✺ Taiwan · Asia

Taipei

Night markets, hot springs and mountain hikes inside the city.

🌃 City after dark

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✺ In pictures

Taipei, up close

Executive Summary: Taipei (Taiwan) is at its prime during Mar–Apr, Oct–Dec. Characterized by city after dark, it ranks #29 on the Luxe score and is best suited for just me and the group chat and the two of us and with the kids planning a a long weekend or about a week journey.

The feeling

One of Asia's friendliest food cities, with night markets, Beitou hot springs and an easy day trip to the hillside lanes of Jiufen. Spring and autumn avoid typhoon season.

The scorecard #29 of 63

3.8Luxe score out of 5 · #29 of 63

🍜 FoodExcellent food destination

🏞️ SceneryBeautiful landscapes or cityscapes

🛎️ Luxury staysGood choice of luxury hotels

🛡️ SafetyVery safe for visitors

🧭 Easy to visitEasy: good transport and visitor services

💞 RomancePleasant for couples

🍸 NightlifeLively nightlife

🧸 FamilyFine for families

💸 Cost$$$Moderately priced

👥 CrowdsVery crowded in peak season

Scored across structured editorial rubrics from our notes on Taipei. How we score →

By the numbers measured, via Nomads.com

$2.5ka month to live like a visitor

$8651-bed rent in the centre, monthly

23 Mbpstypical internet speed

⭐ 3.8Nomads.com overall, out of 5

🛡️ Safety

🚶 Walkability

🗣️ English spoken

🏥 Healthcare

🎉 Fun

👩 Female-friendly

🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly

Data from Nomads.com, fetched October 1, 2026. Costs are Nomads.com estimates for a long stay, not a hotel holiday.

When to go

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

At its best Still lovely Off season

Best for: 🎒 Just me · 🥂 The group chat · 💞 The two of us · 🧸 With the kids
Give it: A long weekend or About a week
Right now: October is peak season.

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✺ Your Luxentravel trip

Three days in Taipei

Three days in one of Asia's friendliest food cities, with night markets, steaming hot springs and mountain trails that start inside the city limits.

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Day 1
Old Taipei and a night market

Morning
Explore Dihua Street in Dadaocheng, with its herbal medicine shops, tea merchants and restored shophouses.
Afternoon
Visit Longshan Temple, then browse the streets of Ximending.
Evening
Graze your way through Ningxia Night Market, with oyster omelets and braised pork rice.
Insider pick: Din Tai Fung (Taipei 101), Xinyi · ★ 4.6 · $$
Day 2
Palace treasures and hot springs

Morning
Spend the morning at the National Palace Museum, home to treasures of Chinese art.
Afternoon
Head up to Beitou for the steaming Thermal Valley and a long soak in the hot springs, or walk the volcanic trails of Yangmingshan above it.
Evening
Return for Shilin Night Market and a late dinner.
Insider pick: Le Palais, Datong · ★ 4.6 · $$$$
Day 3
Tea hills and city lights

Morning
Ride the Maokong Gondola into the tea hills and linger over oolong in a hillside teahouse.
Afternoon
Return to Xinyi for the design shops and food halls around Taipei 101.
Evening
Climb Elephant Mountain at sunset for the view of Taipei 101, then a final meal at Raohe Night Market.
Insider pick: Indulge Experimental Bistro, Da'an · ★ 4.5 · $$$

Where to stay

Da'an for leafy streets and cafés, or Xinyi for skyline views and easy access to the MRT.

Insider pick: Mandarin Oriental, Taipei, Songshan · ★ 4.6 · $$$$

Our tip

Get an EasyCard on arrival; it works on the MRT, buses, gondola and in convenience stores.

When

Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Dec; still lovely Jan–Feb, May.

Insider picks from HelpTravel (4.5★+ from 1,000+ Google reviewers). The itinerary is our own.

✺ The insider's edit

Where to stay, eat and drink in Taipei

Night markets, hot springs and xiaolongbao under Taipei 101. Every pick holds a 4.5-star average from at least 1,000 reviewers, with one tip from someone who's been.

★ 4.63,000+ reviews$$$$

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei

Songshan

Taipei's most opulent address drapes 256 rooms in marble, chandeliers and one of Asia's largest hotel spas along Dunhua North Road's plane trees. Its weekend afternoon tea in the Jade Lounge is the city's society ritual.

Book spa treatments when you book the room; weekend slots at the 2,800-square-meter spa go first.

★ 4.67,500+ reviews$$$$

W Taipei

Xinyi

Connected to a mall above Taipei City Hall station, the W owns Xinyi nightlife with its 10th-floor WET pool deck and WOOBAR parties facing Taipei 101. Rooms are candy-colored design statements with skyline-wall windows.

Pay the upgrade for a Spectacular Room with a direct Taipei 101 view, magical during the New Year fireworks.

★ 4.57,500+ reviews$$$$

Grand Hyatt Taipei

Xinyi

The 850-room stalwart sits literally across the street from Taipei 101 and the World Trade Center, making it the default base for the Xinyi district. A massive 2014 renovation traded its 1990s chintz for warm contemporary interiors and a serene outdoor pool.

Club rooms on the 101 side give you the tower filling your window and lounge cocktails at sunset.

★ 4.55,000+ reviews$$$$

Regent Taipei

Zhongshan

The grande dame of Zhongshan sits atop a luxury arcade and some of the city's best dining, including its famous duck house and the original Robin's Teppanyaki. The rooftop pool looks across low rooftops to the mountains.

Stay here for the location above Zhongshan's café alleys and a five-minute walk to the airport MRT.

★ 4.525,000+ reviews$$$

The Grand Hotel Taipei

Zhongshan

This 14-story vermilion palace with the world's largest classical Chinese roof has crowned Yuanshan hill since 1973, hosting Eisenhower-era state guests when it was Madame Chiang Kai-shek's project. Tours now visit its once-secret presidential escape tunnels with slides built into the hillside.

Book a Prestige room with a balcony facing the city and join the daily secret-tunnel tour even if you are not staying.

★ 4.61,500+ reviews$$$

Kimpton Da An

Da'an

Taiwan's first Kimpton hides on a lane off Zhongxiao East Road with just 129 rooms, terrazzo bathrooms and a lobby that hosts a nightly social hour. It is the boutique pick for exploring Da'an's coffee and vintage-shop alleys on the house bicycles.

Join the complimentary evening happy hour in the lounge and ask staff for their hand-drawn lane-food map.

Curated by HelpTravel: the full hotels guide for Taipei → Ratings and review counts from Google Places, rounded down.

★ 4.615,000+ reviews$$

Din Tai Fung (Taipei 101)

Xinyi

The flagship of the dumpling empire that began as a Taipei cooking-oil shop in 1958, where xiaolongbao are pleated to an exact 18 folds in a glass-walled kitchen. The New York Times once named it among the world's top ten restaurants, and the queues have never recovered.

Grab a queue ticket via the app, order the pork xiaolongbao plus the truffle version, and finish with the taro buns.

★ 4.62,000+ reviews$$$$

Le Palais

Datong

Taiwan's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, atop the Palais de Chine Hotel, is a Cantonese palace famous for its glistening char siu made from Hungarian Mangalica pork. Its roast duck, carved in three courses, must be reserved with your table.

Pre-order the signature duck at least three days ahead; weekend lunch dim sum is the most attainable booking.

★ 4.55,000+ reviews$$$

Shin Yeh (Main Store)

Zhongshan

Since 1977 this has been the dining room where Taipei families celebrate, serving polished renditions of Taiwanese home classics like braised pork rice, mullet roe and pan-fried turnip cake. It is the gateway restaurant for understanding what 'Taiwanese cuisine' actually means.

Reserve a few days out and order the kua bao pork belly buns and signature sweet potato porridge alongside the mains.

★ 4.510,000+ reviews$$

Yongkang Beef Noodle

Da'an

The standard-bearer of Taipei's signature dish since 1963, ladling Sichuan-style braised beef noodle soup with shockingly tender shank in a spicy, beefy broth. The queue outside its Yongkang neighborhood shopfront is part of the experience.

Order the half-tendon, half-beef bowl with the steamed spare ribs on rice as a side, and go before 11:30am.

★ 4.525,000+ reviews$

Fu Hang Dou Jiang

Zhongzheng

Taipei's most famous breakfast, on the second floor of Huashan Market, where the line for charcoal-warmed soy milk and crackling shaobing wraps the building by 7am. Watching the dough masters slap flatbreads into the barrel oven is breakfast theater.

Go on a weekday before 6:30am or after 11am, and order the thick soy milk with a fried cruller stuffed in sesame flatbread.

★ 4.515,000+ reviews$$$

Addiction Aquatic Development

Zhongshan

A fish market reinvented as a seafood wonderland: live tanks, a standing sushi bar, charcoal grill stations and wine by the glass under one industrial roof. The chirashi bowls and just-shucked oysters draw chefs on their days off.

Go at 11am when the standing sushi bar opens, or buy sashimi platters and eat at the outdoor tables like locals.

Curated by HelpTravel: the full restaurants guide for Taipei → Ratings and review counts from Google Places, rounded down.

★ 4.51,500+ reviews$$$

Indulge Experimental Bistro

Da'an

Aki Wang's tea-driven cocktail temple put Taipei on the world bar map, repeatedly ranking among Asia's very best for drinks built on oolong, plum and Taiwanese botanicals. The 'Taiwanese terroir' menu reads like a love letter to the island.

Reserve ahead and order from the signature Formosa menu paired with the surprisingly serious bistro food.

★ 4.61,500+ reviews$$$

AHA Saloon

Da'an

A regular on Asia's 50 Best Bars, where founder Kae Yin's team serves storytelling menus themed around Taiwanese memories and ingredients like aged tangerine peel. The long wooden bar fills with the city's off-duty bartenders after midnight.

Sit at the counter and ask for the menu's 'memory' chapter; weeknights are far easier than Friday or Saturday.

★ 4.51,500+ reviews$$$

Ounce Taipei

Da'an

Taipei's original speakeasy hides behind a sliding wall in the back of a café, pouring impeccable classics and bartender's-choice drinks since 2012. It trained a generation of the city's best bartenders.

Tell the bartender two flavors and a spirit and let them freestyle; reservations via social media skip the wait.

★ 4.51,500+ reviews$$

Draft Land

Xinyi

Angus Zhou's pioneering all-on-tap cocktail bar treats drinks like craft beer, with rotating taps of perfectly batched, tea- and fruit-forward highballs served in minutes. The casual standing-room format made great cocktails an everyday Taipei habit.

Order a three-glass tasting flight to sample across the taps; it is walk-in friendly even on weekends.

★ 4.61,000+ reviews$$$

Bar Mood Taipei

Da'an

Nephew Chung's moody lounge earned its place on Asia's 50 Best with aroma-led cocktails that pair Taiwanese fruits with unexpected savory notes. The dark, gallery-like room makes it a favorite date spot among local creatives.

Book a counter seat online and start with whatever seasonal Taiwan-fruit special is on the blackboard.

★ 4.51,000+ reviews$$$

Frank Taipei

Xinyi

The rooftop above ATT 4 FUN stares straight up at Taipei 101 from its open-air terrace, transitioning from sunset cocktails to DJ sets as the tower lights up. It is the definitive place to toast the skyline in Xinyi.

Arrive before 8pm for a terrace table with the 101 view; after 10pm on weekends it becomes a club with a cover.

Curated by HelpTravel: the full bars guide for Taipei → Ratings and review counts from Google Places, rounded down.

★ 4.675,000+ reviews$$

Taipei 101 Observatory

Xinyi

The bamboo-segmented icon was the world's tallest building until 2007, and its 89th-floor deck still owns the best view of the basin and surrounding peaks. Inside, the exposed 660-tonne golden damper ball that steadies the tower against typhoons is an attraction in itself.

Buy a timed ticket online for an hour before sunset and check the mountain webcams first; haze can blank the view.

★ 4.625,000+ reviews$

National Palace Museum

Shilin

Home to nearly 700,000 imperial treasures evacuated from Beijing's Forbidden City, this is the greatest collection of Chinese art on earth. The carved Jadeite Cabbage and the layered ivory puzzle balls draw the longest lines.

Arrive at 9am opening, head straight to the third-floor jade galleries before tour groups, then work down.

★ 4.650,000+ reviews$

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Zhongzheng

An 89-step white-marble monument under blue octagonal tiles, facing the National Theater and Concert Hall across a vast ceremonial plaza. The full-dress honor guard change on the hour is Taipei's most-watched ritual.

Time your visit to the top of any hour for the guard ceremony, then photograph the main gate at blue hour.

★ 4.625,000+ reviews$

Longshan Temple

Wanhua

Founded in 1738 and rebuilt after wartime bombing, this is Taipei's spiritual heart, where Buddhist and Taoist deities share courtyards of swallowtail roofs, dragon columns and waterfall walls. Evening chanting fills the incense-heavy main hall.

Visit around 6pm when worshippers gather for chanting, then walk the old Bopiliao historic street nearby.

★ 4.525,000+ reviews$

Raohe Street Night Market

Songshan

A single 600-meter lane beside the ornate Ciyou Temple, dense with legendary stalls including the Michelin-listed Fuzhou black pepper buns baked in clay barrel ovens at the entrance. It is the connoisseur's choice over the bigger Shilin market.

Start at the temple end, get the pepper bun queue over with first, and arrive by 6:30pm before peak crush.

★ 4.615,000+ reviews$

Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan)

Xinyi

A 20-minute stair climb through forest delivers the classic postcard of Taipei 101 rising over the city, especially from the Six Giant Rocks. The trailhead is just minutes from Xiangshan MRT station.

Climb 45 minutes before sunset with water and mosquito spray, and stake out the rocks early; tripods claim spots fast.

Curated by HelpTravel: the full sights guide for Taipei → Ratings and review counts from Google Places, rounded down.

✺ Make it happen

From daydream to departure

Live from travel partners when you ask: real fares, a walk through the city, guided trips and ferries. You book with them directly.

★ marks Taipei's best months. We search ±3 days around the middle of the month.

Live fares from Kiwi.com; prices change quickly and are confirmed when you book with them.

✺ Pair it with

If you love Taipei, you'll love these

#53Peak in Oct ⭐ 3.4

Morocco

Marrakech

Riad courtyards, souk lanes and rooftop mint tea.

🕯️ 🌃 · Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov

#49Peak in Oct ⭐ 3.5

Mexico

Mexico City

Taquerías, galleries and jacaranda-lined avenues.

🌃 · Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov

#50Peak in Oct ⭐ 3.5

Argentina

Buenos Aires

Steak at midnight, tango until dawn.

🌃 🕯️ · Best Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov

Taipei

Taipei, up close

The feeling

The scorecard #29 of 63

By the numbers measured, via Nomads.com

When to go

On the travel desks

Three days in Taipei

Old Taipei and a night market

Palace treasures and hot springs

Tea hills and city lights

Where to stay

Our tip

When

Where to stay, eat and drink in Taipei

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei

W Taipei

Grand Hyatt Taipei

Regent Taipei

The Grand Hotel Taipei

Kimpton Da An

Din Tai Fung (Taipei 101)

Le Palais

Shin Yeh (Main Store)

Yongkang Beef Noodle

Fu Hang Dou Jiang

Addiction Aquatic Development

Indulge Experimental Bistro

AHA Saloon

Ounce Taipei

Draft Land

Bar Mood Taipei

Frank Taipei

Taipei 101 Observatory

National Palace Museum

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Longshan Temple

Raohe Street Night Market

Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan)

From daydream to departure

If you love Taipei, you'll love these

Marrakech

Mexico City

Buenos Aires