Taipei Things to Do Tips by kenmerk

For an interesting day trip from Taipei, Tamshui is a good choice. Located near the mouth of the Tamshui river, this town was once a major port, but now is mostly a tourist attraction.

There are several historically significant buildings in Tamshui. The most famous is Fort San Domingo, or as they say in Chinese: "Fort of the Red Haired Barbarians". (Meaning guys like me) This fort was originally built by the Spanish in the 17th Century. Also, around town you can find several other old European buildings, including the Red Castle, which was built in the late 19th century.

There is also a new park directly in front of the MRT station. Here they have live bands and other entertainment on weekends...

Leave a Comment

Directions: Take the Tamshui MRT line from Taipei Station out to the last stop on this line. Exit the station, and follow the crowds along the river to the tourist attractions.

First the good things about Wulai: A spectacular waterfall, nice mountain scenery, and many hot spring resorts in the area.

Now the bad: This place is on the main tourist circuit, so you can expect all the typical tourist trappings. Also, Wullai is too close to Taipei for comfort. This means that on the weekends, every bus, taxi, car, scooter are heading in this direction. If you have a free week day, this is a nice place, otherwise I would avoid trying to come here....

Leave a Comment

Directions: Go south from Taipei on Roosevelt Road, and then on Route 9. Turn on the branch of 9 that heads west. Wulai is about 13 km from here. Or just jump on a tour bus from Taipei, there are lots of them.

Chuifen is an old gold mining town in Northern Taiwan. It has now become one of the main stops on the Taipei area tourist circuit. Walking around you can hear the various tourist speaking Japanese, German, English, Korean, Cantonese, etc...

The narrow alleys and old architecture in Chuifen makes for interesting photographic possibilities. However, the town is built on the steep slope of a hill, so wandering through it means some serious hiking up and down steep/narrow stairs.

Note: There is a nice Hiking Trail just west of town. The trail head is at the top of the hill on the left after driving through the town. There are four pavillions along this trail as it heads up the hill. If you go on a clear day there are nice views of the town and coast...

Leave a Comment

Directions: Chuifen is on Route 102 a few kilometers south of the northern part of coastal Highway 2. (Southwest of Keelung)

Peitou is a hot spring area 13 kilometers northwest of Taipei. This area was originally developed by the Japanese prior to the war.

The most interesting place in town is Hell Valley, which is a large natural hot spring in the center of the resort area.
There is an area here where you can soak you feet in the springs for no charge.

Other than that there are many, many hot springs hotels, where you can take a soak for a fee...

Leave a Comment

Directions: The easiest way to get here would be to take the Tamshui MRT line from Taipei Station out to Shin (New) Peitou station.

Hell Vally and the hot spring area are just up the hill from the MRT station.

Yehliu: See unique sandstone formations along the north coast of Taiwan. The wind and the surf have carved out figures and shapes, including this 'Queen Rock' formation.

Yehliu makes a pretty easy day trip (by Bus, car, or taxi...) from Taipei, and is definately recommended, as this is one of the more unique places that you will find in Taiwan...

Leave a Comment

Address: Yehliu, Taiwan

Yangmingshan has the two things that I enjoy most in this world, besides beer,of course: Lots of hiking trails and hot springs.

One of the best trails in the park starts at
Sulphur Valley and leads to the top of Chishingshan mountain (Seven Stars Mountain). At 1120 meters, this is the tallest mountain in Yanminshan National Park. All along the trail, you can see volcanic vents spewing steam and suphuric fumes. (Good for warming you hands on a cold day...) It is about a 50 minute hike to the top of Chishingshan.

There are numerous other trails in the park, so you could easily spend a few days wandering around here. The only drawback is that this park is too close to Taipei, so it can get overrun on weekends/holiday...

Leave a Comment

Directions: Just head north out of Taipei on Chungshan road. Once you reach Tienmu, just follow the signs to Yangmingshan National Park. Chishingshan is on the branch of Route 2 that heads north to Jinshan.

Fulung Beach is probably the nicest beach close to Taipei... I have only been here out of season, but it's an attractive broad, sandy beach. I am told that in the summer time this place can get packed, though...

Nice place to hang out and have a couple after hiking the Tsaoling Trail, though... (Both places are at the same train stop)

Will update this page once I see what summer looks like here.

Leave a Comment

Directions: Take the train from Taipei/Keelung east. (or from Hualien/Ilan to the north) Exit at the Fulung Station. The beach is walking distance from the train station...

For a day filled with animals, people, people, and more people, try the Taipei Mucha Zoo.

If you visit the zoo on the weekend, you will be overwhelmed and amazed. Not by the exotic animals, but by the sea of humanity trying to get into this place.
.
But if you want to see lions and tigers and bears in Taiwan, this is the best option available in country....

I'd recommend avoiding both the Koala and Penguin exhibits. If you try these on the weekend, you will like spend the whole day waiting in line to see just one thing. (It would probably be more rewarding to go to Australia for the Koalas, and to Antartica for the peguins, anyway....)

Leave a Comment

Directions: The easiest way to get here is to take the Mucha MRT south. The zoo is at the Mucha station, which is the terminal stop on this line.

Large park and monument dedicated to the famous Chinese Generalissimo. Nice green place to get away from the stifling bustle of the city...

Come early in the morning and you can see a bevy of activities including ballroom dancing, taichi, homeless people napping, and the occasional camera toting tourist snapping away.

The CKS memorial itself is getting a facelift at the moment, so I included a picture of the imposing front gate instead.

The easiest way to get here is to take the Hsintien (Green) MRT line two stops south of Hsimen.

Leave a Comment