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.
16 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
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.
自由廣場
Liberty Square, or 自由廣場, is a monumental public plaza in central Taipei. Its broad open space is framed by the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, National Theater, National Concert Hall, and a ceremonial entrance gate.
台北故事館
Taipei Story House, locally called 台北故事館, is a small heritage house with a distinctly European-influenced appearance in Taipei’s museum district. Its steep roof, patterned half-timbering and intimate domestic scale make the building itself the central attraction.
永康街
Yongkang Street is a renowned commercial and dining destination in Taipei's Da'an District, officially recognized in the city's attraction inventory. The street has developed significant visitor appeal through its concentration of local eateries, specialty shops, and neighborhood atmosphere.
剝皮寮歷史街區
Bopiliao Historic Block, known locally as 剝皮寮歷史街區, preserves an old streetscape in Taipei’s Wanhua district. Its buildings and lanes connect visitors with the city’s Qing dynasty and Japanese colonial-era development.
臺北府城南門
South Gate of Taipei, also known as 臺北府城南門, is the principal southern gate associated with the former Taipei Prefecture walls.
臺北府城東門
The East Gate of Taipei, known locally as 臺北府城東門, is a surviving remnant of the city’s historic fortifications.
臺北府城小南門
Xiaonanmen is a preserved gate from old Taipei’s Qing-era city wall, known in Chinese as 臺北府城小南門. It gives a compact, highly visible glimpse of the fortified city that once shaped this part of Taipei.
四四南村
Four Four South Village, locally called 四四南村, is a preserved military dependents’ village in Taipei’s Xinyi District. The compact settlement represents residential quarters built for Nationalist military personnel and their families who arrived from mainland China in the late 1940s.
紀州庵文學森林
Kishu An Forest of Literature, known locally as 紀州庵文學森林, is a Taipei literary and cultural destination where Taiwanese literary heritage meets a public setting.
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.
