--- title: "Taiwan travel guides, city by city | Wimup" description: "Where to go in Taiwan and when to go: the city guides, the night-market food worth queueing for, and what to know before you book." url: https://wimup.com/country/taiwan type: Country guide updated: 2026-10-06 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10s across Taiwan From **Taipei and Taichung** down the west coast to **Tainan, Kaohsiung and the Pacific side**, Taiwan's cities each distilled to ten things worth your time, mapped and filmed. ## Quick answer First trips run the west coast. Give **Taipei** three or four days, then take the high-speed line south to **Tainan** for the old capital and **Kaohsiung** for the harbour, with **Taichung** as the way into the lake and mountain country behind it. Repeat visitors cross to the east, where **Hualien** and **Taitung** trade cities for marble gorge, rice terraces and the Pacific. The clearest weather is **October and November**, with **March** a close second. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Oct · Nov · Mar - **Ideal length:** 8–10 days - **Budget per day:** $60–120 - **Language:** Mandarin Chinese - **Getting around:** High-speed rail & metro - **2** City guides - **23,270,568** People - **2** Video guides Taiwan packs a capital, a high-mountain interior and a subtropical south into a country you can cross by train in a morning. Taipei is the obvious first base, and the high-speed line down the west coast makes Tainan, Taichung and Kaohsiung day trips if you want them. ## 2 Taiwan city guides 1. [Taipei](https://wimup.com/city/taipei.md): Asia · 10 picks 2. [Taichung](https://wimup.com/city/taichung.md): Asia · 10 picks ## Know before you go - **Population:** 23,270,568 - **Area:** 36,197 km² - **Density:** 642.9 / km² - **Capital:** Taipei - **Major cities:** New Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taoyuan - **Tourism board:** Official site - **Currency:** New Taiwan dollar (NT$) - **Language:** Mandarin Chinese Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka are widely spoken, and sixteen indigenous languages are officially recognised. Transport signage is bilingual everywhere. - **Calling code:** +886 - **Power:** 110V · Type A/B - **Emergency:** 110 police · 119 fire 119 covers ambulance as well as fire. - **Visa:** Visa-free · 90 days Most Western passports enter visa-free for up to 90 days. Confirm for your nationality. - **Getting around:** High-speed rail The line down the west coast puts Taipei and Kaohsiung 90 minutes apart. An EasyCard covers metro, buses and local trains, but not a reserved high-speed seat. - **Tipping:** Not expected Some restaurants add a 10% service charge. Beyond that, nobody is waiting for a tip. - **Money:** Cards and cash Cards work in shops, hotels and chains. Night markets, small noodle counters and temples are cash. ## When to visit - **Jan** (good) - **Feb** (good) - **Mar** (best) - **Apr** (best) - **May** - **Jun** - **Jul** (peak) - **Aug** (peak) - **Sep** - **Oct** (best) - **Nov** (best) - **Dec** (good) ## Fun fact Taiwan has 268 peaks above 3,000 metres. The highest, Yushan, reaches 3,952 metres, which puts it above anything in Japan or Korea. ## Stereotypes, sorted out - **Myth:** Taiwan is a smaller version of China **Reality:** Taiwan elects its own government, prints its own currency and issues its own passport. On the ground it is a blend: Hokkien and Hakka roots, sixteen recognised indigenous peoples, and fifty years of Japanese rule still visible in the stations, the hot springs and the food. - **Myth:** It is all night markets **Reality:** The night markets are worth the hype and they are also the easy half. Two thirds of the island is mountain, with 268 peaks above 3,000 metres and a marble gorge cut into the east coast. - **Myth:** You cannot get around without Mandarin **Reality:** Signage and announcements on the metro and the high-speed rail are bilingual, and one EasyCard covers metro, buses and local trains island-wide. Station staff in the big cities usually have some English. - **Myth:** Typhoons make the whole trip a gamble **Reality:** Storms cluster between July and October and are tracked days ahead by the Central Weather Administration. Travel in November, or between March and May, and a typhoon is rare. - Queues are real. People line up for the metro doors, the bus and the bubble tea, and cutting in gets noticed. - No eating or drinking on the Taipei metro, water included. The rule is signed and enforced. - Tipping is not expected. Some restaurants add a 10% service charge and that is the end of it. - Shoes come off at the door of a home, a homestay and the inner hall of many temples. - Convenience stores are infrastructure here: tickets, parcels, bill payments, hot food and a clean toilet. - Pass a business card or money with two hands. It reads as respect and costs nothing. ## Famous Taiwanese faces - **Tsai Ing-wen**: President of Taiwan from 2016 to 2024, and the first woman to hold the office - **Ang Lee**: Director, twice an Academy Award winner for Best Director - **Teresa Teng**: Singer whose ballads defined Mandarin pop across Asia - **Jay Chou**: Singer-songwriter who reshaped Mandopop from Taipei - **Morris Chang**: Founder of TSMC, the company that makes most of the world's advanced chips - **Yuan T. Lee**: Nobel laureate in Chemistry, 1986 - **Tai Tzu-ying**: Badminton world number one for a record 214 weeks - **Lee Teng-hui**: First president of Taiwan chosen by direct popular vote, in 1996 - **Lai Ching-te**: President of Taiwan since 2024 - **Chen Shui-bian**: First opposition-party president, elected in 2000 - **Audrey Tang**: Taiwan's first digital minister - **Chiang Kai-shek**: Moved the Republic of China government to Taipei in 1949 and led it until 1975 - **Hou Hsiao-hsien**: Director, Golden Lion at Venice for A City of Sadness - **Edward Yang**: Director, Best Director at Cannes for Yi Yi - **Tsai Ming-liang**: Director, Golden Lion at Venice for Vive L'Amour - **Shu Qi**: Actress, from Taipei to Hong Kong cinema and back - **A-Mei (Chang Hui-mei)**: Puyuma singer and one of the biggest voices in Mandopop - **Jolin Tsai**: Pop singer who has spent two decades at the top of the Mandopop charts - **Mayday**: Rock band that fills stadiums across Asia - **Lo Ta-yu**: Singer-songwriter whose protest ballads soundtracked the 1980s - **Kuo Hsing-chun**: Weightlifter, Taiwan's first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics - **Lee Chih-kai**: Gymnast, Olympic silver on the pommel horse in Tokyo - **Wang Chien-ming**: Pitcher, the first Taiwanese starter to headline a New York Yankees rotation - **Chen Wei-yin**: Left-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins - **Terry Gou**: Founder of Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer - **Cher Wang**: Co-founder and chair of HTC - **Jensen Huang**: Born in Tainan, co-founded Nvidia in 1993 - **Barry Lam**: Founder of Quanta Computer, which builds laptops for much of the industry - **Lin Hwai-min**: Founded Cloud Gate Dance Theatre in Taipei in 1973 - **Ju Ming**: Sculptor, best known for the Taichi series - **Chen Cheng-po**: Painter from Chiayi, the first Taiwanese artist shown at Japan's Imperial Art Exhibition - **Wu Pao-chun**: Baker who took the bread title at the 2010 Bakery Masters in Paris - **Fu Pei-mei**: Taught Chinese cooking on Taiwanese television for forty years, from 1962 - **André Chiang**: Chef, from Restaurant André in Singapore back to Taiwan's dining rooms ## Must-try Taiwanese food - **Beef noodle soup**: The national dish: braised shank in a dark, star-anise broth. - **Lu rou fan**: Minced fatty pork stewed in soy over rice. The cheapest good meal on the island. - **Three-cup chicken**: Chicken simmered in sesame oil, rice wine and soy, finished with basil. - **Gua bao**: A steamed bun folded around pork belly, pickled mustard greens and peanut powder. - **Xiaolongbao**: Soup dumplings, and what Taipei queues for. - **Stinky tofu**: Fermented, then fried or braised. The smell travels further than the taste. - **Oyster omelette**: Small oysters in a sweet-potato-starch batter under a sweet chilli sauce. - **Fried chicken cutlet**: Pounded flat, fried, dusted with pepper and handed over in a paper bag. - **Popcorn chicken**: Salt-and-pepper bites fried with a handful of basil leaves. - **Pepper bun**: A peppery pork bun baked against the wall of a clay oven. - **Scallion pancake**: Layered, blistered on the griddle and folded around an egg. - **Danzai noodles**: Tainan's small bowl of noodles with minced pork and a single shrimp. - **Coffin bread**: Thick toast hollowed out and filled with a creamy chowder, also Tainan. - **Ba-wan**: A translucent starch dumpling filled with pork and bamboo shoot, from Changhua. - **Hakka lei cha**: Ground tea, seeds and nuts poured over rice and vegetables in Hakka country. - **Sun cake**: Taichung's flaky pastry around a thin malt-sugar centre. - **Milkfish congee**: A Tainan breakfast: milkfish belly in rice porridge. - **Grilled squid**: Whole squid off the charcoal, brushed with soy and garlic. - **Shrimp rolls**: Deep-fried rolls of minced shrimp and pork, best near the coast. - **Fish ball soup**: Bouncy fish balls in a clear broth, a Keelung staple. - **Mango shaved ice**: Summer's answer: shaved ice, fresh mango and condensed milk. - **Pineapple cake**: A short, buttery pastry around candied pineapple. The souvenir everyone brings home. - **Aiyu jelly**: A fig-seed jelly served cold with lemon. - **Douhua**: Soft tofu pudding with peanuts, taro or syrup. - **Bubble tea**: Invented here. Tapioca pearls, tea and milk, sweetness to order. - **High-mountain oolong**: Grown above 1,000 metres and brewed cup by cup. - **Taiwan Beer**: The lager on every night-market table. - **Winter melon tea**: Sweet, faintly caramelly, served over ice. ## Films - [Best of Taichung](https://wimup.com/watch/taichung.md), 29:50 - [Best of Taipei](https://wimup.com/watch/taipei.md), 12:05 ## FAQs ### How many days do you need in Taiwan? Eight to ten days circles the island without rushing: three or four in Taipei, two more down the west coast by high-speed rail, and three on the east side. With less time, stay on the west coast and skip the loop. ### When is the best time to visit Taiwan? October and November are the clearest and driest months, and a typhoon that late is rare. March and April are the next best. July to September is hot, humid and the heart of storm season. ### Is Taiwan expensive to visit? Not by East Asian standards. Budget around $60 to $120 per person per day mid-range, and less again if you eat where the queues are, which is usually the night market. ### Do you need a visa for Taiwan? Passport holders from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and most of the EU enter visa-free for up to 90 days. Confirm the rule for your own nationality before booking. ### Is it easy to get around Taiwan without Mandarin? Yes. Metro and high-speed rail signage and announcements are bilingual, one EasyCard covers metro, buses and local trains, and staff in the big stations usually have some English. ## Related countries - [Japan](https://wimup.com/country/japan.md) - [India](https://wimup.com/country/india.md) - [All of Asia](https://wimup.com/asia) Part of [Asia](https://wimup.com/asia.md) ## Sources - [Tourism board](https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Visa](https://www.boca.gov.tw/cp-149-4486-7785a-2.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Getting around](https://en.thsrc.com.tw/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.