Offbeat Taipei and Beyond: 2 Days
Two days is not enough time to see Taipei properly, and it’s definitely not enough to see Taiwan, so this version treats the city as the front door of the whole island rather than the trip itself. You get the essentials, plus a small taste, in MRT minutes rather than a full day trip, of why every Taipei visit eventually turns into a plan to come back for the rest of the country.
Book these before you go
- Taipei 101 observatory ticket , NT$600 standard
- Elephant Mountain sunset small-group hike , if you’d rather not navigate the trailhead solo at dusk
Day 1: old Taipei
Start in Wanhua at Longshan Temple, founded in the Qing dynasty, genuinely working and thick with incense; keep your camera arm loose and your voice down. From there, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Liberty Square, free grounds, and the changing-of-the-guard ceremony is worth timing your visit around.
Lunch: beef noodle soup, Taipei’s actual signature dish, NT$150-250 at a basic shop, up to NT$400 at a famous one. Evening: Ximending, then dinner at a night market on the way; skip Shilin’s crowds for Raohe or Ningxia if you’d rather eat than queue, same NT$50-70 stinky tofu.
Day 2: up, then out
Morning: Taipei 101. One correction before you go: it was the world’s tallest building only 2004-2010, before Dubai’s Burj Khalifa took the title. The 88F observatory ticket (NT$600) is enough for almost everyone; skip the roughly NT$3,000 outdoor Skyline 460 add-on and hike Elephant Mountain instead, free, 20-40 minutes, the single best skyline shot in the city.
Afternoon: this is where the gateway idea kicks in. Rather than cramming in more of central Taipei, ride the MRT to Tamsui, directly on the line, no bus transfers, no day-trip planning required. A riverside promenade, an old fort, an old street of snacks, and a sunset over the water regularly called one of the best in Taiwan, a rehearsal in miniature for the day trips, Jiufen, Shifen, Beitou, that a longer stay would let you do properly.
Two days at a glance
| Day | Focus | Distance/time from central Taipei |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Longshan Temple, CKS Memorial, Ximending, night market | In the city |
| 2 | Taipei 101, Elephant Mountain, Tamsui | Tamsui: direct MRT, no transfer |
Is Tamsui a real substitute for a Jiufen day trip?
Not a substitute, a preview. Tamsui gives you the river-and-sunset atmosphere in under 40 minutes each way with zero bus transfers, while Jiufen’s lantern alleys and Beitou’s hot springs need a genuine half or full day to do properly. If two days is truly all you have, Tamsui is the better use of a single afternoon; if you can add days, our 3-day version sends you to Pinglin’s tea hills instead of the crowded Jiufen bus.
Do I need cash for any of this?
Yes, alongside your EasyCard. Night-market stalls and small eateries are frequently cash-only, and the MRT bans eating or drinking, water included, in paid areas, with fines from NT$1,500 to NT$7,500. Buy an EasyCard on arrival; it covers the MRT , buses, YouBike, the Maokong Gondola, and convenience stores at roughly 20% off cash fares.
Base yourself in Zhongshan or Da’an for both nights; compare current rates on Agoda before booking. If two days leaves you wanting more, that’s the whole point of framing it this way: hot springs, mountain towns, and an old harbor town with the best sunset in the region are all a single train ride away.