Is Taipei Worth Visiting? My Honest Review & 12 Reasons To Go

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I’ve been looking forward to writing about Taipei for so long! Taiwan is one of our favorite countries from 1.5 years of full-time travel, and I can’t wait to share its many dimensions with you.

If you’re wondering ‘is Taipei worth visiting?’, I’ll save you the suspense: yes, absolutely. But stick around as some of the reasons to visit Taipei might surprise you just as much as they surprised us.

WELCOME TO

Is Taipei Worth Visiting? The Short Answer

100%, yes! While we spent five weeks exploring, a few days are still plenty to experience its unique culture, incredible food, and welcoming Taiwanese people.

After traveling through South Korea and Okinawa, our curiosity about Taiwan kept growing. Flying to Taipei turned out to be the easiest next step, even though I knew almost nothing about the country outside of its tech industry and bicycles.

I ended up completely falling in love with the city. In fact, I loved it so much that I convinced several fellow travelers we met along the way to reroute their trips in Taiwan too. Sharing those tips and inspiring others ultimately became the exact catalyst for launching this blog.

12 Reasons To Visit Taipei

Whether you like big cities or nature, delicious food or culture, Taipei truly has it all, or at least within a short trip away. While there are countless reasons to visit Taipei, these 12 stand out as the most essential for any traveler (not in a particular order).

1. The food is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

It’s not only that the flavours were amazing, but also we got to try things we hadn’t seen anywhere else in the world for the first time. For example, the famous Din Tai Fung soup dumplings, the rich beef noodle soup, fried hot buns with ice cream inside and oh, my favourite, the peanut ice cream roll.

→ Best foods you must try in Taipei

→ Best places to eat in Taipei

2. Incredible night market culture

Visiting Taipei’s night markets is a ritual for the locals and the tourists and one of the most popular things to do in Taipei. While Raohe and Shilin markets get plenty of attention, smaller spots like Ningxia are absolute heaven for trying pepper buns and scallion pancakes under neon lights.

→ Best night markets in Taipei

3. Easy to get around

Getting around Taipei is a breeze thanks to the MRT metro system, which is cheap and very efficient. It’s very unlikely you’ll need to get a taxi to go anywhere.

💡 Pick up an EasyCard at the airport for tap-and-go access on subways, buses, and convenience stores. Note that it doesn’t work on the High-Speed Rail, and top-ups are cash-only (no international cards).

Also, Taiwan’s public YouBikes are very practical for city exploring, letting you navigate backstreets and scenic riverside paths at your own pace. You can rent one by registering your EasyCard at a station kiosk or via the mobile app, then tapping it at any dock to ride.

4. Endless things to do

Another of the reasons to visit Taipei is that you never run out of things to do. We spent 5 weeks there and felt like there were so much more we could have done.

You can easily balance the panoramic views of the modern city from Taipei 101 with the historic halls at the National Palace Museum or Chiang Kai-Shek memorial, or with some peaceful neighborhood temples. Taipei blends effortlessly futuristic skyscrapers with deeply rooted cultural traditions literally all in the same district.

5. Day trips within reach

Taipei makes an ideal base for northern Taiwan. Within an hour or two, you can wander the lantern-lit alleys of Jiufen or Shifen, soak in the hot springs of Wulai or Jiaoxi, or admire rock formations at Yehliu Geopark, or just take a quick 40-minute metro ride northwest to Tamsui for waterfront sunset views.

6. Urban hiking trails

One of the reasons to visit Taipei, if you love hiking, is that you don’t have to leave city limits for nature. While Elephant Mountain offers the classic postcard view of Taipei 101 at sunset, it is also quite popular and crowded.

If you prefer more peaceful spots you can try the ‘Old Place Airplane Observation Deck‘ where you can watch the planes landing at Songshan Airport, right in the heart of the city (Ale’s an aviation enthusiast, so we really couldn’t skip it). As a plus, it’s a short walk away from Shilin Night Market so you can combine them in one evening.

7. Exceptionally safe

Taipei consistently ranks among the safest cities globally. Seeing locals leave laptops unattended in cafes or their mopeds unlocked gave us instant peace of mind. Having lived most of our lives in Europe, we learned to always be cautious with expensive gear, so this was new to us.

Having said that, you should always use common sense, but overall, Taipei and Taiwan are exceptionally safe.

8. Unmatched local hospitality

I am a little biased on this one as Taiwanese people have a special place in my heart. We met a lot of locals duing our 5 weeks in Taipei and became good friends. I really look forward to going back just to see them 🙂

Taiwanese hospitality is second to none, and we had many occassions when strangers offered their help when we looked a bit lost, or just engaged in conversation with us without hesitation.

9. Fascinating history & culture

The city’s history is a deeply layered mix of indigenous, Chinese, and Japanese influences that you can see everywhere you look. You can notice the traditional Chinese heritage and folk religion at magnificent sites like Longshan Temple, while the lasting Japanese colonial influence is clearly visible in architectural details across town, such as the grand Presidential Office Building or the historic public bathhouses up in Beitou.

10. Very affordable

Compared to other major global capitals, Taipei offers better value for your money overall. Your daily budget stretches far here due to cheap MRT/public transport fares and affordable local street food. One thing I didn’t find to be a great value for money is the accommodation when you’re on a budget, but more on this later.

11. Underrated and Off the Beaten Path (For Now)

While growing in popularity, Taipei largely retains an authentic, raw feel that hasn’t been overly sanitized for mass tourism. With the exception of some very touristic places, like Juifen, Shifen, Sun Moon Lake and the Alishan forest, most of the other places in Taiwan look authentic and raw which is hard to find these days.

12. Lively community energy

Ok, I admit this might not be a standard tourist checklist item when looking at reasons to visit Taipei, but it adds so much to the city’s soul. We constantly stumbled upon community dancing and karaoke gatherings in the public parks at dusk when we were there in September, a communal energy that we haven’t seen in another capital city.

Things I Didn’t Love About Taipei

1. Heavy reliance on cash and card limitations

While it is expected at street food stalls, having to pay cash for big expenses caught us off guard. The most common examples were hotels booked via Booking.com or supermarket chains like PX Mart that didn’t accept foreign Visa and Mastercard.

We relied on our Revolut and Wise cards (4 in total), but quickly blew past our fee-free ATM withdrawal limits because everything from groceries to accommodation required cash. It becomes quite exhausting to plan frequent ATM visits compared to other destinations.

EasyCard top-ups also require cash and international cards are not accepted.

2. Accommodation Value and Space Limitations

As long-term travelers, finding a comfortable private space within a strict budget proved unexpectedly tough, and we often felt we were paying too much for subpar room conditions.

With roughly 2.43 million people living in Taipei, the city is densely populated, meaning space is a premium and large apartments, big balconies, or generous layouts are hard to come by. For example, we once stayed in a private hostel room where the tiny window opened directly onto a closed concrete wall with zero fresh air.

Everyday practicalities suffered too. Without proper airflow, drying racks, or even sunlight coming in, we constantly had to find solutions like using our portable travel laundry line across the room or working in cafes just to catch some sunlight. Stretching a tight budget over weeks while dealing with these cramped, restrictive conditions eventually wore us down.

Having said that, if we increased our budget or looked further out we might have found a better deal, but many places still seemed to lack basic comforts.

3. Relentless Rain and Gloomy Weather

While Taipei is really hot and humid for many months of the year, the real challenge is the volume of rainfall, averaging over 200 rainy days a year, which actually puts it well ahead of cities like London!! Out of the five total weeks we spent in the city, 2 weeks were plagued by constant rain.

Having lived in the Netherlands (and in London), we thought we had seen our fair share of dreary weather, but Taipei surprised us with a stretch of 2 solid weeks where we didn’t see the sun even once.

Final Verdict: Is Taipei Worth Visiting?

We loved our time in Taipei and Taiwan in general, so from us, it’s a big YES!

If you are looking to step outside your typical travel destinations, there are numerous reasons to visit Taipei. Personally, I loved seeing signs in a completely different alphabet, wandering through the local streets and alleys, observing a totally different lifestyle, and trying such unique foods.

Taipei will most likely be your main entry point into the country, and in my opinion, it absolutely deserves a few days to soak it all in.