The short answer: go to a night market, climb Elephant Mountain at sunset, ride the gondola into the tea hills, send a sky lantern up from the tracks at Shifen, and spend at least one evening at a show, a ballgame or a karaoke room. Then let the city fill in the rest. With a few days, you can do most of this list, because nearly all of it is a short ride from an MRT station.
We lived in Taipei for years, and what we loved most was how easy it all was: the MRT is amazing, the buses are friendly for visitors, and there is always a show on and somewhere good to eat. This is the list we would hand a friend. Each item links to our full guide, with hours, prices and directions.
Classic Taipei
1. Go up Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (台北101) is the tower you see from everywhere, and one of the world's fastest elevators takes you to the 89th-floor observatory in about 37 seconds. The Main Deck ticket is the one most people need; stand next to the giant golden wind damper on the 88th floor on the way. Check the sky before you buy, because clouds can hide everything.
MRT: Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station (Red Line, R03). → Taipei 101 tickets and hours
2. Watch the sunset from Elephant Mountain
Elephant Mountain (象山) is the hill right behind Taipei 101, and its stone stairs lead to the classic postcard view of the tower. It is free, open 24 hours, steep but short (parts of the trail are being renovated until April 13, 2027, so follow the signs). Go up in daylight, watch the sky change from the Six Giant Rocks, and stay for the city lights.
MRT: Xiangshan Station (Red Line, R02). → Elephant Mountain guide
3. Visit Longshan Temple
Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) is a working temple first: people pray to Guanyin all day, cast moon blocks and leave flowers and fruit. Building began in 1738, and it is open 06:00 to 22:00. Early morning is calmest; after dark it glows, and the Wanhua night markets are a block away.
MRT: Longshan Temple Station (Blue Line, BL10). → Longshan Temple guide
4. See the National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院) holds the art of the Chinese imperial courts: paintings, bronzes, jade and ceramics, most of it from the Qing court collections. Give it at least half a day, and remember it closes on most Mondays. Visitors 17 and under get in free, whatever their nationality.
MRT: Shilin Station (Red Line, R16), then bus R30 (紅30), about 15 minutes. → National Palace Museum guide
5. Eat your way through a night market
Taipei's main night markets open every evening, so the only question is which one. Raohe Street is the easiest first market, one straight street by Songshan Station; Shilin is the famous one, with shopping; Ningxia is short and all about food. Bring cash in small notes, go hungry and share. If you are deciding on the night, NightMarket.tw keeps a list of which markets are open tonight.
MRT: Songshan Station (Green Line, G19) for Raohe Street. → Taipei's night markets
6. Have breakfast at a soy milk shop
A Taiwanese breakfast is warm soy milk, an egg crepe (蛋餅, danbing) or a sesame flatbread wrapped around a fried dough stick, eaten early and cheap. Order salty soy milk once, even if it sounds strange: hot soy milk curdled into a soft, savory soup. The famous queue is Fuhang Soy Milk, upstairs in Huashan Market.
MRT: Shandao Temple Station (Blue Line, BL13) for Fuhang. → Taiwanese breakfast in Taipei
7. Order a bowl of beef noodle soup
Beef noodle soup (牛肉麵) is Taipei's unofficial city dish, a dish that took shape here after 1949. Choose red-braised (紅燒) for the dark, rich classic or clear-stewed (清燉) for a lighter broth, and add pickled mustard greens from the table. Lao Shan Dong in Ximending, on the MICHELIN Guide's 2026 Bib Gourmand list, has been serving since 1949.
MRT: Ximen Station (Blue Line, BL11; Green Line, G12) for Lao Shan Dong. → Beef noodle soup in Taipei
8. Get lost under Taipei Main Station
Taipei Main Station is where the MRT, the railway, the high speed rail and the Airport MRT meet, and under the streets around it run long underground shopping malls that go on for blocks, full of electronics, games, food and fashion. On a hot or rainy day you can walk a surprising distance without coming up for air. Our station guide explains how the malls fit together and which exit is which.
MRT: Taipei Main Station (Red Line, R10; Blue Line, BL12). → Taipei Main Station and its underground malls
Get outside
9. Ride the Maokong Gondola
The Maokong Gondola (貓空纜車) lifts you 4 km from the end of the Brown Line over forested hills to the tea gardens of Maokong, about 20 to 30 minutes one way. Pick a glass-floored Crystal Cabin if you like looking down at the treetops, then order a pot of Tieguanyin at a tea house as the lights come on below. It rests on most Mondays, so check before you go.
MRT: Taipei Zoo Station (Brown Line, BR01). → Maokong Gondola and tea
10. Take a hike
Taipei is ringed by green hills, and trails start right at the end of the MRT lines. Elephant Mountain is the famous short one; there are longer ridge walks, forest trails and volcano climbs for every level. Bring water, wear shoes with grip and go early in summer.
MRT: Xiangshan Station (Red Line, R02) is the classic starting point. → Hikes in and around Taipei
11. Walk the volcanoes of Yangmingshan
Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園) is on the city's northern edge: steaming sulfur vents at Xiaoyoukeng, the open grassland of Qingtiangang with its grazing water buffalo, and Qixingshan, Taipei's tallest mountain at 1,120 m. Calla lilies bloom at Zhuzihu in spring and silver grass covers the slopes in autumn. Take the Red 5 bus up, then the 108 park loop.
MRT: Jiantan Station (Red Line, R15), then bus Red 5 (紅5). → Yangmingshan guide
12. Spend an afternoon in the parks and on the riverside paths
Da'an Forest Park, about 26 hectares, is the city's big green lung, and Taipei's rivers are lined with long riverside parks and paths for walking and cycling. Rent a yellow YouBike at almost any MRT exit and ride along the water; visitors can rent with a credit card in the YouBike app. Finish at Dadaocheng's old wharf on the Tamsui River for the sunset.
MRT: Da'an Park Station (Red Line, R06). → Taipei's parks and riverside paths · How to rent a YouBike
13. Say hello to the pandas at Taipei Zoo
Taipei Zoo (臺北市立動物園) is big, green and very cheap: NT$100 for adults, free for children under 6. The Giant Panda House is where most visitors go first, and the Koala and Penguin houses make a good rainy-day loop. The gondola starts next door, so the two make a natural family day.
MRT: Taipei Zoo Station (Brown Line, BR01). → Taipei Zoo guide · Taipei with kids
Traveling with children for longer? Camps.Asia lists kids' camps in Taipei, including holiday programs.
After dark
14. Watch the street performers in Xinyi
On weekend afternoons and every evening, the pedestrian plazas near Taipei 101 fill with performers and artists. Taipei City runs a registration system for street artists (臺北市街頭藝人), and its Department of Cultural Affairs assigns the performance spots on Xinyi's Xiangti Avenue (香堤大道) and in the Ximending pedestrian area by lottery. Under the city's current rules, spots open on weekends and public holidays from 13:30 to 17:30 and from 18:00 to 22:00, and on weekday evenings from 18:00 to 22:00. Stand in the circle, and drop a coin in the case if you enjoyed it.
MRT: Taipei City Hall Station (Blue Line, BL18). → Xinyi guide
15. See a movie
Going to the movies is an easy night out in Taipei, and a good plan for a rainy evening. Hollywood films play in English with Chinese subtitles, so you can follow along fine. Ximending's cinemas are the classic choice, with the busy streets outside for a late snack.
MRT: Ximen Station (Blue Line, BL11; Green Line, G12). → Cinemas and how to book
16. Catch a live band
Taipei has a lively band scene, from basement clubs to seated supper-club shows. For a small show, try The Wall in Gongguan or Riverside Live House at the Red House in Ximending; for bigger names, Legacy Taipei at Huashan 1914 and the live houses at the Taipei Music Center. Each venue posts its own listings.
MRT: Gongguan Station (Green Line, G07) for The Wall. → Taipei nightlife and live music
17. Go to a concert
Taipei is a regular stop for Mandopop stars, K-pop and J-pop tours and Western acts, from the 40,000-seat Taipei Dome to Taipei Arena and the Taipei Music Center. Shows were one of the things we loved most about living here: there is nearly always something on. Tickets sell on local platforms, and our tickets guide explains how to buy as a visitor.
MRT: Taipei Arena Station (Green Line, G17). → Concert venues · How to buy tickets
18. See a baseball game
A pro game in Taiwan's league, the CPBL, is a party in the stands: cheer squads, drums, chants and songs for every batter, all game long. You don't need to follow the rules to enjoy it. The Taipei Dome, the city's indoor stadium for baseball and the biggest concerts, is the place to look for a game.
MRT: Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Station (Blue Line, BL17) for the Taipei Dome. → Baseball in Taipei
19. Sing at a KTV
KTV, karaoke in a private room booked by the hour, is how Taiwan celebrates birthdays, farewells and Friday nights. The two big chains are Cashbox Partyworld (錢櫃) and Holiday KTV (好樂迪), each with branches across the city. Holiday agreed to join the Cashbox group in 2019, and both still run under their own names. Both take bookings online and by phone; book ahead for a weekend night.
MRT: Ximen Station (Blue Line, BL11; Green Line, G12) for Cashbox's Zhonghua branch in Ximending. Branch lists: Cashbox Partyworld · Holiday KTV
Only here
20. Release a sky lantern
At Shifen, on the little Pingxi Line, the train runs right down the middle of the old street, and between trains visitors paint wishes on paper sky lanterns and let them go from the tracks. Lantern shops along the street sell the lanterns and help you launch them. Go on a weekday if you can; weekends are very busy.
Train: Taipei Main Station to Ruifang, then the Pingxi Line to Shifen. Or bus 795 from Taipei Zoo Station (Brown Line, BR01). → Pingxi and Shifen day trip
21. Ride the old trains
The Pingxi Line (平溪線) is a single-track branch railway that winds up a valley through old coal-mining villages, and a NT$120 day pass lets you hop off at Shifen, Pingxi and the old station at Jingtong. Back in the city, our Taipei Main Station guide covers the Railway Department Park next to the station and the National Railway Museum across town.
MRT: Taipei Main Station (Red Line, R10; Blue Line, BL12). → The railway museum and old trains · The Pingxi Line
22. Soak in the Beitou hot springs
Beitou (北投) is Taipei's hot spring town, and it is still on the MRT. A few minutes from Xinbeitou Station are the Beitou Hot Spring Museum, built in 1913 as a public bathhouse, the steaming Thermal Valley (you look, you don't bathe) and a beautiful green library in the park. To soak, book a public bath or a private room at one of the hot spring hotels.
MRT: Xinbeitou Station (Red Line branch, R22A), changing at Beitou (R22). → Beitou hot springs
23. Go shrimp fishing
Shrimp fishing is a very Taiwanese night out: you sit around an indoor pool with a small rod, pay by the hour, try to hook live shrimp, then salt and grill your catch right there. It is slower and funnier than it sounds, and it goes well with a cold drink and friends. Our guide explains how it works and where to go.
MRT: the easiest hall to reach is Quan Jia Le, about five minutes from Xingtian Temple Station (Orange Line, O09). → How shrimp fishing works · Where to go
24. Try your luck at a claw machine shop
Claw machine shops are everywhere in Taipei: bright rooms of crane games full of plush toys and figurines. The Taipei Times reported in July 2026 that Taiwan had 10,474 claw machine venues by the end of 2024. Set a budget and treat it as a game, not a shopping trip.
MRT: almost any station; you will pass one within a few minutes of most exits. → Ximending is full of them.
25. Time your trip to a festival
Taipei's year runs on festivals: the Lunar New Year market on Dihua Street, the lantern festivals in February or March, dragon boat races in June, Ghost Month offerings in summer, Pride in late October and the fireworks from Taipei 101 at New Year. At the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, the lanterns go up together in mass releases. Lunar dates move every year, so check our calendar.
MRT: depends on the event; each one is listed with its station. → Festivals and events, month by month
Each neighborhood has its own flavor
Part of the fun of Taipei is how different each neighborhood feels, though they are only a few MRT stops apart.
- Ximending: young and loud, car-free shopping streets, street food and cinemas until late. MRT: Ximen (BL11, G12).
- Wanhua: where Taipei began, with temples, herb sellers and old shophouses around Longshan Temple. MRT: Longshan Temple (BL10).
- Dadaocheng: old merchant shophouses on Dihua Street and the best sunset by the river. MRT: Beimen (G13) or Daqiaotou (O12).
- Zhongshan: grown-up and stylish, with quiet lanes of cafes, boutiques and galleries. MRT: Zhongshan (R11, G14).
- Da'an: leafy and lived-in, with Yongkang Street, Da'an Forest Park and the student streets of Shida and Gongguan. MRT: Dongmen (R07, O06).
- Xinyi: new Taipei, glass towers, malls joined by skybridges and the busiest Friday nights. MRT: Taipei 101/World Trade Center (R03).
- Beitou: the hot spring town in the hills at the end of a short branch line. MRT: Xinbeitou (R22A).
Good to know: Mondays catch people out. The National Palace Museum, most museums and the Maokong Gondola close on most Mondays, so give that day to temples, Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain, a hike and a night market. And get an EasyCard on day one: it works on the MRT, the buses and YouBike. → The EasyCard
More days? Head south
If you have a week, take the high speed rail to Tainan: a very different city, slower, older and full of temples and street food. We live there now, so we're biased. → Taipei to Tainan · Tainan itineraries on Inside Tainan
→ How many days in Taipei · Ready-made itineraries · Day trips · Things to do
Sources
Hours, prices, MRT stations and other details for each sight, food, show and neighborhood come from our own guides linked above, each of which names its official sources. Street performers: Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs, rules for street artists on Xinyi Xiangti Avenue and the Ximen pedestrian area (amended April 17, 2026, in force from May 12, 2026) and the city's street artist registration platform. Claw machine shops: Taipei Times, "One more coin: Taiwan in a claw-machine craze" (July 7, 2026). KTV: the official sites of Cashbox Partyworld and Holiday KTV, and Taipei Times on the Cashbox and Holiday deal (February 23, 2019). Checked October 2026.