Must-see attractions in Taipei

  • Palace Museum at night

    National Palace Museum

    Shilin

    Home to the world's largest and arguably finest collection of Chinese art, this vast hoard covers treasures in painting, calligraphy, statuary, bronzes,…

  • 500px Photo ID: 132008549 - A Dragon and a Phoenix (Fenghuang  fènghuáng / 凤凰 / 鳳凰 or August Rooster kūnjī / 鹍鸡 / 鶤雞) on the roof of Mengjia Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺 nee Lungshan Temple) in Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan. Golden Hour, dramatic clouds in background. Temple is of Chinese folk religion.

    Longshan Temple

    Ximending & Wanhua

    Founded in 1738 by Han immigrants from Fujian, this temple has served as a municipal, guild and self-defence centre, as well as a house of worship. These…

  • Stairway at Dihua Street Market

    Dihua Street

    Taipei

    This former 'Centre Street' has long been known for its Chinese medicine shops, fabric market and lively Lunar New Year sundry market. It has attracted…

  • Taipei 101 Tower

    Taipei 101

    Xinyi

    Towering above the city like the gigantic bamboo stalk it was designed to resemble, Taipei 101 is impossible to miss. At 508m, Taipei 101 held the title…

  • National Human Rights Museum

    Taipei

    This former detention centre, court and jail was where political prisoners were incarcerated and tried during the White Terror period (1947–87). The…

  • Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall

    Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

    Taipei

    This grandiose monument to authoritarian leader Chiang Kai-shek is a popular attraction and rightly so. It is a sobering feeling to stand in the massive…

  • City street with green house with ivies under blue sky in daytime in Huashan Creative Park, Taipei, Taiwan, Asia.; Shutterstock ID 78818179; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: Digital Content/Sights

    Huashan 1914 Creative Park

    Taipei

    Borrowing from western urban-regeneration models, this early-20th-century wine factory has been restored as Taipei's most retro-chic venue. Remodelled…

  • Magnificent  "Baoan" temple in Taiwan; Shutterstock ID 28079899; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Bao'an Temple

    Taipei

    Recipient of a Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for both its restoration and its revival of temple rites and festivities, Bao'an Temple (also called…

  • Zhongshan Hall in Taipei city

    Zhongshan Hall

    Ximending & Wanhua

    This handsome four-storey building, constructed in 1936 for the coronation of Emperor Hirohito, is where the Japanese surrender ceremony was held in…

  • Taiwan, Taipei, Shilin night market

    Shilin Night Market

    Shilin

    Taipei's most famous night market is hugely popular with travellers – and many young locals – who come to enjoy the carnival of street-side snacking,…

  • Hobe Fort

    Taipei

    About 1km beyond Fort San Domingo on Zhongzheng Rd is the turn-off for Hobe Fort, built in 1886 when then governor Liu Ming-Chuan was attempting to shore…

  • Treasure Hill

    Taipei

    Head down to the river from the Museum of Drinking Water, turn left, and you'll soon come across this charming art village. It was founded in the late…

  • National 2-28 Memorial Museum

    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…

  • Oxford College

    Taipei

    Oxford College was the first western university in Taiwan and founded by Presbyterian missionary George Leslie Mackay. The original building, built in…

  • Guandu Temple

    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…

  • Beitou Hot Spring Museum

    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…

  • Thermal Valley

    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…

  • Ama Museum

    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…

  • Taipei Confucius Temple

    Taipei Confucius Temple

    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…

  • Qingshan Temple

    Ximending & Wanhua

    Along with Longshan, this elegant temple, first built in 1856, is one of Wanhua's top houses of worship. There is an abundance of top-quality wood, stone…

  • Land Bank Exhibition Hall

    Taipei

    Evolution is the theme at this museum, set in a 1930s former bank: evolution of life, evolution of money and banking, and evolution of the bank from the…

  • Maokong Gondola

    Taipei

    This 4km-long, 30-minute gondola ride is as much an attraction as a mode of transport. On clear days and nights the views across Taipei and up the lush…

  • Yinshan Temple

    Taipei

    This dainty two-hall temple was constructed in 1822 by Hakka immigrants from Guangdong province. The resident deity, the Dingguang Buddha (the guardian of…

  • Tianhou Temple

    Ximending & Wanhua

    This small, atmospheric temple appears from the outside as a narrow, elaborate shopfront in the Ximending area. But walk through the gate and you'll find…

  • Botanical Gardens

    Taipei

    An oasis in the city, this 8-hectare park has well-stocked greenhouses, literature- and Chinese-zodiac-themed gardens, a lotus pond and myriad lanes where…

  • Su Ho Paper Museum

    Taipei

    Fulfilling the lifelong dream of Taiwanese paper-maker Chen Su-ho, this stylish four-storey museum displays a working traditional paper mill and temporary…

  • Tamsui Cultural Park

    Taipei

    This handsome and serene collection of old brick warehouses, just behind Tamsui MRT on the riverside, was once the Shell Tamsui Warehouse: as in Royal…

  • Songshan Cultural & Creative Park

    Xinyi

    Set in a former tobacco factory (or more accurately an industrial village) from the 1930s, this lovely park is part lush gardens, part frog-filled lake,…

  • Puji Temple

    Taipei

    This Japanese-style wooden temple was built in 1905 and is dedicated to Guanyin. It's home to a couple of nuns and is beautifully preserved. Check out the…

  • Cixian Temple

    Shilin

    Dedicated to the worship of Matsu, this 1927 reconstruction of the original 1864 design sits at ground central for Shilin Night Market. It's worth a visit…

  • Ciyou Temple

    Songshan

    This 18th-century triple-tiered temple is dedicated to Matsu, the black-faced Chinese goddess of seafarers. It marks the start of the Raohe Street Night…

  • Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei

    Taipei

    Very bright, very modern, and often fun and very experimental art is showcased here. The long red-brick building dates back to the 1920s. It started life…

  • Longshan Temple

    Taipei

    Longshan Temple is one of five Longshans in Taipei, and as such is devoted to the Guanyin Buddha. Built in 1738 and then rebuilt in the 1850s, the temple…

  • Minsheng Community

    Songshan

    This is the place to watch Taiwan's hipsters while enjoying a street-side coffee or browsing upcycled designer wear or exclusive art galleries. It's a…

  • Bitan Suspension Bridge

    Taipei

    This 200m-long bouncy pedestrian bridge was built by the Japanese in 1937. It offers a great vantage point from which to gaze towards the forested hills…

  • traditional building in a park in Taipei, taiwan

    2-28 Peace Memorial Park

    Taipei

    Established in 1908, this was the first urban public park in Taiwan built on European models. Known as Taihoku (Taipei) Park under the Japanese, then…

  • Architectural detail of the EXPO hall in Taipei

    Taipei Expo Park

    Taipei

    This expansive park covers three linked-up sections – stroll around or take a YouBike. It has a lively food court called Maji Square, and Eco Ark (a giant…

  • Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall

    National Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

    Xinyi

    The hall and its surrounding gardens occupy an entire city block. The latter are well used by picnickers, kite flyers, breakdancers and the early morning…

  • Lake at Daan Forest Park in Taipei, Taiwan.; Shutterstock ID 383533513; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Gillmore; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online-Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: 65050/ Online Design /LaurenGillmore/POI

    Da'an Forest Park

    Taipei

    This is Taipei’s Central Park, where the city comes to play. And play it does, from kids rollerblading to teens shooting hoops to old men engaged in…

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