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.
45 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
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.
心中山線形公園
Xinzhongshan Linear Park is a pedestrian green corridor shaped by the former surface alignment of the Taiwan Railway Administration railway between Zhongshan and Shuanglian. Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation began renovating the green space between the two MRT stations in 2017.
西門紅樓
The Red House, known locally as 西門紅樓, is a historic landmark in Taipei’s Ximending district. Built during Japanese colonial rule as a public market, it is recognised by its octagonal red-brick form and cruciform plan.
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.
艋舺青山宮
Qingshan Temple, known locally as 艋舺青山宮, is a historic place of worship in Taipei’s Wanhua district. The temple honours the Qingshan King, a deity traditionally associated with protection from plague and illness.
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.
美麗華百樂園
Miramar Entertainment Park, known in Chinese as 美麗華百樂園, is a large Taipei shopping and entertainment complex built around several kinds of urban leisure in one destination.
ATT 4 FUN is a commercial entertainment complex in Taipei combining shopping, dining, and leisure in one urban destination. The complex suits travelers who want an indoor stop with several possible activities rather than a single museum or monument.
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.
台北101購物中心
Taipei 101 Mall occupies the lower floors of the Taipei 101 complex in Xinyi District. It is the shopping component of one of Taipei’s most recognizable towers, combining retail, dining, and access to the wider Taipei 101 experience.
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.
Qingtiangang Grassland, or 擎天崗草原, is an elevated meadow in Taipei’s Yangmingshan region, within Yangmingshan National Park. Its open pasture, rolling grass, and grazing cattle create a landscape very different from the dense city below.
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.
