Taipei is one of those cities that initially looks like somebody forgot to establish a coherent design philosophy.
There are enormous glass towers next to old concrete apartment buildings. Tiny temples wedged between convenience stores. Scooters occupying every available molecule of pavement. Neon signs stacked vertically up buildings while Taipei 101 casually towers over the entire mess like someone dropped a skyscraper from the future into the middle of Taiwan.
And somehow, it all works.
Taipei isn’t necessarily the prettiest city I’ve explored in Asia, but it might be one of the easiest to actually enjoy.
It’s clean. It’s ridiculously easy to get around. The food is fantastic. There’s always something happening.
And most importantly, Taipei feels like a city you’re supposed to wander through rather than systematically conquer with a checklist.
DESTINATION: Taipei City Center
CURRENT WEATHER
scattered clouds (81F / 27C)
AIR QUALITY INDEX (AQI)
Good (30)
JUST START WALKING
My preferred method for exploring cities is generally pretty simple:
Pick a direction.
Start walking.
See what happens.
Taipei rewards this behavior exceptionally well.
One minute you’re walking past some aggressively modern shopping center filled with luxury brands you absolutely don’t need, and ten minutes later you’re standing outside a temple filled with incense smoke while people participate in traditions that have existed considerably longer than the shopping mall selling $4,000 handbags down the street.
Then you turn another corner and suddenly there are 700 scooters.
Taipei contains multitudes.
Ximending is probably the most concentrated version of this chaos. Giant signs, street performers, restaurants, shops, people everywhere and enough glowing advertisements to make your retinas consider filing a workers’ compensation claim.
It’s loud.
It’s crowded.
It’s ridiculous.
I loved it.
THERE’S A REALLY BIG BUILDING HERE
Eventually, you’re going to see Taipei 101.
Mostly because it’s somewhat difficult to hide a 508-meter skyscraper.
Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from 2004 until Dubai decided subtlety was overrated and built the Burj Khalifa.
Today, it’s still the defining feature of Taipei’s skyline.
You can head up to the observation decks for massive views across the city, but Taipei 101 is almost more interesting from the ground because it provides a constant geographical reference point.
Get lost wandering around Taipei?
Look for the gigantic building.
Congratulations.
You now vaguely know where you are.
Probably.
THEN THERE’S THE FOOD
Taipei is dangerous if you’re the type of person who considers eating a legitimate sightseeing activity.
Which I absolutely do.
Night markets are everywhere, and walking through one basically means being assaulted by an endless sequence of smells until your brain finally gives up and instructs you to start buying things.
Fried chicken.
Beef noodles.
Dumplings.
Scallion pancakes.
Bubble tea.
Mystery objects on sticks.
And, of course, stinky tofu, which smells like someone opened a sewer underneath a restaurant but remains inexplicably beloved.
Taiwanese night markets aren’t really something you visit for dinner.
They’re something you enter with no plan and emerge from ninety minutes later holding three foods you can’t identify.
TAIPEI MAKES EXPLORING STUPIDLY EASY
One of Taipei’s greatest advantages is its MRT.
Public transportation in unfamiliar cities can occasionally feel like an elaborate government-sponsored intelligence test.
Taipei’s does not.
The MRT is clean, inexpensive, efficient and incredibly easy to understand. It connects most of the places you’ll actually want to visit and makes bouncing between neighborhoods almost embarrassingly simple.
Which means there’s really no reason to stay confined to one part of the city.
Explore Ximending. Wander around Longshan Temple. Go stare upward at Taipei 101. Find a night market. Get distracted by some alley that looks interesting.
Taipei is better when you stop trying to optimize it.
AND THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF TAIPEI
As much as I enjoyed Taipei, some of my favorite experiences in Taiwan happened once I started exploring beyond the city.
A short trip into the mountains gets you to Jiufen Old Street, where an absurdly long maze of narrow streets, food stalls, tea houses and shops somehow attracts what appears to be approximately half the population of Taiwan every afternoon.
Keep exploring northern Taiwan and things get considerably weirder.
Near the coast, the abandoned Shuinandong Refinery sprawls across the mountainside like somebody built an industrial city, extracted everything valuable and then collectively agreed to leave.
Taipei makes an excellent base for both.
Spend a few days wandering the city, then start making questionable day-trip decisions.
TAIPEI DOESN’T NEED A PLAN
That’s probably what I liked most about Taipei.
There isn’t necessarily one attraction that defines the entire experience.
It’s the combination.
The temples.
The skyscrapers.
The scooters.
The markets.
The food.
The alleyways.
The weird little shops you accidentally discover because you were walking toward something completely different.
Taipei is modern without feeling sterile and chaotic without becoming exhausting.
You don’t really need an itinerary.
Get an MRT card.
Pick a neighborhood.
Start walking.
Eventually you’ll find something interesting.
And if not, there will almost certainly be dumplings.
