Short answer: on a first trip to Taipei, walk the old city with a local guide (Old Town or Longshan Temple), eat your way through a night market, see the skyline from Taipei 101 or Elephant Mountain, and spend a slow afternoon in Dadaocheng's tea houses. With more time, add the National Palace Museum, the Beitou hot springs, the Maokong tea hills and a day trip to Jiufen.
We've been showing visitors around Taipei every day since 2014 — more than 120,000 of them so far — and these are the things we tell our own guests to do. The list mixes free sights you can do on your own with the tours we run, and each entry says which part of the city it's in so you can group them by day. If you'd rather have it planned for you, skip to the 1, 2 and 3-day itinerary or let Plan My Trip build one around your dates.
The list
- Free walking tour of Old Town
- Longshan Temple & Wanhua
- A night market
- Taiwanese breakfast
- Dadaocheng & Dihua Street
- A tea ceremony
- Taipei 101 & Xinyi
- Elephant Mountain at sunset
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
- National Palace Museum
- Beitou hot springs
- Maokong Gondola & tea hills
- A pub crawl
- Taipei Brewery
- Huashan 1914 & Songshan parks
- Day trip to Jiufen & Shifen
- Yangmingshan National Park
- Convenience-store culture
- Bubble tea
- YouBike along the river
- Indoor shrimp fishing
1. Take a free walking tour of Taipei Old Town
The best first-day activity in Taipei, because it explains everything else you'll see. In one walk you cover Taiwan's story from foreign rule through the 228 tragedy to the democracy of today, passing 228 Peace Memorial Park, the Presidential Office, Inner City Market, Zhongshan Hall, the Red House and finally Ximending, Taipei's youth and shopping district — a good place to stay on for lunch.
2. Visit Longshan Temple and the old Wanhua district
Wanhua is where Taipei began, and Longshan Temple is still its beating heart — home to more than 100 folk gods, with worshippers coming and going all day. Learn to throw the crescent-shaped "moonstones" to ask the gods a question, then walk through Bopiliao Historical Block, Mengxia Park and Herbal Alley, where herbalists have sold remedies for generations.
3. Eat your way through a night market
No trip to Taipei is complete without one. Raohe (Songshan MRT) is compact and famous for its pepper buns; Ningxia (near Shuanglian and Zhongshan MRT) is small and food-focused; Shilin (Jiantan MRT) is the biggest and busiest. Go hungry, bring cash, and share dishes so you can try more. If you'd rather not guess what to order, our dinner food tour takes you through a historic night market in Wanhua — including Michelin-rated street food — plus a stop at a Taiwanese convenience store.
4. Eat a traditional Taiwanese breakfast
Breakfast is Taiwan's most underrated meal: warm soy milk, egg crepes (dan bing), rice rolls and radish cake from shops that are often closed by lunch. Our guides wrote a whole post on it — To Eat Well in Taiwan, Don't Miss Breakfast — and the breakfast food tour pairs it with a traditional market and a tea tasting in Dadaocheng.
5. Wander Dadaocheng and Dihua Street
Taipei's best-preserved old trading district, with red-brick shophouses selling dried goods, Chinese herbs and fabric, plus the Xia Hai City God Temple, where people come to pray to the Old Man Under the Moon for love. Finish at Dadaocheng Wharf on the Tamsui River for sunset. Our Vintage Taipei free walking tour covers all of it and ends at the dockside market at sunset.
6. Join a Taiwanese tea ceremony
Taiwan grows some of the world's best oolong, and Dadaocheng was where it was traded. At Xin Fang Chun, a restored 1934 tea house, you learn to brew tea the traditional way, taste four classic Taiwanese teas side by side, play a tea-sommelier game and dress up in a qipao or Zhongshan suit for photos inside the mansion. For background, read Taiwanese Tea Varieties 101.
7. Go up Taipei 101 and explore Xinyi
Taipei 101 was the world's tallest building when it opened in 2004, and its observatory is still the classic city view. Look for the giant tuned mass damper that keeps the tower steady in typhoons. The mall at its base has a famous Din Tai Fung — here's what a local orders there. Xinyi's malls, rooftop bars and clubs also make it the city's main nightlife district.
8. Hike Elephant Mountain at sunset
The best free view in Taipei: a short, steep staircase that ends with Taipei 101 right in front of you. Arrive about 45 minutes before sunset to get a spot on the boulders, and stay for the city lights. More trails in Breathtaking Hiking Trails in Taipei.
9. See Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
A huge white-and-blue memorial on Liberty Square, flanked by the National Theater and Concert Hall. Come for the changing of the guard, held on the hour during the day, and for the square itself — the site of the protests that helped bring democracy to Taiwan. It's a short walk from the Old Town tour's route, so the two pair well.
10. Spend half a day at the National Palace Museum
One of the world's great collections of Chinese imperial art — jade, bronzes, calligraphy and porcelain brought from Beijing's Forbidden City. Don't miss the Jadeite Cabbage. It's the perfect rainy-day plan; give it at least three hours.
11. Soak in the Beitou hot springs
Thirty minutes from downtown on the MRT, Beitou has steaming Thermal Valley, a Japanese-era hot spring museum, a striking wooden green library and everything from a public outdoor bath to private-room resorts. Ideal after a long day of walking.
12. Ride the Maokong Gondola to the tea hills
A cable car climbs from Taipei Zoo over the forest to Maokong, where tea houses on the hillside serve locally grown Tieguanyin oolong with a view back over the city. Go in the late afternoon and come down after dark.
13. Go bar hopping on a Taipei pub crawl
Taipei's nightlife is easier with a crowd. The city's original pub crawl, running since 2015, gets you free entry to 4+ bars and clubs with a Taiwan-style welcome drink at each stop. Choose the Classic route (Fridays and Saturdays) or the Taipei 101 Xinyi route (Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays). Prefer something quieter? See our guides' five speakeasy picks and craft beer guide.
14. Taste Taiwan Beer at Taipei Brewery
Taiwan's first brewery, a city-registered heritage site that has been brewing since 1920, is where Taiwan Beer comes from. Walk the historic grounds and museum, then taste "18 Days" beer — the freshest in Taiwan, poured straight from the tank — plus Taiwan's most iconic spirit and a fruit beer.
15. Browse Huashan 1914 and Songshan Cultural and Creative Parks
Two old industrial sites — a former winery and a former tobacco factory — turned into galleries, design shops, pop-up exhibitions and cafés. Good for a slow afternoon or a rainy one, and both are close to other stops on this list (Huashan to Taipei Brewery, Songshan to Taipei 101).
16. Take a day trip to Jiufen and Shifen
Jiufen is an old gold-mining town of lantern-lit alleys and tea houses on a hillside above the sea. Combine it with Shifen on the Pingxi railway line, where you can write a wish on a sky lantern and release it from beside the tracks. Go on a weekday if you can — weekends are crowded.
17. Hike Yangmingshan National Park
A volcanic national park right on Taipei's doorstep, with steaming fumaroles, grassy ridges and Qixing Mountain, the highest peak in the city. In spring the calla lily fields at Zhuzihu are in bloom.
18. Discover Taiwanese convenience-store culture
Taiwan has one of the highest densities of convenience stores in the world, and they do far more than sell snacks: tea eggs, hot meals, bill payments, train tickets and parcel pickup. Pop into a 7-Eleven or FamilyMart and you'll see a slice of everyday Taiwanese life — our dinner food tour makes a stop at one for exactly that reason.
19. Drink bubble tea where it was invented
Bubble tea (boba, or pearl milk tea) was born in Taiwan in the 1980s, and Taipei has a shop on nearly every block. Order it the local way by choosing your sugar and ice levels — half sugar and less ice is a safe start.
20. Cycle the riverside on a YouBike
Taipei's public bike-share docks are all over the city, and long, flat riverside bike paths run along the Tamsui and Keelung rivers. It's a cheap, easy way to see the city between sights — see our YouBike guide for how it works.
21. Try indoor shrimp fishing
A very Taiwanese night out that most visitors never find: you rent a rod by the hour at an indoor shrimping pond, then grill your catch with salt right there. We run it as a private tour for groups.
A 1, 2 and 3-day Taipei itinerary
This puts the list above into days, grouped so you aren't crossing the city back and forth. Tour start times are the published ones; free walking tour departures vary by day, so check the live schedule when you book.
Day 1 — History and night market
- Morning or afternoon: Old Town free walking tour — Taiwan's story from the Presidential Office to Ximending.
- Next: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for the changing of the guard, then the MRT to Taipei 101.
- Evening: Dinner food tour at 7:30 PM through a historic night market — or head to Raohe night market on your own.
Day 2 — Dadaocheng, tea and nightlife
- 10 AM: the breakfast food tour or the tea ceremony with qipao — both are in and around Dadaocheng.
- Afternoon: Vintage Taipei free walking tour, finishing at the riverside at sunset.
- 8:30 PM: Taipei pub crawl — Classic route on Fridays and Saturdays, Taipei 101 Xinyi route on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Or climb Elephant Mountain for the night view.
Day 3 — Temples, museums and hot springs
- Morning: Longshan Temple free walking tour (check the schedule), or the National Palace Museum if it's raining.
- Afternoon: the Beitou hot springs, or the Maokong Gondola to the tea hills.
- Evening: Elephant Mountain at sunset, then dinner at Raohe night market — or the Taiwan Beer Brewery Tour if you haven't done it yet.
Got a 4th or 5th day? Spend one on Jiufen and Shifen and another in Yangmingshan. Want it scheduled for you? Plan My Trip builds a day-by-day itinerary around your arrival date, group and interests, or ask us for a private tour built around your group.
Quick tips before you go
- Getting around: get an EasyCard at any MRT station — it works on the metro, buses, YouBike and in convenience stores.
- Weather: Taipei is rainy year-round. Carry an umbrella; all our tours run rain or shine.
- Money: night markets and small shops are often cash only. The currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (NT$).
- Temples: there's no strict dress code — shorts and sandals are fine.
- New to Taipei? Read The Best Taipei Survival Guide, and if you're arriving by ship, see our cruise-day guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best thing to do in Taipei?
For a first visit, start with a guided walk through the old city — the Old Town or Longshan Temple free walking tour — so the rest of Taipei makes sense, then spend the evening at a night market. Add Taipei 101 or a sunset hike up Elephant Mountain for the skyline.
How many days do you need in Taipei?
Three days covers the city's highlights: the old districts and temples, the night markets, Taipei 101 and a hot spring or tea-hill afternoon. Add one or two more days for day trips to Jiufen, Shifen or Yangmingshan.
What are the best free things to do in Taipei?
Hiking Elephant Mountain, visiting Longshan Temple, walking Dadaocheng and Dihua Street, browsing the night markets, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the riverside parks are all free. TourMeAway's free walking tours (Old Town, Longshan Temple and Vintage Taipei) have no up-front cost — guests tip what they feel the tour was worth, typically NT$400–600 per person.
What can you do in Taipei at night?
Eat at a night market, watch the city lights from Elephant Mountain or Taipei 101, soak in a Beitou hot spring, or go bar hopping. TourMeAway's dinner food tour starts at 7:30 PM daily and its pub crawl starts at 8:30 PM.
What can you do in Taipei when it rains?
The National Palace Museum, Huashan 1914 and Songshan creative parks, a tea ceremony, the Taipei Brewery and Taipei 101's observatory all work well in the rain. TourMeAway tours run rain or shine and are only cancelled if the government calls off work for extreme weather.
When is the best time to visit Taipei?
October to December and March to May are the most comfortable months. Summers are hot and humid with afternoon showers and typhoon risk, and winters are mild but often grey and drizzly. Taipei is a rainy city year-round, so pack an umbrella.
Do I need to speak Chinese to get around Taipei?
No. The MRT metro has signs and announcements in English, and many younger locals speak some English. All of TourMeAway's public tours are guided in English by local Taipei guides.
How do I book tours in Taipei?
TourMeAway tours are booked online at tourmeaway.com — pick a tour, a date and the number of guests. Free walking tours still need an advance booking so the guide knows the group size. Paid tours can be cancelled for a full refund up to 24 hours before departure. For a ready-made schedule, the Plan My Trip tool builds a day-by-day Taipei itinerary around your dates.