Activities
Best Things to Do in Taipei
Guide: Mountain Views, Hot Springs & Night Markets
Taipei makes city and landscape easy to combine: a morning on volcanic hills or hot-spring ground can give way to observatories, old merchant streets, and night-market grazing.
- Taipei 101 ObservatoryHigh-speed lifts reach indoor views on the 89th floor, the enormous tuned-mass damper, and an outdoor level when weather permits. Visibility matters more than sunset mythology; buy a timed ticket after checking cloud cover, then stay through blue hour if conditions cooperate.
- Elephant Mountain TrailSteep stone steps climb quickly from Xiangshan MRT to classic Taipei 101 viewpoints and continue into the Four Beasts trail network. The first platforms crowd at sunset; carry water, use shoes with grip, and climb farther for breathing room.
- Maokong GondolaThe gondola rises from the zoo to tea-growing hills, crossing green valleys in standard or glass-bottom cabins. Wind and thunderstorms can halt service; ride up in clear weather, walk between teahouses, and use the bus down if queues build.
- Taipei ZooThis enormous, green zoo works best as a half-day of selected zones rather than a completion challenge. Giant pandas draw attention, but Taiwanese fauna and the hillside habitats are more distinctive; pair the lower entrance with the Maokong Gondola only if stamina allows.
- Beitou Hot Spring MuseumA restored 1913 public bathhouse explains Beitou's Japanese-era spa culture through tatami rooms, tiled pools, and the architecture of bathing. Entry is free and shoes come off; combine it with Thermal Valley rather than expecting an operating hot spring.
- Thermal ValleySulfurous steam rolls above an intensely hot green pool that once supplied Beitou's bathhouses. The loop is short and there is no bathing; visit early for clearer views, then book a legal public or private spring elsewhere in the district.