Taipei

Taiwan·Asia

Currency

TWD

Language

Mandarin

Timezone

Taipei

Continent

Asia

Our guide

Discover Taipei

Taipei sits in a basin ringed by mountains, which is why you can go from neon to hiking trail in twenty minutes. Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010, and its damper — a six-hundred-tonne steel ball hung near the top — can be visited. The National Palace Museum holds the Chinese imperial collection, carried out of Beijing in 1949: the largest body of Chinese artefacts anywhere, and worth half a day. The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall closes a monumental plaza, and Lungshan Temple, founded in 1738, is still a working place of worship in the middle of the city.

When to go

October to December and March to May are the two good windows. Summer, June to September, is hot, very humid and exposed to typhoons, which shut the city for a day when they pass. May and June bring the "plum rains", a season of continuous drizzle. Winter is mild but grey and damp — and it is the best time for the hot springs in the hills.

Getting around

The MRT is fast, clean, signed in English and very cheap; an EasyCard also works on buses, the bike share and in convenience stores. YouBikes cover short trips well. The centre is flat and walks easily, but Elephant Mountain — where the classic photograph of Taipei 101 is taken — is a real climb of steps.

Where to eat

Night markets are the city's institution and Shilin is the largest: you eat standing, working from stall to stall. Beef noodle soup is the dish Taipei claims as its own. Stinky tofu announces itself fifty metres away and eats very well. And bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, which makes it an ordinary drink here rather than a fashion. Only two halal addresses are listed, which is very few and worth planning seriously around.

Good to know

The Taiwan dollar is the currency. The convenience stores, open around the clock, double as cash machines, bill counters and luggage drops — they are part of how the city works. Tipping is not practised. Taipei is remarkably safe, including at night. And carry an umbrella in any season: the rain arrives without warning and leaves the same way.

Smart Planning