What are the top 10 must-visit places in Taiwan ?

I’ve never been to Taiwan

Can anyone suggest what is the top 10 must visited places in Taiwan ?

Thanks ! :slight_smile:

Among them would be:

National Palace Museum
Taroko Gorge

Wu Qi, Taichung County

any others ? must visited travel spots ?

Taidong of course.

Lugang is pretty nice. And some of the offshore islands.

i would say the things to do are (in no particular order)

  1. walk around Taroko Gorge and swim in one of the water holes around, stay in the formosa regent there.
  2. sun moon lake , row across the lake. beautiful natural blue/green waters
  3. national palace museum, top ten pct of the best of chinese art taken from China
  4. yangmingshan , take a sulfur bath or two or three eat some local food like 3 cup chicken, then drive down to the coast and have some seafood at yehliu.
  5. chihpen royal hotel - great hotel to relax in and take a nice sulfur bath after the beautiful drive along the coast from hualien.
  6. drive from taipei to hualien along the coast
  7. kenting and oluanpi , swim in the beautiful waters there
  8. green island and orchid island (iv not been there but all the reports are positive bout them)
  9. shihlin night market and the keelung night market for that taiwanese experience
  10. cks memorial, sun yat sen memorial, taipei 101 and other Taipei city sights
1 Like

I read through some posts about CKS memorial
Are the words inside there in Mandarin ?

Bear in mind that (and I realize I’ll probably get assaulted for this), unless you’re returning to your country of birth or to see your girl/boyfriend or have some other such reason, other countries have a lot more to offer to tourists. Taiwan is extremely densely populated, the buildings are ugly, and it’s a modern, fairly developed (ie., boring) country. Yes, there are interesting things to see here. And no that wasn’t intended as Taiwan bashing. But Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Japan and the Phillipines, for example, are all more interesting.

I say that based in part on two experiences:

  1. having planned sight-seeing itineraries for a friend, a brother, and my mother, on each of their visits, and
  2. having just returned from Hanoi, where I saw so many more tourists than one sees here and I realized the reason was obvious: that country has so much more to offer.

But, given that, Taiwan’s still a nice place to visit. Depending on your time, I’d suggest:

  • Natl Palace Museum
  • CKS Memorial
  • Taipei 101, if you’re into giant phallic structures
  • A few temples
  • night market
  • Taroko Gorge and Hualien
  • snake alley, if you’re into gruesome butchering of snakes and turtles
  • stroll around a decent neighborhood in the morning/evening and watch the Taichi/dancing in the park
  • The nice Ju Ming sculpture garden/museum overlooking the ocean, followed by a good seafood meal on the coast
  • some good dumplings, perhaps at Din Tai Fung
  • That great food street, whose name I can’t remember presently, nearby DTF and Alleycats
  • Better yet, if you’re willing to try stinky tofu, a whole neighborhood devoted to the stuff
    forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopi … light=tofu

I’ve just finished reading, “1000 Places to See Before You Die” by Patricia Schultz (a somewhat famous travel writer). It’s a library book. DON’T buy it.

Nada Zip Zero in Taiwan.

Not that I agree with her.

She’s into “seeing” expensive hotels.

She recommends “The Sukhothai” (hotel) in Bangkok, but passes over Sukhothai (the
ancient capital).

She says the Shanghai Museum is worth seeing, but not the NPM.

I like Tommy 525’s list, but I’d add Penghu.

z

Check Lonely Planet. Tons of places we do not think of, well hidden from the "frequented’ ones

  1. Sunrise while driving the Suao Gong Lou. (Suao-Hualien)
  2. Taroko Gorge
  3. The Southern Cross Island highway
  4. Orchid Island
  5. Penghu
  6. Temple hopping in Tainan.
  7. Lukang
  8. National Palace Museum
  9. Kenting
  10. Kinmen

Could add a few dozen more, but that should keep you busy for awhile.

MJB, nice list! Here’s what I consider to be the best of the north.

  1. Xiao Wulai
  2. Lalashan
  3. Smangus
  4. Jhengsibao
  5. Hulishan
  6. NPM
  7. Kanziding Fish Market
  8. Miao Kou Night Market
  9. Longshan Temple
  10. River Tracing in Hei Longtan or Nanao

River tracing on the Daxichuan river up to the hidden waterfall! (in the summer)

  1. Taroko Gorge, of course
  2. Penghu (Makung), preferably by scooter
  3. Ilan, especially the graveyards nearby!
  4. Any busy night market, preferably in a rural area
  5. Kenting and the rest of the far south, preferably by bicycle
  6. Tainan forts and temples
  7. All of the main Taipei sights (CKS memorial, 101, NPM, etc.)
  8. The National Centre for Traditional Folk Art in Ilan county (totally bilingual)
  9. Alishan, early in the morning (I forget the name of the famous sunrise)
  10. Any of the coastlines, especially Suao to Hualien

[quote=“be_happy”]I read through some posts about CKS memorial
Are the words inside there in Mandarin ?[/quote]

No CKS memorial soon… :frowning:

Any single Western woman’s bedroom.

  1. Danshui
  2. Huashan Cultural Center
  3. Taiwan Nougat Museum
  4. Puppetry Art Center
  5. Ximending
  6. Dihua Street sundry goods market
  7. Shida Night Market and surrounding area
  8. Xiaobitan MRT station
  9. 7-11, OK, Family Mart or Nikko Mart at 3 or 4 am for a brewski
  10. Any bar near Zhongshan N Rd/Linsen N Rd/Dehui St. Oh, so friendly.
  1. Shilin Night Market
  2. Jiufen
  3. Shifen & Pingxi
  4. Dadaocheng
  5. National palace museum
  6. Beitou
  7. Taipei 101
  8. Taichung
  9. Kaohsiung
    {link deleted by moderator; if you want to advertise your business, please do it in the Formosafied section, thanks}
  1. Any NT$50 or below food spot
  2. Slipper stalls
  3. Night markets
  4. Back cupping
  5. Temples to pray for business, grades, or partner
  6. Sogo
  7. Underground maze
  8. Dome of light
  9. LOVE statue in front of 101
  10. Gas station to refuel scooter