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While I may have had an entire month in Taiwan and almost three weeks in Taipei, I met a lot of people that only had one to four days there.  I met a few people that were in Taipei on long layovers and had two of those myself.

There is so much to see and do in Taipei, it can be a little intimidating deciding what to do, especially if you are limited on time.  That’s why I’ve decided to share 7 different ways to spend one day in Taipei.  I’m not writing these as hour by hour itineraries, but more of suggestions on what to do for different things.  A lot of these can be seen in one day, but others will take more time and are just outside of Taipei, but can be combined with things in Taipei.  Each activity is listed with the district it is in, and here is a map showing the districts to help with planning.

Weird Taipei

Now, these things aren’t necessarily weird, OK, some are, but they are some of the more unusual things you can do and see in Taipei and the surrounding area.

Houtong Cat Village – Outside of Taipei

Yes, an entire village for cats.  This is a short, easy day trip from Taipei.  It’s a small village and doesn’t take tons of time to wander around, so you don’t need an entire day for this trip.  If you like cats, this is the place for you.  You can buy everything you can imagine with cats on it.  There are cats just wandering outside and hanging out in the shops.

If you do go, take the MRT to Taipei Main Station, then take a train to Ruifang and either take a local train one more stop to Houtong, or transfer to the Pingxi line and get a day ticket for the line if you’ll be spending the day in the area.

Modern Toilet – Ximending (Wanhua)

I remember seeing this on some show on the Travel Channel when I was younger.  I promptly forgot about it until I was planning my trip to Taiwan and came across it in my search for themed restaurants.  How could I not go?  They were playing like, dance/rave music when we went and there were families eating there.  It was a super weird, but fun experience.

If you do go, it’s in the Ximending Pedestrian area.  You just take the MRT to the Ximen stop and it’s just a few minutes walk from there.  I would bring it up on Google Maps while you have wifi to help you get there.  I always got lost in this area.  Here is the address: 2F, No.50-7 Xining South Road, Taipei, Taiwan

Central Park Cafe – Friends Themed Cafe – Zhongzheng

While there are probably Friends cafes that are more accurate, this one is still fun to go to if you’re a Friends fan.  They have coffee and some food.  I think both are pretty average, but they do have some Hugsy penguins, so I think it evens out.

If you do go, it’s within walking distance of Taipei 101.  Here is the address: No.3, Lane 240, Section 3, Roosevelt Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan

Snake Alley – Wanhua

While this isn’t the best night market in Taipei, it was a weird one.  It’s officially the Huaxi Street Night Market.  If trying weird food is your thing, come here.  If you are more sensitive to poor animal treatment and animal cruelty, I would advise you skip this one.  This is the only night market where you can drink snake blood, venom, and bile while washing it all down with some snake soup.  I tried it when I went, but if I went now for the first time, I probably wouldn’t.

Word of warning: they do have live snakes in tanks outside some of the restaurants.  We also saw turtles in a big tank that didn’t have shells anymore.  I did not enjoy seeing that.

If you do go, it’s within walking distance of Longshan Temple.  I actually found it on accident on my way to the temple.  There is a dreary looking arcade type covered walking area, that’s where the snakes are.  Outside there is more regular night market food, along with tons of random stuff and some porn videos and magazines.  I told you it was weird.

Shrimping – Shilin

I saw this one the Anthony Bourdain show The Layover.  He was taken fishing for shrimp, indoors, in the middle of the night.  It was something I wanted to try, but didn’t manage to do.  It’s exactly what it sounds like.  You go to a shrimping facility, pay, and fish for shrimp in a pool.  When you’re done, they’ll cook what you’ve caught.  Can’t sleep?  Why not go shrimping!

If you do go, most are in the same area as the Shilin Night Market.  I would go there to have dinner and try all kinds of food.  It’s a good, regular, alternative to Snake Alley.  In the post I linked, they recommend taking a cab to a shrimping place since it was pretty difficult to find.  Just look up the Mandarin word for shrimping before you go.

This isn’t the same shrimping I’m talking about.  This is at a night market.

Eslite 24 Hour Bookstore – Da’an

This is another great activity if you can’t sleep.  Of course, you can go any time of day, but to get the ‘weird’ experience, the middle of the night might be best.  If your flight gets in really late, this could be a good option.  And unlike good old Barnes and Noble, you’re allowed to sit on the floor and stay to read for as long as you’d like.  There are also tons of shops and restaurants in the same building.

If you do go, this is the address: 2F, No.245, Sec.1, Tunhua South Road, Da’an Dist, Taipei 106, Taiwan.  We had a heck of a time finding this and probably wandered around for almost an hour just looking for it.  

Classic Taipei

These are more of the ‘classic’ must-do things on a visit to Taipei.  If you’re a history buff or like museums, you would probably like these.  A few don’t fall under history or museum, but are still must-do activities.

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall – Zhongzheng

This memorial was built for Chiang Kai-Shek, the former president of the Republic of China.  It’s one of the most prominent landmarks in Taiwan.  The official name of the area is Liberty Square.  This is one place I didn’t go, not even on accident, but I’m not a big history buff, so I wasn’t that interested in going.  When I go back, I’ll probably make it a point to go here. Around the memorial hall is a museum, national theater, national concert hall, and memorial park.

If you do go, just take the MRT right to the CKS Memorial Hall stop.

Longshan Temple – Wanhua

If anyone suggests going to temples in Taipei, this is probably the first one you’ll come across.  It was built in 1738 and has been renovated over the years because of damage from age and weather.  It was pretty busy when I was here, but it’s still cool to see.  Snake Alley, the market mentioned above, and Herb Alley, a street selling dried herbs, are both nearby.  This also is within walking distance of the Ximending area.

If you do go, just take the MRT to the Longshan Temple stop.  It’s right across the street.  Here is the address: No. 211, Guangzhou Street, Wanhwa district 萬華區廣州街211號 , Taipei

Sun Yat Sen Memorial – Da’an

This is another thing we accidentally came across.  It was actually on our way from Taipei 101 to the Friends Cafe, I believe.  We even got lucky and saw the changing of the guards ceremony, which happens every hour.  It’s a memorial to the Republic of China’s National Father, Sun Yat Sen.  There is a display showing his life and a cultural, social, and educational center.

If you do go, it’s in the Xinyi District and you just take the MRT to the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center stop.

Taipei 101 – Xinyi

Can you go to Taipei and not see Taipei 101?  For this visit, I would recommend eating at Din Tai Fung.  The xiao LongBao are little drops of soupy heaven and I wish I could eat them right now.  This is in the basement of the building.  If you like views and overlooks, head to the observatory at the top of the building.  it’s 600TWD for the entrance fee and you can buy tickets on the 5th floor.  The observatory is spread out across four floors at the (almost) top.

Fun fact: Taipei 101 used to be the tallest building in the world until the Burj Khalifa came along.  

If you do go, it’s just an MRT ride away.  The stop is either for Taipei 101 or the World Trade Center.  It might say both.

National Palace Museum – Shilin

I’ll be real, this never even crossed my mind to visit while I was there.  I do not enjoy museums, unless they’re for something really weird.  But, if you like history and museums, this is somewhere you should definitely go.  They have the largest collection in the world, nearly 700,000 pieces, of ancient Chinese art and artifacts, encompassing 8,000 years worth of history.  Most of the collection is high-quality pieces collected by emperors.

If you do go, there are two branches.  The main (north branch) is in Taipei, while the other (south branch) is in Taibo.  I would do a little research before going and decide which exhibits you’d like to see most to plan how to see it most efficiently.  You could probably spend an entire day here.  If you go in the afternoon, you can have dinner at the Shilin Night Market nearby.

Shilin Night Market – Shilin

I mentioned it above, but this is probably the most well known, and one of the biggest, night markets in Taipei.  It can be a little overwhelming, but it’s still fun to visit.  There are tons of food stalls outside as well as in a cafeteria style area downstairs.  There are also carnival-style games and stalls to sell clothes, toys and all kinds of other things.

Food to try: large fried chicken, stinky tofu, pork buns, bubble tea, oyster vermicelli, oyster omelet, spring onion pancakes, and Taiwanese sausage. 

If you do go, take the MRT to the Jiantan station, NOT the Shilin stop. You can get there from both, but it’s right across from the Jiantan stop. It’s also on the way to the National Palace Museum.

Temple Hopping Taipei

If you want to see temples, which you have to see at least one while you’re in Taipei, but don’t want to be overloaded, these would be great to see between other activities.  I don’t have specific pictures of these, so they’re other temples I went to.

Longshan Temple – Wanhua

I’ve already mentioned this one, so let’s just move on.  There is no entrance fee.

Songshan Ciyou Temple – Songshan

This is one of Taipei’s most important Mazu temples near the Rahoe Night Market.  The legend is that a Taoist monk was wandering the area in the 1740’s carrying a statue of the Goddess Mazu.  He ran into some Mazu followers and they spent ten years collection donations to build a worshiping place.  Construction on the temple started in 1753 and was finished in 1757.  There is no entrance fee.

If you do go, take the MRT to the Songshan stop and head towards the Rahoe Night Market.  It will be near the entrance.

Guandu Temple – Beitou

This is the oldest Mazu temple in Northern Taiwan located at the top of Mount Ling near Tamsui.  It’s in the Beitou District of Taipei.  There is a nature park nearby of the same name and an 80 meter Buddha cave next to it with 28 Devas.  At the back of the cave is a thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy, and the riverside entrance.  The entrance fee is 50TWD.

If you do go, take the MRT towards Tamsui and get off at the Guandu station.  From here you can either walk or transfer to bus R35 or S23.

Confucious Temple – Datong

This temple is in the Datong District and is the only Confuscious temple in Taiwan adorned with Souther Fujian style ceramic adornments.  It was built in 1879, demolished, then built again in 1930.  There is a celebration held every year on September 28 celebrating Confucious with music and dancing at the temple.

If you do go, take the MRT to Yuanshan station and leave through Exit 2.  Continue walking down Kulun St.  Take a right at the intersection of Dalong St and the entrance will be on the right.