Getting to Taipei and Around by Airport MRT, Metro and YouBike

Taipei's public transport network is fast, bilingual in English and Chinese, and fully integrated around the central underground hub of Taipei Main Station, where the Airport MRT, two city metro lines, Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) and conventional Taiwan Railways (TRA) all meet under one roof.

From Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and Songshan Airport (TSA)

Most long-haul and regional flights land at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), 40 kilometres west of Taipei, while city-centre flights from Tokyo Haneda, Seoul Gimpo and Shanghai Hongqiao use Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) right on the Brown MRT Line:

• Taoyuan Airport MRT (fastest and easiest from TPE): runs directly from subterranean stations beneath Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 to Taipei Main Station (A1) every 15 minutes. Board the purple Express train (with luggage racks and free Wi-Fi) to reach Taipei Main Station in 35 to 39 minutes; avoid the blue Commuter train unless you are stopping at intermediate suburban stations, as it takes 15 minutes longer. You can tap through the gates with an EasyCard or a contactless Visa, Mastercard or JCB card. Inside Terminal A1 at Taipei Main Station, passengers flying out on China Airlines, EVA Air or Starlux can even check in bags in town before heading to the airport.
• 24-hour Kuo-Kuang Airport Bus 1819: if your flight lands late at night after the last Airport MRT train, Bus 1819 runs overnight from both terminals to Taipei Main Station in 50 minutes.

Taipei Metro (MRT), YouBike 2.0 and buses

The colour-coded Taipei Metro (MRT) makes cross-town sightseeing effortless: the Red Line (Tamsui-Xinyi) links Beitou Hot Springs, Shilin, Taipei Main Station, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dongmen, Taipei 101 and Xiangshan; the Blue Line (Bannan) connects Longshan Temple, Ximending, Taipei Main Station and Xinyi; and the Green Line (Songshan-Xindian) runs from Beimen and Ximen to Songshan Station right beside Raohe Night Market. For short flat hops along Taipei's wide cycle lanes, register your EasyCard on the YouBike 2.0 app or kiosk to rent yellow-and-white public bicycles docked outside every MRT exit.

Trains and buses to Jiufen, Shifen and Southern Taiwan

To reach Jiufen and Shifen, either board direct Bus 965 from Beimen/Ximen MRT Station straight up the mountain to Jiufen Old Street, or take a local TRA train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang Station (45 minutes, tap in with EasyCard) to connect to the scenic single-track Pingxi Line for Shifen Waterfall.