my boyfriend and i are visiting taipei this friday for a long weekend holiday. i tried doing some research on taipei nightlife, but couldn’t really find anything substantial. does taipei have a clubbing/bar district similar to say clarke quay in singapore or lan kwai fong in hong kong?
if it is less centralized than that, then where should we go? i’m thinking more of a sit down bar/pub to drink at first and then move to a proper club for dancing. any recommendations? (we’re about 23-24 years old)
The Warner Village has a number of bars. Barcode for drinks, though a little older than you will probably be looking for, then Room 18 or Lava for dancing.
Also, on ZhongXiao East Rd, look up Luxy for dancing, as well. It’s probably the hottest of the bunch for the younger set.
I’d recommend starting in Ximending (ximen stationlook for a renovated “old building”) and there are 10 bars or so there and they should be able to advise you of “the scene” in TP.
Dr. McCoy, hahaha, i did that! but i thought it would be easier and better to get actual recommendations rather than going by what travel/tourism websites tout!
Fair enough. Try the Taiwanfun link. There were a couple of sites that were pretty good for discussing the clubs, but I forget their names. I just looked at the pictures.
If you are both male, definitely follow itakitez’s info. Across from exit 6 you will see the “red building”. Walk around the back of the building for a lot of outdoor bars in a courtyard of sorts.
If female, then citizen k offers great advice (well even if you are male the same advice is great). I would also mention “In House” for sit down drinks and food before. They are trendy and the food is pretty good. So something like In House for food then barcode for drinks (make sure you check out the outdoor area and yes there are seats that don’t require a minimum in order to sit) then room 18 and/or lava for dancing.
There also a lot of other restaurants in the same building with a variety of cuisines as well as Joyce east nearby. And there is primo for dancing in 101 within walking distance. However, people here don’t tend to linger/wander out and drink in a centralized street/area like lan kwai fong.
Some of the important details you need to provide in order for us to give better info are:
Where are you visiting from and where are you both from originally?
What types of food do you like?
Where will you be staying or in what area of the city will you be staying?
What kind of music do you like to dance to?
What kind of experience are you looking for?
How much do you want to spend?
elektronisk, i’m female. we’re coming down from singapore which is where we both work. i’m indian and my boyfriend is english, though i suppose that doesn’t matter at all.
we eat pretty much anything edible, but i’d be keen on trying out some local fare. our hotel is quite close to the zhongshan mrt. we’re not too fussed about the money as long as the atmosphere and crowd is interesting - indie, rock music is always fun for drinks. r&b or poppy music for dancing!
hope this helps…
thanks everyone for the tips, i’m really excited now!
Uh…why Taiwan? Yeah Taipei has some bars and pubs but Taiwan is pretty lame compared to other more exotic cities in Asia such as BKK, HK, Manila, SH, etc etc. Just the fact that you have to search the net and ask ppl for a place to have fun here isn’t good. I can go to BKK or HK and not knowing where anything is, find some fun in short order (as an example). One good thing about coming to Taipei though: you can chew gum here and spit on the street, get publicly drunk and feed the birds and jay-walk without being fined or caned.
There’s no single area for nightlife in Taipei…btw, the place in XiMenDing is more of a gay hangout…think people should let them know first…however there are nice places to sit down and have a few beers outside there.
These bars are all gays bars, but have patio seating. Lesbian bars are the second level. I really enjoy this area despite not being a homosexual because it’s very rare in taipei that you can sit on a patio like that and enjoy a drink.
