How to have fun in Taipei?

Question

We`re visiting Taipei, Taiwan this August. :] Can you recommend any tourist spots we can go to? And fun activities to do? And food to eat? :) We`ll stay for four days.

Answer 1

Taipei 101 is a main attraction, because it is currently the world's tallest building, with 101 stories. (There are other buildings that will be taller than it, but they're all under construction or being proposed.)

http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/lan/Cht/attract...

Another popular destination is the National Palace Museum. The building is beautiful. A lot of the most precious historical artifacts are showcased there.

http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/lan/Cht/attract...

Something fun to do is to ride on the Maokong Cable Car. It's fast and environment-friendly.

http://taipeitravel.net/article.asp?pcod...

There's a whole variety of international food available in Taipei. Chinese gourmet food, however, is Taipei's speciality. Taipei's little soup dumplings, or "shiao long bao" (小籠包) is very famous worldwide. (yum, I'm hungry just thinking about them!)

You can also visit Yangmingshan. The view is perfect for night-seeing.

http://taipeitravel.net/article.asp?pcod...

I hope you have fun in Taipei!

Answer 2

You could go to Night Markets.  

These places sell relatively cheap merchandise and has great food.  It's really crowded, and could get extremely hot due to the amount of people and seeing as Taiwan is already an originally hot and humid country, but it's fun.  Usually, you can spot them with bright, luminous lights and a herd of people.  

Another famous destination you could head to is Taipei 101.  I've been told that only the 1st few floors [4 or so] are department stores, but Taiwanese department stores are extremely expensive.  My friend told me that you could ride to the very top, and the elevator is fast.

I believe somewhere near there is the Eslite Bookstore.  It is open 24 hours a day, so many people spend entire days there.  Each floor is a different store.  For example, there is a floor for stationery, and a floor for music.  Like most Taiwanese stores, the basement is the food court, and it has many delicious foods.

It is air conditioned and extremely clean.  

You should try something called "Shue Ni", which is like shaved ice.  Shaved ice uses frozen water, but this uses frozen milk.  You can add toppings such as milk tea pearl balls, green bean, red bean, ...

There are many other things to try as well.  I think that usually the Night Markets have most of the authentic foods of Taiwan, but not all.  

Have fun!!

I hope this helped a bit.  

Answer 3

I have to admit that my food tastes are very picky, so I can't give a lot of good food advice.  I would suggest listening to the other answers on that one.

However, I travel to Taipei frequently to do comedy shows at the comedy club there.  You've already gotten the standard answers of Taipei 101 and Palace Museum.  These are definitely on the "must see" list.  I'd like to offer, however, a few places that you probably never thought of that might be of interest.

I tend to like strange, quirky places you might not find anywhere else.  

The first place I recommend is the Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theater Museum.  Taiwan has a history of puppetry that is very different from the Western style.  This museum is dedicated to that history and has some really fascinating information.  It's a very small museum.  Take a look at their web site:

http://www.taipeipuppet.com/index.html

If strange places are of interest, I just found a miniatures museum in Taiwan.  Never heard of it until now and I may just have to head up to Taipei to see it sometime.  

http://www.mmot.com.tw/

The Taipei Astronomical Museum is another interesting choice:

http://www.tam.gov.tw/  That web site is all in Chinese, I believe.  It features an IMax and a 3-d theater.  Well worth the visit.

If temples are of interest to you, check with your hotel and see what temples are in the area you are staying.  You can often visit many of the temples just by jumping on the MRT (their subway) and going to locations that stop right by the temple.

For a nice change of pace from the city life, check out the Yangming Shan scenic area:

http://www.ymsnp.gov.tw/HTML/ENG/04touri...

I'm not saying don't visit 101 or the Palace Museum.  I'm saying make those your priorities, but both those can be seen in a day.  I thought a little mix of other cultural aspects might help some.

Matt

Answer 4

Places =Taipei 101, Shilin Night Markets, Ximending.

Food = Stinky Tofu, Fried Chicken (鹹酥雞), Pearl Milk Tea.

Fun Activities = Visit the National Palace Museum, showcasing thousands of years of Chinese historical artifacts.

Answer 5

night markets- cheap stuff

taipei 101- shopping and dining