Taipei
Speciality coffees, including local choices such as Alishan, on the 2nd floor of a Dihua St heritage building (originally the chemist AS Watson & Co). Mismatched furniture, eclectic decor, Frank Sinatra jazz: grab a window seat and slip back in time. The coffee is a pleasure, the sandwiches not so.
Upstairs is the thinkers' theatre. Ask at the cafe for a leaflet to see what's on; very occasionally there are English-language performances.
3.95 MILES
Home to the world's largest and arguably finest collection of Chinese art, this vast hoard covers treasures in painting, calligraphy, statuary, bronzes,…
1.37 MILES
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…
0.04 MILES
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…
3.7 MILES
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…
4.78 MILES
This former detention centre, court and jail was where political prisoners were incarcerated and tried during the White Terror period (1947–87). The…
1.57 MILES
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…
1.42 MILES
Borrowing from western urban-regeneration models, this early-20th-century wine factory has been restored as Taipei's most retro-chic venue. Remodelled…
1.32 MILES
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…
0.04 MILES
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…
0.06 MILES
This lively and well-loved temple on Dihua St was built in 1856 to house the City God statue that the losers in the Wanhua feud took as they fled upstream…
0.45 MILES
This faded red-brick warehouse has been carefully restored (70% of the bricks were cleaned and reused) and sits on a highway-flanked scrap of land…
0.48 MILES
Comparisons with the Arc de Triomphe may be a bit exaggerated, but the russet-red, newly restored Qing-era North Gate is rather photogenic, especially…
0.48 MILES
This lovely corner building from the 1960s has been converted into a historical-cultural museum with great English explanations, by the same people behind…
0.51 MILES
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…
0.52 MILES
Taiwan Comic Base is a Ministry of Culture initiative to show off and support the island's vibrant manga industry. This small centre has a graphic-novel…
8. Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei
0.66 MILES
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…