TW
Taiwan
Night markets, jade temples and mountain peaks
Night markets, jade temples and mountain peaks
The world’s largest collection of Chinese imperial art: 700,000 objects spanning 8,000 years. The Jadeite Cabbage draws the longest queues.
A marble gorge of extraordinary depth in the central mountains. The Shakadang Trail river walk and Swallow Grotto are the finest accessible sections.
The Shilin Night Market is the largest: stinky tofu, oyster omelette, scallion pancake and bubble tea from 6pm onwards.
A high-altitude lake in the central mountains, sacred to the Thao aboriginal people. The 30km cycling circuit is one of Taiwan’s most popular routes.
A former gold-mining town clinging to a hillside above the Pacific, with narrow red-lantern-lit alleyways and ocean views.
A narrow-gauge mountain railway climbing to 2,216m through forest and cloud. The early morning train to catch the sunrise above the cloud layer is the classic experience.
Taiwan’s oldest city: 400-year-old temples, Dutch-era Anping Fort and the finest traditional food in Taiwan.
A remote island where the Tao people maintain their traditional culture of underground houses, carved wooden boats and the annual flying fish ceremony.
Taiwan (Wikipedia) →Slow-braised beef shank in rich spiced broth with hand-pulled wheat noodles. Taiwan’s national dish and the subject of an annual Taipei competition.
Deep-fried fermented tofu with a powerful aroma. Served with pickled cabbage and chilli sauce. The directional signal to any night market.
Slow-braised minced pork belly in soy and five-spice over white rice. Taiwan’s most comforting daily bowl.
Gummy sweet potato starch omelette with fresh oysters, served with sweet chilli sauce. A Taiwanese night market staple.
Invented in Taichung in the 1980s: sweetened tea with tapioca pearls drunk through a fat straw.
Buttery shortbread shell filled with pineapple jam. Taiwan’s most popular souvenir food.
Pork knuckle slow-braised until gelatinous and falling from the bone. Served over rice with pickled mustard greens.
Grilled squid, fresh oysters and river prawn skewers at the riverside stalls of Tamsui, 30 minutes by MRT from central Taipei.
Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) is the main hub; Songshan (TSA) in central Taipei handles East Asian routes. Kaohsiung (KHH) in the south is the secondary gateway. EVA Air and China Airlines are based here. For trip planning, see the official Taiwan tourism portal.
💡 EVA Air’s Royal Laurel Business Class is consistently ranked among the best long-haul products in aviation. The Taipei hub makes it the best option for East Asia itineraries including Taiwan.
💡 Los Angeles–Taipei direct (EVA Air, 13h30) is one of the best-value transpacific routes — EVA’s premium economy and business classes are competitive with Japan Airlines and ANA at lower price points.
💡 The Taiwan HSR (350km/h) runs the length of the west coast — Taipei to Kaohsiung in 1h35 for NT$1,490. Buy a day pass or value tickets at thsrc.com.tw. The eastern line (Hualien, Taitung) is a different network.
💡 The Airport MRT Express (purple line, no stops) from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station takes 35 minutes and costs NT$160. Runs every 15–30 minutes from 6am to midnight.
October to April is the best window for Taipei and the west coast — cooler, drier, comfortable for sightseeing. The east coast and mountains are good May to September. Typhoon season runs June to October and occasionally disrupts travel, particularly in the east and south.
Taiwan is one of the best-value destinations in East Asia — night market food costs almost nothing, transport is cheap and efficient, and accommodation is good value compared to Japan, Singapore or Hong Kong.
A complete night market meal — oyster omelette, stinky tofu (better than it sounds), mango shaved ice, pearl milk tea — costs NT$200–300 total. This is the most enjoyable food experience in Taiwan.
Beef noodle soup (hong shao niu rou mian) at a classic Taipei beef noodle restaurant costs NT$180–280 — slow-braised beef short rib, hand-pulled noodles, clear broth. One of the great affordable bowls in Asia.
RAW in Taipei (André Chiang’s restaurant, bookings released monthly and gone within minutes) and MUME are Taiwan’s leading tasting menu restaurants — NT$3,500–5,000pp, world-class standard.
Taipei for three days, Taroko Gorge for one, the Sun Moon Lake for one, Jiufen and the northeast coast to close. Taiwan rewards lateral movement — every region has its own character.
Taipei 101 (508m, the world’s second-tallest building until 2010, still the most elegant skyscraper in Asia) for the observation deck view over the city and Yangmingshan volcano. Shilin Night Market in the evening — the largest and most famous in Taiwan.
💡 The best night market meal in Taipei is oyster vermicelli (o-a-mī-sua) at Shilin — soft oysters in a thick sweet potato starch broth with basil, costing NT$60–80. Cheap, filling, entirely authentic.
The National Palace Museum holds 700,000 artifacts from the Chinese imperial collections — brought to Taiwan in 1949 and including the finest surviving Song, Ming and Qing jade, bronze, calligraphy and porcelain. The Jade Cabbage and Pork Cube jades are the famous highlights. Ximending for street fashion in the evening.
💡 The National Palace Museum collection is so large (700,000 pieces) that only 1% is on display at any time. The permanent galleries take a full day — download the app and focus on the jade and bronze galleries.
Yangmingshan National Park is 30 minutes by bus from Taipei — a volcanic plateau with hiking trails, sulfur vents and cherry blossoms in February. The Beitou hot springs district (in northern Taipei) for a public bath or private onsen session.
💡 Xinbeitou’s public hot spring bath at the Taiwan Hot Spring Museum costs NT$200 for a 90-minute session — the outdoor pools use the naturally occurring radium-bearing water that made Beitou famous during the Japanese colonial period.
2h30 train from Taipei to Hualien. Taroko Gorge is a 20km canyon of white and grey Taroko marble, walls 2km high, with the Liwu River running through it. The Swallow Grotto boardwalk and the Eternal Spring Shrine are the most accessible highlights.
💡 The Central Cross-Island Highway through Taroko was built by 10,000 veterans between 1956 and 1960 — 230 workers died in the process. The current road clings to the canyon wall at heights that require no embellishment.
3h bus or drive from Hualien via the coast. Sun Moon Lake (748m elevation, 8km across) is Taiwan’s largest natural lake — surrounded by aboriginal Thao settlements and tea plantations. Rent a bike and cycle the 33km lakeside path.
💡 The early morning mist on Sun Moon Lake is the most photographed scene in central Taiwan — take the first gondola of the day (8am) to Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village for the best view of the mist clearing over the lake.
3h from Sun Moon Lake. Jiufen — a former gold-mining town above the northeast coast, with tea houses built on terraces over the valley, red lanterns on rain-wet stone stairways — is the visual inspiration for Spirited Away (though Miyazaki has denied this, the resemblance is undeniable).
💡 Jiufen is best late afternoon and evening — when the day-trippers leave and the lanterns come on. Come on a weekday if possible.
1h train from Ruifang (near Jiufen) to Taipei. Last meal: Din Tai Fung original branch at Xinyi Road for xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). Fly from Taoyuan (TPE) or Songshan (TSA) airports.
💡 Din Tai Fung’s original Xinyi branch in Taipei is the one that earned its Michelin star — the quality of the xiao long bao (18 folds, always the same) is the standard against which all other versions are measured.
The EasyCard works on Taipei MRT, buses, YouBike hire and intercity buses. The most useful single purchase in Taiwan.
Taiwan HSR connects Taipei to Kaohsiung in 90 minutes.
One of the world’s lowest crime rates. Leaving valuables at a restaurant table is genuinely normal.
Being helped unsolicited by strangers happens multiple times daily.
Night market food costs NTD 30-80 per item. Restaurant meals are NTD 100-300.
Monitor Central Weather Bureau forecast during these months.
Same as North America. European devices need a voltage converter.
Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile SIMs with generous data available at Taoyuan Airport.
Book intercity Tze-Chiang and Puyuma train tickets across Taiwan — official app in English.
FreeBook Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train tickets between Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
FreeTaipei MRT official app — journey planning, fares and EasyCard top-up for the metro network.
FreeBook Sun Moon Lake tours, Taroko Gorge hikes, night market food tours and Taiwanese experiences.
FreeTaiwan’s dominant messaging app — essential for contacting local businesses and services.
FreeExplore Taiwan’s top city destinations — from Taipei to Jiufen, each with its own distinct character.
Taiwan sits within easy reach of several other destinations — each with a completely different character.
