
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Taichung
Taiwan's top fine-art museum features the works of both established and upcoming Taiwanese artists, as well as famous foreign creators such as Japanese …
Taroko National Park
This 18km marble-walled gorge is Taroko National Park's crown jewel. It's a must-see attraction whether you're hiking its trails, peering at its…
Nantou County
It's not hard to see why a 1986 rockslide that killed 28 visitors closed Taichi Gorge to the public for over two decades. The precipitously high, narrow…
Northern Taiwan
This 63.9 sq km expanse of mixed forest holds one of the largest stands of ancient red hinoki cypress trees left in Taiwan. The most ancient of the…
Nantou County
Huisun Forest Reserve, home to Taiwan's largest old-growth forest, not only offers lovely, negative-ion-filled hiking trails; it's a one-stop site for…
Taroko National Park
Nearing completion at the time of research, a breathtaking new suspension footbridge at Bulowan will soon cross the gorge, dizzyingly high above the river…
Northern Taiwan
Admire the works of Taiwan's best-known contemporary sculptor, Ju Ming (1938–), at this museum and open-air sculpture park. Ju Ming has works strewn all…
Tainan
Taiwan's eighth national park, Taijiang covers a patchwork of coastal lands north of Anping Harbour. The 50 sq km of land and 340 sq km of sea include…
Tainan
Built in 1666 by the son of Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga),Taiwan's first Confucian temple and official school is quiet, dignified and coloured…
Taipei
Constructed by the famous Fujian craftsman Wang Yi-shun in the late 1920s, this temple is a beautiful example of Minnan-style architecture and of Taiwan's…
Northern Taiwan
This captivating volcanic islet, 10km off the coast of Yilan, is less than 3km long yet rises up to 398m. Once supporting a population of 750 people, the…
Western Taiwan
The Baguashan slopes were for centuries a military observation zone. The area affords views over the whole city and far out to sea. It’s a pleasant place…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
The area known as the Gaotai is a hill which rises fairly abruptly above Luye, surveying the surrounding green mountain ridges in all directions. For most…
Northern Taiwan
The centre of religious life in Sansia, the Tzushr Temple honours Qingshui Tsu-Sze, a Song-dynasty general worshipped by the people of Anxi, Fujian, for…
Manyueyuan Forest Recreation Area
Northern Taiwan
Once you get past the paved waterfall trails in this scenic park 20km southeast of Sansia, you reach natural hikes that climb for hours through sweet…
