Seven days is our 6-day plan plus the furthest reach on this list: Taroko Gorge, a marble canyon on the east coast that looks nothing like anywhere else in this itinerary. For the deep in-city version with no day trips at all, see our 7-day Taipei itinerary . Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : base yourself centrally for days 1 through 5 A guided Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day tour : removes the bus-timetable juggling on day two A Sun Moon Lake day tour from Taichung : worth it if you’d rather not chase the connecting bus yourself A Taroko Gorge day tour from Hualien : covers the shuttle logistics inside the gorge itself Day Focus Transit from Taipei 1 Land, EasyCard, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market in-city 2 Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu Geopark (the north coast loop) ~1-1.

Six days is our 5-day plan plus the trip that finally justifies packing an overnight bag: Sun Moon Lake, central Taiwan’s largest body of water and a genuinely different landscape from anything on the north coast. For the deep in-city version with no day trips at all, see our 6-day Taipei itinerary . Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : base yourself centrally for days 1 through 5 A guided Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day tour : removes the bus-timetable juggling on day two A Sun Moon Lake day tour from Taichung : worth it if you’d rather not chase down the connecting bus yourself Day Focus Transit from Taipei 1 Land, EasyCard, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market in-city 2 Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu Geopark (the north coast loop) ~1-1.

Five days is our 4-day plan plus the day that separates a real Taiwan trip from a Taipei-only one: riding the High Speed Rail out of the city entirely. For the deep in-city version with no day trips at all, see our 5-day Taipei itinerary . Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : base yourself centrally since every day starts from here A guided Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day tour : removes the bus-timetable juggling on day two Day Focus Transit from Taipei 1 Land, EasyCard, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market in-city 2 Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu Geopark (the north coast loop) ~1-1.

Four days is our 3-day plan plus a volcanic park and a second round of hot springs, both reached without an overnight bag. This itinerary treats Taipei as a base camp, not the destination; for the version that stays in the city with no day trips at all, see our 4-day Taipei itinerary . Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : base yourself centrally since every day starts from here A guided Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day tour : removes the bus-timetable juggling on day two Day Focus Transit from Taipei 1 Land, EasyCard, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market in-city 2 Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu Geopark (the north coast loop) ~1-1.

Three days is our 2-day north coast plan plus Tamsui, the easiest day trip on this whole list since it needs no bus transfer at all. Most people spend all three days orbiting Taipei 101 and call it a Taiwan trip; this itinerary treats the city as a half-day chore and everything after that as the point. For the deep in-city version with no day trips, see our 3-day Taipei itinerary .

Two days is barely enough for one thing beyond the city, so make it the right one: a half-day taste of Taipei itself, then a full day on the coast. If you want the deep in-city version instead, no day trips at all, see our 2-day Taipei itinerary . Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : base yourself centrally since both days start from here A guided Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu day tour : removes the bus-timetable juggling on your one full day out Day Focus Transit from Taipei 1 Land, EasyCard, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market in-city 2 Jiufen, Shifen, Yehliu Geopark (the north coast loop) ~1-1.

Seven days is our 6-day plan plus a genuinely slow last morning before you fly, not a seventh day of temples and museums at full pace. If a full week means Jiufen, the north coast and the High Speed Rail to you, our Taipei and Taiwan 7-day itinerary is the version built for that. Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : rates jump fastest in the Oct-Nov peak window Taipei 101 observatory ticket : skip the counter queue National Palace Museum ticket : worth it to skip a weekend line A Taipei food tour with Din Tai Fung included : saves the standing wait Day Focus 1 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market 2 Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Din Tai Fung 3 Beitou hot springs, Yongkang Street lunch, National Palace Museum 4 Maokong Gondola, tea plantations, Dadaocheng’s Dihua Street 5 Zhongshan seafood market, Songshan Cultural Park, a splurge dinner 6 Da’an Forest Park, Bopiliao Historic Block, Shida Night Market 7 Slow morning, shopping, departure Day 1: Xinyi and the skyline Taipei 101’s observatory once (88th, 89th, 91st floors, NT$600); it was the world’s tallest building only from 2004 to 2010, before the Burj Khalifa overtook it.

Six days is our 5-day plan plus a sixth day for the neighborhoods that don’t make anyone’s highlight reel but should. If a Jiufen day trip is what you actually want out of a six-day stay, that’s what our Taipei and Taiwan 6-day itinerary is for. Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : rates jump fastest in the Oct-Nov peak window Taipei 101 observatory ticket : skip the counter queue National Palace Museum ticket : worth it to skip a weekend line A Taipei food tour with Din Tai Fung included : saves the standing wait Day Focus 1 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market 2 Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Din Tai Fung 3 Beitou hot springs, Yongkang Street lunch, National Palace Museum 4 Maokong Gondola, tea plantations, Dadaocheng’s Dihua Street 5 Zhongshan seafood market, Songshan Cultural Park, a splurge dinner 6 Da’an Forest Park, Bopiliao Historic Block, Shida Night Market Day 1: Xinyi and the skyline Taipei 101’s observatory once (88th, 89th, 91st floors, NT$600); it stopped being the world’s tallest building in 2010 when the Burj Khalifa overtook it.

Five days is our 4-day plan plus a fifth day most itineraries waste on padding. We’re not wasting it. For the version of day five that swaps this for the north coast instead, see our Taipei and Taiwan 5-day itinerary . Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : rates jump fastest in the Oct-Nov peak window Taipei 101 observatory ticket : skip the counter queue National Palace Museum ticket : worth it to skip a weekend line A Taipei food tour with Din Tai Fung included : saves the standing wait Day Focus 1 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market 2 Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Din Tai Fung 3 Beitou hot springs, Yongkang Street lunch, National Palace Museum 4 Maokong Gondola, tea plantations, Dadaocheng’s Dihua Street 5 Zhongshan seafood market, Songshan Cultural Park, a splurge dinner Day 1: Xinyi and the skyline Taipei 101’s observatory once (88th, 89th, 91st floors, NT$600); don’t repeat the tired line about it being the world’s tallest, it hasn’t been since 2010 when the Burj Khalifa took over.

Four days is our 3-day plan plus a cable car over tea plantations and Taipei’s best-preserved old trading street, still entirely inside the city. If a full day trip to Jiufen is what you’re actually chasing, that’s what our Taipei and Taiwan 4-day itinerary is for. Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : rates jump fastest in the Oct-Nov peak window Taipei 101 observatory ticket : skip the counter queue National Palace Museum ticket : worth it to skip a weekend line A Taipei food tour with Din Tai Fung included : saves the standing wait Day Focus 1 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market 2 Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Din Tai Fung 3 Beitou hot springs, Yongkang Street lunch, National Palace Museum 4 Maokong Gondola, tea plantations, Dadaocheng’s Dihua Street Day 1: Xinyi and the skyline Ride Taipei 101’s observatory once (88th, 89th, 91st floors, NT$600), and correct the record while you’re up there: it was the world’s tallest building from 2004 to 2010, not now, not since the Burj Khalifa overtook it.

Three days is our 2-day plan plus a genuine hot spring half day and one of the great museum collections in Asia, still entirely inside Taipei City. If Jiufen or the north coast is what you’re actually after, that’s what our Taipei and Taiwan itinerary is built for. Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : rates jump fastest in the Oct-Nov peak window Taipei 101 observatory ticket : skip the counter queue National Palace Museum ticket : worth it to skip a weekend line A Taipei food tour with Din Tai Fung included : saves the standing wait Day Focus 1 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market 2 Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Din Tai Fung 3 Beitou hot springs, Yongkang Street lunch, National Palace Museum Day 1: Xinyi and the skyline Ride Taipei 101’s observatory once (88th, 89th, 91st floors, NT$600, about US$19); it stopped being the world’s tallest building back in 2010 when the Burj Khalifa passed it, so don’t let anyone sell you the “tallest in the world” line.

Two days is enough for the actual core of Taipei: one skyline, one temple, two night markets, and the city’s real signature dish, without stretching to Jiufen or the north coast. If you’ve got more time, our 3-day and 4-day itineraries build directly on this one. Book these before you go: Your Taipei hotel : rates jump fastest in the Oct-Nov peak window Taipei 101 observatory ticket : skip the counter queue A Taipei food tour with Din Tai Fung included : saves the standing wait Day Focus 1 Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain sunset, Raohe Night Market 2 Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Din Tai Fung Day 1: Xinyi and the skyline Ride Taipei 101’s observatory once (88th, 89th and 91st floors, NT$600, about US$19), and get the history straight while you’re up there: it was the world’s tallest building from 2004 to 2010, not since, whatever the tour script implies.

Yes, and the reason has nothing to do with the thing everyone puts on the list first. Taipei has roughly twenty night markets, a hot spring district on the metro line, and a mountain you can climb before breakfast for a better skyline photo than the paid observatory gives you. Most travelers treat it as a one-night stopover before Jiufen. That’s a mistake. Key facts Taipei Cost to enter Free to walk; Taipei 101 observatory NT$600, National Palace Museum NT$350 Time needed 2-3 days for the city itself Best months Oct-Nov, Mar-May (19-28C, drier) Book ahead A timed Taipei 101 slot and a Din Tai Fung queue app spot Is Taipei 101 worth the money?

Most people spend their whole trip orbiting Taipei 101 and call it a Taiwan trip. That’s the wrong use of the city. Taipei is the launchpad, not the destination: a mountain lantern town, a coastal geopark, and a marble gorge on the far side of the island are all reachable from your hotel here, some before lunch. Use the city itself as a base, and see our Taipei city guide for what to do with any days you spend actually in it.

Everyone treats Taipei like the warm-up act before the “real” Taiwan trip, a night or two before you bolt for Jiufen or Hualien. That’s backwards. Taipei is the best-run big city in Asia for a first-timer, and most of the “must-see” list you’ve read elsewhere is filler. Here are the 9 things that actually earn a slot on your trip. Essentials Taipei Days needed 2-3 for the city itself, more if you tack on day trips Best months Oct-Nov, Mar-May (19-28C, drier); typhoon season peaks Aug-Sept Daily budget Budget NT$1,500-2,500 / Mid-range NT$3,500-6,000 / Splurge NT$8,000+ Book ahead A timed Taipei 101 ticket and a Din Tai Fung queue slot, both worth locking in before you land The 9, in the order I’d do them: Elephant Mountain, Longshan Temple, Taipei 101’s observatory (once), the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Beitou’s hot springs, Raohe or Ningxia night market, Din Tai Fung, and a Yongkang Street noodle crawl.