Taiwan is a hidden gem of food, culture, sites, and natural beauty. We have visited Taiwan many times through the years and have put together an overview of many places we’ve visited. Looking forward to more visits in the future!

Taipei Stays

Sotetsu Grand Fresa Taipei Ximen

Located in one of the most vibrant area of Taipei, Sotetsu Grand Fresa Taipei Ximen is a new hotel offering modern comfortable rooms steps away from restaurants, shops, and sights. It is also steps away from one of the main Taipei metro lines. All rooms are equipped with the newest technology with each room featuring a smart clock where you can turn off room lights, explore the area for suggestions, or play music. They also offer many unique amenities such a free vacuum pack machine to help with your luggage needs and lockers to store any extra luggage. Join Sotetsu Hotel Club which includes member-exclusive perks and special rates.

Aloft Taipei Zhongshan

Aloft Taipei Zhongshan is a great hotel to consider if you’re staying in Taipei. Their prime location has many restaurants and shops nearby as well as easy access to many main attractions. They offer a buffet breakfast on site as well as daily happy hour from 2-4 PM. The perfect start and end point of your day exploring the city!

Palais De Chine

We enjoyed our stay at Palais De Chine located across the street the main Taipei Train station and same building as the Taipei Bus station which are hubs for all travel throughout Taiwan.

This European-style Castle like hotel is a total hidden oasis that you would never expect from just looking at the outside. Inside is filled with baroque styled decoration and art pieces with an art tour available for those interested.

The hotel is equipped with the newest technology including an “AI Smart Speaker” that can help turn on and off lights, play music, and even introduce you to attractions near by. Palais De Chine also offers Sparkling Water Dispensers throughout the hotel to fresh refillable water.

Dine on site at their famous breakfast buffet, stay for afternoon tea, or make reservations at their highly sought after restaurants.

Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei

Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei is a great place to make your hub while exploring Taipei. Even if you don’t stay there, it’s a great place to visit for a view of the city from one of it’s top floors for Afternoon Tea, or a relaxing evening listening to live music in one of their bars. We had the pleasure of staying in a Horizon Premier Room which was a luxurious and relaxing experience with views of the famous 101 World Trade Center and a bathtub looking over the city. Breakfast is included in your stay with a buffet or both Eastern and Western choices as well as a fresh fruit juice bar which we loved! Make sure to check out Ibuki which is located in Shangri-La Hotel. They feature authentic multidiscipline Japanese cuisine – Kaiseki, Teppanyaki, Sushi and Tempura. We had a delicious lunch there to try their Teppanyaki offerings where the chef’s cook live directly in front of us and deliver the food straight from the stove to our plate.

Kimpton Da An Hotel

Kimpton Da An Hotel is a posh boutique hotel located in Central Taipei. Once you step into the hotel you feel serene as if you stepped into a urban sanctuary. The service is very attentive in helping you feel at home and to make the most of your time there. Our room had the most modern amenities and thoughtful designs to make the best use of the space. Their location is perfect for a short stroll to restaurants and shopping or to take the subway to other parts of Taipei.

Day Trips from Taipei

Jiufen and Shifen

Jiufen and Shifen are both mountain towns that make for great day trips from Taipei. Experience the small town feel filled with good eats, sipping tea, quieter moments, and fresh mountain air. Don’t forget to write some well wishes on a lantern in Shifen and send it into the sky!

Yehliu Geopark

Yehliu Geopark is an hour away from Taipei and an interesting place for a visit. Next to the coast, geological rock formations have been created through the years to form eerie towers.

Things to do in Taipei

Taipei Zoo was one of our kid’s favorite places to visit. It is pretty big and best of all- cheap! Tickets are less than $5 USD per person and there’s tons of animals to see including their two giant pandas!

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is a great place for a visit to walk around their beautiful gardens and to see their changing of the guards that happen every hour.

Night Market Eats has a list as long of things to eat. The hundreds of stalls around the city serve almost everything you can think of with sweet and savory choices. Some things we tried were: stinky tofu (a Taiwanese speciality!), all kinds of fried food, noodles, rice balls, and so much more!

Shrimping is becoming a popular pass time in Taiwan. Shrimps are placed into a large pool like area and you pay by the hour to catch as many as you can! Cook them afterwards to enjoy with a beer.

Elephant Mountain is a great place to get some exercise (climbing a lot of stairs!) and boasts an amazing view of the city and 101 Taipei. Easy to get to and surrounded by lush tropical greenery the whole way!

Other Areas of Taiwan

Sun Moon Lake

The Sun Moon Lake area is one of the most popular places to visit outside of Taipei located in the middle of Taiwan, its beauty and allure has made it a popular destination for locals as well as tourists.

On a recent trip to Sun Moon Lake, we stayed at the luxurious Fleur De Chine. It was the perfect place to enjoy the beautiful lake views and relax with loved ones. They are a sustainable hotel with a variety of activities and facilities for all ages and parties.

Start your day at their breakfast buffet that has in and out privileges from 7am-12pm. Their dinner buffet is also one of the best buffets we’ve had with a large variety of dishes to choose from including sashimi, a Peking duck station, fresh noodles, chilled seafood, draft beer, roast pig, and so much more!

Spend the day on one of their tours exploring Sun Moon Lake or enjoying their extensive facilities including a Water World with spa and sauna options or a water slide for the kids. They also have a public hot springs area, Cloud Forest play area, Game Room, Gym, and Amphitheater.

Or relax in your room with amazing views, your own hot springs tub, and private balcony.

Fleur De Chine also has amazing service (in both Chinese and English) to make your stay perfect.

Yilan

We’ve heard so many good things about Yilan County and now we know why! There are so many things to do and explore there and we love that a lot of the activities are outdoors where we can explore and experience the uniqueness of Taiwan and all it has to offer! Enjoy feeding animals, DIY activities, fish spas, and even whiskey tastings.

One of the best parts is the abundance of amazing family friendly hotels in the area like Hotel Pin Jiaoxi. We stayed in their fun family room with a lofted bed and had lots of fun at their game room area, diy projects, hot springs pools, and movie night. It was a great base point for exploring the area since it is close to Jiaoxi’s main transportation hubs for bus and trains as well as close walking distance to many restaurants and sites.

If you have young kids, you must stay at Silks Place Yilan. This hotel is a kid’s dream come true where they can ride electric cars of their choosing down the halls, jump houses, unlimited snacks, and a kid’s movie theatre! The hotel itself is beautiful with comfortable and spacious rooms where you can also request a tent for the kids to sleep in at night! Many rooms have great views of the city and is well equipped with extra amenities and special gifts like bubble baths and makeup bags.

There are several levels with electric cars through the halls as well as a main outdoor area in the center with even more car selections, bounce houses, ball pit, and more. Check out their Wow Wow room that offers snacks and drinks, a movie theatre, and board games and toys. During the summer they also have large outdoor pools to cool off in. Don’t miss out on their delicious buffet breakfast where you can find many popular Taiwanese breakfast items as well as fresh made noodles and make your own cold pressed juice bar.

We had the pleasure of dining at their on site restaurant: Red Lantern that specializes in Cherry Duck. The Duck is cooked and then sliced professionally table side for their signature duck and cheese dish. The rest of the duck is taken away and prepared in multiple other ways with each dish tasting delicious and unique!

Hualien

Hualien is popular for many outdoor activities along the Eastern coastline of Taiwan. We loved the stone beaches, dramatic mountains, and many bike paths along the coast. The city is laid back but with many things to explore like the very clean and organized night market and many diy shops as well as many treats made from this area. One note to anyone visiting is that this area does experience frequent (small) earthquakes. We experienced one while there but was assured that all buildings and the city are very prepared.

We stayed at Azure Hotel which was clean and very well located in an convenient location. Some unique features of this hotel is that they provide free laundry machines (and laundry pods!), Nintendo Switches and games that you can borrow to your room, and a tasty vegetarian buffet breakfast. They also have free bike rentals and are very helpful in answering any questions and giving suggestions!