Taipei 3-Day Itinerary: Taipei 101, Old Streets and Jiufen

This three-day route follows Taipei's colour-coded MRT lines: Day 1 rides the Red Line east from Liberty Square to Taipei 101 and Elephant Mountain, Day 2 pairs old riverside Taipei with the National Palace Museum and Beitou, and Day 3 heads out to the mountain town of Jiufen and Shifen. Review our practical before-you-go tips and pick up your EasyCard at the airport.

Day 1: Liberty Square, Yongkang Street, Taipei 101, Xiangshan & Raohe Night Market

• Morning: start with warm soy milk and flaky shaobing flatbread, then take the MRT to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to walk across Liberty Square between the National Theatre and Concert Hall and climb the 89 marble steps to the memorial hall.
• Midday: walk or ride one MRT stop east to Dongmen Station and Yongkang Street for lunch: feast on eighteen-pleat xiaolongbao soup dumplings or red-braised Taiwanese beef noodle soup, followed by mango shaved ice.
• Afternoon: continue east on the Red Line to Taipei 101 to ride the lift to the 89th-floor Observatory and inspect the 660-tonne golden tuned mass damper sphere.
• Late afternoon & sunset: hop one stop east to Xiangshan Station and climb 20 minutes up the stone steps of Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain) to watch sunset light up Taipei 101.
• Evening: head north to Songshan Station to photograph illuminated Songshan Ciyou Temple and graze through Raohe Street Night Market, starting with a clay-oven black-pepper pork bun.

Day 2: Longshan Temple, Dadaocheng (Dihua Street), Palace Museum & Beitou

• Morning: begin in Wanhua at 1738 Longshan Temple and the red-brick shophouses of Bopiliao Historic Block, then head north to Dadaocheng to walk 19th-century Dihua Street for oolong tea and dried fruit.
• Early afternoon: ride the Red MRT Line to Shilin and take the bus to the National Palace Museum to spend two hours with the imperial jade, bronze and ceramic collections and stroll Zhishan Garden.
• Late afternoon: continue north on the Red Line to Xinbeitou to walk beside the steaming jade waters of Thermal Valley, the timber Beitou Library and the Hot Spring Museum.
• Evening: stop at Ningxia Night Market or Shilin Night Market on the way back into central Taipei for oyster omelettes, crispy taro balls and bubble tea.

Day 3: Day Trip to Jiufen, Shifen Sky Lanterns & the Northeast Coast

• Morning: board Bus 965 from Beimen/Ximen or a TRA train to Ruifang and head into the Pingxi valley to walk the suspension bridges to Shifen Waterfall and release a paper sky lantern along the tracks of Shifen Old Street.
• Afternoon & dusk: continue up to hillside Jiufen to eat chewy taro balls and sip mountain oolong tea overlooking the Pacific Ocean as red lanterns light up along narrow Shuqi Road.