Why visit taipei

Whether you're just stopping over en route to another Asian destination, or planning a longer stay, Taipei is a many-faceted treasure that will call you back again and again. More Info. Currently, your browser does not support JavaScript. For full functionality of this page, please enable JavaScript. L large M medium S small A min. Jump to main content. Keyword Search. Taipei City Taipei is Taiwan's largest city as well as its economic, political, and cultural center.

Discover the heart of Asia in beautiful Taipei! More Info Recommended sites. Facebook Clock-in Spots Scenic Platforms. Family Tours Exhibitions Museums. Hot Spring Baths Family Tours. Night Markets Must Eats. Facebook Clock-in Spots. Ecological Experiences Family Tours. Flowers Must Buys. Nighttime Views. Family Tours Ecological Experiences. Exhibitions Museums. There are at least 5 adventures you should try in Taiwan.

You will love this combination — Taiwanese food is incredibly tasty and really affordable! There are countless night markets across the island. Each one is different which makes it exciting. In Taipei, Shilin night market is the largest.

Wanna know my favorite? Taiwan dishes you should try:. Mango shaved ice : a pile of mango ice shavings that will make you experience a food orgasm. My favorite desert! Stinky tofu: fermented snack that assaults the nose but pleases the palate.

The smellier, the better. Beef Noodle: noodle soup made of stewed or red braised beef, beef broth, vegetables and Chinese noodles. Humble but very traditional. Flaky scallion pancakes: Chewy, flaky, and savory s callion pancakes are one of my favorite snacks in Taiwan.

So addictive! If you prefer to visit the city with local guide, you can book this tour. Alternatively, there is a private tour as well. I have been to over 30 countries and never met people friendlier than the Taiwanese. They always offer to help and love talking to foreigners. You will notice that they are extremely shy. Their English is often perfect but you need to give them time and encourage them.

If you stay a bit longer around the island, chances are, you will make really good friends over there. People in Taiwan love hot springs. Some people visit them every day!

There are public hot springs in Beitou, about an hour from Taipei city center. And you should definitely try the wild hotsprings, too! This tour takes you there and I know you will love it. Soaking in the hot springs is a must-do experience.

Make sure you are not leaving without it! Traveling in Taiwan is really easy: especially thanks to efficient transportation system and also the friendliness of people, who are always ready to help you especially to the foreigners. See you in Taiwan! Thanks a lot for reading — and please share the article with your friends. Big thanks go to photographers who cooperated with me on this post.

I used their photos since they had a better picture of the same place. Title cover picture: stunning panorama by Guillaume Bouvier. Follow him on Instagram Yohmi. How could you possibly think Taiwan is the best place in the world to visit? You must be making stuff up. Maybe you are lucky enough to have found a few nice views here, but there are much more impressive views and beaches elsewhere in the world.

And the food in Taiwan is depressingly bland. It has no flavor. Taiwanese people seem to like it that way. It matches the gray atmosphere of the cities. It also rains a lot. Often months at a time without as single sunny day.

And your claim that Taiwanese people are friendly is not right either. They can be reluctantly helpful if you ask directions, and they can even make an effort to be polite to show how much more civilized they are than the mainlanders. Hi Max! I just wonder — you sould like someone who lives there but actually hates it? Did all the excitement disappeared over the ears? What this guy said is totally absurd. First, natural views are everywhere in the world but every single natural site has its unique characteristics.

Watching the sunset and sunrise in mountain Ali are an exclusive experience because it takes only one hour to get there. Why do I assume that you just stay at the hotel all the time? Every single traveler knows that before visiting a country, travelers may look up when is the best time to visit. In addition to picking up the right time, no one force you to stay in Taipei all the time, especially you visited there in spring or summer.

You may visit the south Taiwan or southeast of Taiwan, Taiwan has high-speed rail it takes only 2 hours from the north to south. The south of Taiwan, another city named Kaohsiung, the sunny day is all year long. I traveled to many places in the world, there are people not willing to help when I ask direction. But when I was in Taiwan, the high percentage of Taiwanese citizens is willing to help with that. If you said China is more civilized than Taiwan, according to this index, the rank of UK is close to Taiwan, so you are saying that China is more civilized than the UK??

Racism and microagressions? I think if some people bring this issue, I assume they are the person like that. I have been to around 30 countries, so granted, I have not seen that much. That being said, nature in Taiwan offers some of the most spectacular views I have seen. Not many countries offer very high mountains over peaks over m, the highest east of the Himalayas, mind you and stunning sea view in the same place. Some food may feel bland yes, especially if one is accustomed to more flavourful cuisines.

But call it all bland? Surely you are not serious. Have you ever tried aborigine roasted pork? Thank you, Veronika, for sharing all the beautiful photos, many of those I have never seen as a native citizen in Taiwan. Thanks for your support, Deborah! Pictures are actually from five photographers — I love to feature friends who have amazing photo skills most of times better than my own. Ouch, such a negative comment. Everything you said in this article is how I feel!

Max, seriously??! Ok, the reality is there will always be someone some where who is just plain rude, bitter, cynical, egoistic and, all in all, negative. LIFE will be sooooooooooo much better if you actually decide to think, speak and live in a positive way. Not sure why you had such a bad time given you did not name any places which were superior to Taiwan and the reasons. However, if you went to Taiwan without researching the weather, customs, food, and culture, you set yourself up for disappointments.

As for the people, racism and microaggressions exist everywhere. However, a mature, kind, and polite attitude often shifts the bar. If you went to Taiwan thinking the Taiwanese were going to soak you with welcoming hugs and kisses, cater to your every demand, and anticipate your every need, then you were sadly mistaken.

The Taiwanese have a developed society not dependent on tourism. They enjoy the intellectual stimulation of mingling with visitors, but they do not need to, nor will, kowtow to arrogant, critical, rude, or self important people. They have a high context culture, whereby they give the unspoken as much importance as the spoken. When the first Han settlers came from China, the recipes and cooking styles they brought along met the ingredients and culinary traditions of Taiwan's aboriginal people, becoming something new and different.

This new cuisine was further modified, first by new immigrants from other areas of China, and later by the Japanese who ruled the island for 50 years. Seafood, sweet potatoes, taro root and green vegetables cooked very simply are at the heart of many traditional Taiwanese sit-down meals, while roadside stands and night market stalls offer variety to those who enjoy eating al-fresco. Perhaps the best place for foodies to taste what Taiwan has to offer is at the local night market.

Which is best is a source of heated debate, but for our money the Keelung Night Market about an hour from Taipei is tops, offering both an excellent selection and plenty of signs in understandable and sometimes amusing English.

Taiwan is home to one of the globe's only accessible seawater hot springs, the Sunrise Spring on Green Island a small island off the Southeast coast. You do not even need to leave Taipei to soak: a quick hike from Taipei's Xin Beitou metro stop, you will find hotels and resorts that offer piped-in sulphur hot springs, said to be the all-around healthiest for the skin. There is also an excellent public hot spring.

Two hours by train or bus from Taipei, the east-coast town of Jiaoshi draws hot-spring lovers from around the island. There is even a hot-spring fed fountain outside the train station that folks soak their feet in.