Taipei Attractions

Taipei's first major urban park.

Major city landmark and quiet gardens

Large area of open space downtown.

This bustling historic area is famous for its stores selling Chinese medicines, herbs and traditional products. The street is particularly busy and colourful around traditional celebrations such as Chinese New Year.

New Beitou Park (新北投公園) park is popular with locals for its steaming springs where water temperatures approach 100C. Numerous hotspring resorts are located in the surrounding suburb of Beitou.

This buidling houses a centre dedicated to the unique Taiwanese art of puppet theatre, combining both exhbitions and performances.

This busy working temple was originally built in 1738. Longshan is Taipei's oldest temple and one of the most popular temples for tourists, and is located in Wanhua district, one of Taipei's older residential areas.

Just a MRT ride away, Maokong Gondola travels 4 km over sub-tropical forest to reach an elevation of over 300 metres at Maokong station. The Maokong station is located in Taipei's tea country and with a bit of walking you can visit some of the numerous tea houses that offer views of the surrounding hills. The ride offers views of Taipei 101, Taipei's southern suburbs and the surrounding forest and hills.Be prepared for long waits, especially on weekends and holidays. Located next to Taipei Zoo.

Located in the Miramar shopping complex, the 100m tall wheel offers views of the surrounding neighbourhood and Taipei. A full circle takes 17 minutes. The centre also has an IMAX cinema. Located in the northern Taipei suburbs near Neihu.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei is Taiwan's first major gallery to focus exclusively on contemporary art. MOCA regularly hosts featured local and international artist displays.

Home to the largest collection of Chinese artefacts in the world, including ceramics, jade, bronze, paintings and calligraphy. Located next to the entrance are the traditionally styled Zhishan Gardens.

Home to the President's offices, the red brick Presidential Palace (Zong tong fu) is a fine example of Japanese colonial architecture in downtown Taipei. Partial tours of the building are possible. View the website for the latest schedule.

This Japanese era cinema opened in 1908 and now plays host to art exhibits, a tea house and a 200 seat theatre for live performances. Visit the website for current events info. The back portion of the complex (Red House Boutique Area) is now home to independent small shops spread run by creative artists. The products here range from t-shirts, knick knacks and some accessories.

Catch a movie at SPOT, situated in the historic former residence of the US ambassador in Taiwan. The property was restored and reopened in 2002. The cinema shows independent, non-mainstream and foreign language films. A small cinema focused Eslite bookshop is located inside, as well as a cafe.

A memorial to the founder of the Republic of China and one of the largest open areas in downtown Taipei. The traditional Chinese architecture hall was completed in 1972.

Now the world's second tallest building, Taipei 101 offers great views of Taipei and the surrounding mountains from the indoor observation deck (89F). The outdoor (91F) observation deck is currently closed. The upmarket Taipei 101 Mall and a large food court are located at the base of the building.

Live displays of traditional Chinese and Taiwanese performing arts, including opera, music and story telling. Check the website for times and performances.

Focused mostly on modern Taiwanese art, but also features visiting exhibitions.

The well-planned Taipei Zoo is located on the southern outskirts of Taipei City (and at the end of the MRT brown line). The zoo's most recent star attractions are two pandas - Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan. Other key zoo displays include the Formosan (Taiwanese) animals section, penguins and koalas. The zoo is quite spread out but an internal shuttle train operates (NT$ 5 per trip) and makes getting around easier. Weekends and holidays are very busy so try and schedule a visit for other times. Located next to the Maokong Gondola.

Xing Tian Gong is the most popular temples amongst locals in downtown Taipei. This temple is quite easy to get to by bus.