Taiwan

[TheFlyingBoat 913]

Going to be there in early June. Going to be primarily in Taipei. Where should I go, what should I do, and where should I eat? I don't think there is any better source than the Shaggy Surly brain trust.

[We’reTexas 1,473]

Actually had a 24 hour layover last week - Taipei is awesome. We just referred to the Eater 38 for the city and bounced around. Din Tai Fung for dumplings, Wistaria for tea, and Gongguan night market for street food. That one was OK, but looks like there were much better night markets to hit up (like Raohe). As for sights, lots of great temples, particularly in Zhongzheng. Really wish we had time to head out to the National Palace Museum, and looks like there’s some good hiking in the surrounding parks. 

Taipe was an unexpected hit and I wish we had several days there, incredible food city. Looking forward to your report back. 

[TheFlyingBoat 913]

7 hours ago, We’reTexas said:

Actually had a 24 hour layover last week - Taipei is awesome. We just referred to the Eater 38 for the city and bounced around. Din Tai Fung for dumplings, Wistaria for tea, and Gongguan night market for street food. That one was OK, but looks like there were much better night markets to hit up (like Raohe). As for sights, lots of great temples, particularly in Zhongzheng. Really wish we had time to head out to the National Palace Museum, and looks like there’s some good hiking in the surrounding parks. 

Taipe was an unexpected hit and I wish we had several days there, incredible food city. Looking forward to your report back. 

Thanks for the advice! What was special about the National Palace Museum that made you wish you saw it? And what make Raohe better than Gongguan in your opinion?

[Sam Lin 3,567]

I'm sitting in Taipei now. How long is your visit, what types of activities do you enjoy, what kind of foodie are you, and what budget are you on?

Sam

[hornbri 1,476]

Quote

Din Tai Fung for dumplings

You can go to the original location. Those soup dumplings are so good. 

[Sam Lin 3,567]

Now back to a computer with real keyboard:

The MRT subway system is fantastic and will get you to most places in town. Other places can be accessed cheaply by bus (and Google Map transit directions are fantastic for bus lines and realtime time updates), or easily via Taxi or Uber. Don't worry so much about staying in the heart of town, but do try to stay close to an MRT stop.

The National Palace Museum is world famous, they have by far the largest and best collection of Asian artifacts and art in the world. It's somewhat like the Louvre: If you're into art or culture, you can easily burn multiple days there. If you aren't, then there are a few famous pieces you should see.

Plenty of parks dotted around the city, depending if you like to hike and how much time you want to devote. Right in the middle of town is Elephant Mountain (Xiangshan), which is also the best view of Taipei 101 over the city at dusk, and only a 30min climb. Has its own MRT stop, very accessible. If you want to go further, Yangmingshan is about an hour away and is a large national park.

Both the Sun Yat Sen and Chiang Kai Shek memorial halls are neat visits, esp at changing of the guard. The National Concert Hall shares the plaza with the CKS memorial hall, if you happen to be there when there's a performance. Close to the plaza is Takumi Dumplings. No English or photo menus, but point to what you see on other people's tables (this is a good strategy for all the local food in Taiwan):  https://goo.gl/maps/1VRomfT9Ya32

Eveningtime you really need to experience the night markets. Shihlin is the big one, but they all have different flavor and are known for different things, whether specific specialty foods or shopping. Ningxia, Liaoning, Raohe, Huaxi are others. Search Night Market on Google Maps and it'll find you all of them.

For food recs, this is an old article, but is still mostly relevant. Don't worry about going to their specific recommended restaurant, use the list as a guide to the types of food, and ask a local or your concierge for a nearby recommendation for that type of food:  http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/40-taiwan-food/index.html

If you have extra time for an out-of-Taipei jaunt, there are a couple famous/breathtaking scenic areas. In order of time/difficulty: Yehliu (in Keeling), Sun Moon Lake, and Taroko Gorge. All will use at least a day. Yehliu you can combine with Keelung's famous Miaokou night market. The other 2 are better over 2 days due to travel. If you're traveling with a romantic, an overnight at Sun Moon Lake is hard to beat. Taroko is like a combination of Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls, just stunning geographic features at a massive scale.

[Sam Lin 3,567]

Also, if you're the upscale foodie type, Asia's top 50 restaurants for 2018 picked 3 in Taiwan (all in Taipei). Numbers 15, 18, and 47. If you want to try them, book NOW:

https://www.theworlds50best.com/asia/en/asias-50-best-restaurants.html#t1-50

[TheFlyingBoat 913]

On 4/13/2018 at 10:21 AM, Sam Lin said:

I'm sitting in Taipei now. How long is your visit, what types of activities do you enjoy, what kind of foodie are you, and what budget are you on?

Sam

I'll be there for only 4 days unfortunately. I love hiking (and nature in general for that matter), love learning about history, and most of all love eating food. I'm a pretty big foodie. I'd prefer to hit a range of restaurants at different price points ideally (from fantastic street vendors to Michelin starred restaurants to things in between) to get a feel for the food scene there. Obviously I prefer to conserve money where possible, but dropping some at a nice place that's worth it is fine by me. That being said, considering it is my first time to Taiwan, I'd prefer to have more traditional meals than a Taiwanese twist on haute cuisine. 

 

Edit: Just saw you went even more in depth after the post I quoted. Thanks so much for this info, this helps a lot.

Edited April 17, 2018 by TheFlyingBoat

[PittsburghTiger 6,252]

My brother lives in Taipei. He's been there for a while. It's a fun city. The island as a whole is pretty neat too.