101 things to do in Taipei

Taipei is a city just bursting with things to do [and see, and eat!] though I've visited a few times over my expat years, now that I live here I'm ready to dig in and explore what this city has to offer. in the interest of staying organized - and because I have a deep love of lists - I've compiled and categorized 101 things to be done in the Taipei area.

and as a bonus - at the bottom I have links to websites and blogs where you can find more information and even MORE things to be done in Taipei.

my list is heavy on hiking and mountains to climb [mostly in Yangmingshan National Park] because I live nearby and well... I have a thing for mountains. but there are plenty of city activities as well. though I've already checked a few of these off [links included where applicable] you can go ahead and consider this my Taipei bucket list for the next few years.

buildings and monuments

Lin An Tai Ancestral Home
Taipei 101
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall
Grand Hotel
Taipei Film House
National Martyr's Shrine
Fort Santo Domingo
Lin Family Mansion and Garden
Beitou Public Library
Chiang Kai-Shek Shilin Residence
Plum Garden
Taipei Guest House
The Red House

museums

National Palace Museum
Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Suho Memorial Paper Culture Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei
Beitou Hot Springs Museum
Taipei Astronomical Museum
Shung Ye Museum
National Museum of History
Miniatures Museum of Taiwan
Museum of Drinking Water
National Taiwan Museum
Taiwan Folk Arts Museum

parks and gardens

Yehliu Geopark
Zhishan Ecological Garden
Taipei Zoo
Maokong Tea Plantations and Gondola
Yangmingshan National Park
Daan Forest Park
Xinsheng Park
Huashan 1914 Creative Park
Jinguashi Gold Ecological Park
Taipei Botanical Gardens
228 Peace Park

events and festivals

Taiwan Lantern Festival
Dragon Boat Festival
Pingxi Lantern Festival
Chinese New Year
New Year's Eve Fireworks at Taipei 101
Yangmingshan Calla Lilly Festival

temples to see

Quingshui Temple
Bao'an Temple
Longshan Temple
Taipei Confucious Temple
Xingtian Temple
Zhishan Huiji Temple
Guandu Temple
Beitou Puji Temple
Zhinan Temple
Songshan Ciyou Temple

mountains and hikes

Elephant Mountain/ Four Beasts Trail
Xiaotzukeng Old Trail
Tianmu Trail
Mount Shamao Trail
Juansi Waterfall Trail
Jinmianshan/ Little Gold Face Mountain
Teapot Mountain
Lion's Head Mountain
Dalunwei and Daluntou Hiking Trails
Guanyin Mountain
Xianjiyan Hiking Trail
Menghuan Pond Trail

Battleship Rock
Pingding Historical Canal
Caoling Old Trail and Wankengtou Mountain
Jinbaoli Trail
Qingtiangang Circular Trail
Jiantan Mountain Trail
Qixingshan/ Seven Star Mountain
Erziping Trail
Da Tun Shan Hiking Trail
Mount Miantian
Mount Caigongkeng Trail
Zhong Zhen Shan Hiking Trail
Mount Ding and Mount Shiti Trail

waterfalls and geothermal activity

Xiaoyoukeng Recreation Area
Wulai Waterfall
Lengshuikeng/ Milk Lake
Shengren Waterfall
Beitou Thermal "Hell" Valley
Shifen Waterfall
Sandiaoling Waterfalls
Longfenggu Geothermal Area
Yuemeikeng Waterfall

night markets

Raohe Street Night Market
Shilin Market
Miaokou Night Market - Keelung
Ningxia Market
Jade and Flower Market
Wufenpu Market

neighborhoods to wander

Juifen Old Town
Bopiliao Ancient Street
Dihua Street
Dadaocheng Wharf
Ximending Shopping District
Bitan Scenic Area
Danshui/ Tamsui Waterfront

this is by no means a complete list of things to do in Taipei... I actually had to stop myself from adding more. I tried to stick with items I could find information on by a simple google search, and of course things that I legitimately want to see and do. I also left out things like "hot springs" and "eat beef noodle soup" because while these are great things to do, there are a LOT of options. I considered adding restaurants and food to try, but that would have been enough for a book.

and of course I promised you some resource links. there is actually quite a bit of information out there, but sometimes tracking down what you want can be tough. I've mentioned before that the romanization of names in Taiwan is not standardized [multiple spellings of the same word i.e.: Mount Cising / Mount Qixing] and some sites refer to places as a literal translation [ie: Seven Star Mountain.] I've done my best to eliminate any duplicates, and to give you a spelling/translation that will bring up some good results. the list below includes sites and blogs I've visited both in the past and during the compilation of this post. again, there are many more helpful sites out there, but this is a sampling of what has been most useful for me.

where to find information [in English]

Taiwan's tourism website
Yangmingshan National Park
Travel.Taipei
Guide to Taipei
Trip Advisor
Lonely Planet

informative expat blogs

Taiwan Photography Blog
Lao Ren Cha
The Daily Bubble Tea
Hiking Taiwan
Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei
Taiwan Adventures Online Guide
and about a thousand others.

I hope this post will be helpful for anyone living in or planning a visit to Taipei! please let me know if you have any questions, I'd love to help. if you've been to Taipei before - what was your favorite thing? did I miss anything on my list?