Country guide
Taiwan is 394 km long and 144 km wide, and mountains take the eastern two-thirds of it — more than two hundred peaks above 3,000 m, the highest of them Yushan a...
Photograph · Man Ng · CC BY 2.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Taiwan is 394 km long and 144 km wide, and mountains take the eastern two-thirds of it — more than two hundred peaks above 3,000 m, the highest of them Yushan at 3,952 m. The 23,299,132 people counted in December 2025 are pressed into the western third, which is where the railway runs and where every city a visitor is likely to open sits: Taipei with New Taipei and Keelung at the north end, then Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung down the plain. The east coast is the other trip entirely, reached by crossing the ranges rather than skirting them.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Heeheemalu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Seasonal closures come from recorded opening hours.
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
71 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
台北101
Taipei 101 is Taipei's landmark skyscraper and a working office, retail and observation complex in Xinyi District. The 101-floor tower opened as the world's tallest completed building and remains the defining vertical reference in the city.
國立故宮博物院
The National Palace Museum is the Taipei museum that presents the former imperial collection through Exhibition Hall I, its main public building in Shilin.
中正紀念堂
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a prominent monument and public gathering space in central Taipei.
艋舺龍山寺
Lungshan Temple, known locally as 艋舺龍山寺, is a historic Buddhist temple in Taipei's Wanhua District. Founded in 1738 by settlers from Fujian, it stands as one of Taiwan's oldest and most significant religious sites.
Xiangshan, known in English as Elephant Mountain, is a hiking trail and scenic viewpoint in Taipei's Xinyi District. The trail rises from the urban edge near Taipei 101, offering panoramic views of the city skyline and the iconic tower itself.
饒河街觀光夜市
Raohe Street Tourist Night Market is an evening street market on Raohe Street in Taipei’s Songshan District. Its Chinese name is 饒河街觀光夜市.
陽明山國家公園
Yangmingshan National Park is a protected volcanic mountain area on the northern edge of Taipei Basin. Established in 1985, it encompasses dormant volcanoes, hot springs, fumaroles, and subtropical forest.
Ximending is a historic commercial district in Taipei's Wanhua District, centered on pedestrian zones northwest of the old city gate.
臺北市立動物園
Taipei Zoo is Taipei City’s municipal zoological garden, known locally as 臺北市立動物園. It occupies extensive grounds in the southeastern part of the city and combines animal exhibits with landscaped walking routes.
北投溫泉博物館
Beitou Hot Spring Museum occupies a historic bathhouse in Taipei’s Beitou district. The building reflects Japanese colonial-era construction and preserves the architectural setting of an earlier public bathing institution.
Thermal Valley, or 地熱谷, is a geothermal landscape in Taipei’s Beitou District. Its defining feature is a steaming, sulphurous pool heated by volcanic activity beneath the area.
Dihua Street is a historic commercial street in Taipei, Taiwan, dating to the Qing dynasty era.
士林夜市
Shilin Night Market, known locally as 士林夜市, is a large evening market area in Taipei’s Shilin District rather than a single ticketed attraction.
寧夏夜市
Ningxia Night Market is a traditional Taiwanese food market on Ningxia Road in Taipei’s Datong District. It is an evening destination built around compact rows of food stalls and vendors.
華山文創園區
Huashan 1914 Creative Park is a cultural and creative industries complex in Taipei, Taiwan. The site occupies former industrial premises originally established as a winery during the Japanese colonial period.
松山文創園區
Songshan Cultural and Creative Park is a cultural destination in Taipei’s Songshan District, created within a repurposed industrial site. Former industrial buildings now support exhibitions, design activity, and creative-industry events.
臺北市立美術館
Taipei Fine Arts Museum is a major public art museum operated by the Taipei City Government in Zhongshan District. It presents modern and contemporary art through exhibitions and gallery programmes, giving visitors a focused cultural destination within Taipei.
國立臺灣博物館
The National Taiwan Museum is Taiwan’s oldest museum institution and a major cultural destination in Taipei. Known locally as 國立臺灣博物館, it presents natural history and cultural heritage through collections and exhibitions.
台北當代藝術館
The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei is a contemporary-art museum in a historic former school building. The setting gives the museum a distinctive character: current artistic practice is shown inside architecture with an established place in Taipei’s urban landscape.
中華民國總統府
Taipei’s Presidential Office Building is a working seat of Taiwan’s presidential administration and a distinctive civic landmark in the capital. Its red-brick Renaissance-style façade, formal windows, and prominent corner tower give this government building a recognisable presence in central Taipei.
The Maokong Gondola is an aerial lift system in Wenshan District, Taipei, connecting the Taipei Zoo area to Maokong, a hilltop district historically known for tea cultivation.
大安森林公園
Daan Forest Park is a large public green space in Taipei’s Daan District, known locally as 大安森林公園. The park gives the dense city a broad area for walking, resting, exercise, and everyday outdoor life.
二二八和平公園
228 Peace Memorial Park is a central Taipei public landscape shaped by remembrance, not a single museum building.
國民革命忠烈祠
The National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine is a solemn Taipei memorial complex dedicated to military personnel and civilians who died in service to the Republic of China.
台北植物園
Taipei Botanical Garden is an urban green space in Taipei, also known locally as 臺北植物園. It brings plant conservation, botanical research, education, and quiet outdoor recreation together within the city.
Seven to ten days can combine three or four days in Taipei with Tainan, Taichung or Kaohsiung on the western rail corridor. The east coast, central mountains and offshore islands require slower connections and should replace, rather than merely extend, that compact route.
Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency provides the current entry and online-arrival requirements. Check passport eligibility and permitted duration there, with consular guidance where relevant; do not assume a transit permission or previous visa exemption covers a different journey.
Taoyuan Airport connects to Taipei by airport metro, and high-speed rail makes western cities straightforward to combine. Conventional rail and buses reach the east and smaller places, but mountain roads take longer and are more vulnerable to weather disruption.
Spring and autumn often suit city and rail travel, while summer brings heat, heavy rain and typhoon risk. Mountain conditions can diverge sharply from Taipei or Kaohsiung, so check the Central Weather Administration outlook for the specific route.
New Taiwan dollar is the recorded currency. Transit stations and urban shops increasingly support electronic payment, yet night markets and small regional businesses may prefer cash; withdraw TWD through recognised banking channels and verify any foreign-card fee.
Use 110 for police and 119 for fire or ambulance; Taiwan uses Type A and B sockets at 110 V. Tap-water guidance is Not recorded here, and typhoon or earthquake instructions should be taken from official alerts rather than social-media summaries.
