The 18 Best Places in Taiwan to Visit
by Steve Cummings
Taiwan is an incredible place full of adventures, culture, old and new cities, and plenty of places to eat and enjoy. As an expat living in Taiwan, you will see many places and enjoy the food and culture. One of the best parts of Taiwan is that it is very convenient to travel from place to place. There are plenty of buses, trains, scooters to rent, and even bicycles to help make this place easy for traveller lovers. Each form of transportation comes at an affordable cost that saves money. There are so many places that can be seen in Taiwan, but here are just a few must-see places on your adventure in this tiny country.
18 Best Places in Taiwan to Visit
1. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial
Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, or as most people call it CKS, is an iconic landmark in Taipei. It hosts the national theatre and concert hall and is an ample space to watch the changing of the guard or even teenage dance groups practice their dance moves. You have to visit and learn the history, experience some cultural performances, and enjoy the iconic landmark.
2. Beitou Hot springs
In the nation of Taiwan, numerous hot springs are found everywhere. During the Japanese rule, Beitou Hot Springs became a place for people to relax and soak in the hot pools of water. It is now a place that many still go to today for hot springs.
Other people choose to adventure to wild hot springs, but many hot spring hotels have sprung up to offer tourists and locals a more straightforward way to experience the amazing effects of the Beitou Hotsprings.
3. Jiufen
There are many things to see and do in Jiufen. If you want to eat excellent while escaping the big city of Taipei, then Jiufen is the place to go. The movie “Spirit Away” takes the beauty of this city and puts it in the movie as the landscape. The old street is a classic place to visit. Then you can hike up to Teapot mountain, which overlooks the coast.
4. Shilin Night Market
Night markets have it all, but the food is the best part. In Taiwan, night markets are famous. Shilin Night Market is by far the largest night market, and it attracts tourists from all over to taste the delicious foods, play games, and enjoy shopping. It is located in the Shilin district, which can be visited by taking the metro or the bus.
5. Yamingshan National Park
One of the best places to hike around the Taipei area is Yaminshan National Park. It has many mountain trails, hot springs, and even hot geysers creating steam from the magma chambers below. Take a trip on a day to hike and visit this beautiful mountain area.
6. Sun Moon Lake
Sun Moon Lake is a classic place to visit. Every year, people swim across the lake in their great swim. If you come and visit, you can rent a bicycle and ride around the lake. There are boats to hop onto to ferry across the lake and plenty of places to find good food and a relaxing fee.
7. Taroko Gorge
If you ever go to Hualien, you need to visit Taroko Gorge. Taroko Gorge is one of the most popular travel destinations in Taiwan. There are a ton of hiking trails, fantastic scenery, and adventures that can last a whole day there.
There are plenty of buses that will take tourists and people into the national park from Hualien City. Remember that the crowds will come on weekends, but this is a must-see place on your trip to Taiwan.
8. Kenting
Kenting is one of those places you see in tropical beach resorts. It is at the southern tip of Taiwan, and it is full of amazing beaches, great restaurants and bars to visit, and resorts and hotels along the main road. Kenting is a favorite of most Taiwanese going on a beach holiday.
You need to either get a bus from Kaohsiung, rent a car, or scooter to get there. It is a beautiful place that you will not want to miss.
9. Green Island
Green Island is a volcanic island off the coast of Taitung. You can take a ferry or even fly there. There are numerous places to see and visit, which can be done within a day or two on the island. The best way to visit things will be to rent a scooter and use it as your primary transportation.
Green Island offers some beautiful scuba diving, and it has many sites such as the Museum that talks about the White Terror. You can also visit the beaches and do some snorkelling as you see much incredible sealife.
10. Penghu
Penghu is one of the best well-kept secrets to Taiwan. It consists of many islands west of Taiwan, which feature beautiful beaches, great adventures, good food, and an impressive drone light show during the summertime. You can take a ferry or fly to land in the beautiful place of Penghu.
11. Jade Mountain
Ever thought about climbing one of the tallest mountains. Jade mountain is pretty tall, and it is the tallest mountain in Taiwan. It may not be one of the tallest mountains in the world, but you will have amazing views, great stories, and experience something people dream about.
Taiwan boasts over a hundred 3,000 meter peaks. Jade mountain sits at just under 4,000 meters, and it is a must-to-do item if you are into hiking and adventuring.
12. National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum has an extensive collection of some of the best Chinese artwork globally. When Chiang Kai Shek left China for Taiwan during the revolution, he brought over as many Chinese art pieces as possible, making the National Palace Museum one of the most incredible places to see Chinese artwork.
It hosts nearly 700,000 artifacts and art pieces from centuries of Chinese art. This is another excellent place to come and visit.
13. Chimei Museum
The Chimei Museum is full of art, weapons, and instruments. Designed with European architecture, Chimei is a museum-like none other in Taiwan. It is a mass collection of beautiful items that will leave you wanting to share the pictures and experiences with all of your friends. It is located down in Tainan, allowing you to enjoy the food of Tainan and the cultural experience of Chimei Museum.
14. Rainbow Village
In Taichong, an old village has become a popular tourist destination. From the creative Huang Yung-Fu, came a vision to transform this ordinary, drab ex-military village into a beautiful art display. Huang Yung-Fu took some paint and paintbrushes and created this excellent site of Rainbow village.
People come from all over to visit and take pictures of this village. It is an incredible sight to see.
15. Pier 2 in Kaohsiung
Pier 2 is a thriving art area in Kaohsiung. It was once a part of old factories and warehouses that were unused, but it has been transformed into a beautiful art center where many can come and visit and spend the day exploring. Tourists and locals come to revel at the fine art displayed.
16. Taitung
Taitung is not a place that is often talked about. It is a smaller town in the southeastern part of Taiwan, but what you will find there is a quiet relaxing area full of lovely beaches, kind people, art, and beautiful scenery. There are beautiful beaches to surf at, and it is a lovely place to visit and spend some time relaxing in.
17. Fulong
Have you ever seen massive sandcastles with unique designs? Fulong has a sandcastle competition every year. Fulong is a beautiful place for a relaxing time at the beach, visiting sandcastles during the day, and you can even take a bicycle trip around the area. Fulong is just a short train trip away from Taipei, but it offers so many great things to do on a weekday or even a weekend of fun.
18. Taipei 101
At one point, Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world. It looks like a large pagoda in the sky, and it is seen almost everywhere in the Taipei area. It is an iconic symbol to Taiwan and Taipei. If you want to go inside, you must probably book a reservation with the Starbucks inside, but being around the building is such an incredible experience.
The crowds will gather to watch the fireworks shoot from off the building during New Year as Taiwan welcomes the new year.
Final Thoughts
If you are thinking of relocating or even moving to another contry, you should consider Taiwan. Taiwan is one fo the best contries to live in and one of the safest countries to visit. The people are kind and willing to help people. The healthcare system is excellent at an affordable price.
After looking at this list of beautiful places, you may want to stay in Taiwan longer than you expected. There are so many things to see and places to visit. Taiwan is just full of opportunities. Come and visit and enjoy your stay in the beautiful country of Taiwan.
Author: Steve Cummings. I’m Steve Cummings. I’m an English Teacher, traveller, and an avid outdoorsman. I also write for The Frugal Expat, which is a personal finance and travel blog.
