Taipei Introduction
Taipei is the most popular tourist destination and also the capital of Taiwan. Some readers may be even more familiar with Taipei than I am. Even though I have relatives in Taipei, it wasn’t my favorite on the list. To me, it’s just like any other city: busy, with people always in a rush and full of tourists.
But due to the planning of my itinerary, we decided to go to Taipei and stay for 3D2N. We took HSR from Kaohsiung to Taipei. You can read more about my HSR experience.
Transportation
In Taipei, we traveled around via public transport. I bought the Taipei Unlimited Funpass, which includes unlimited transportation rides and entrance to Taipei attractions. It’s pretty worth it, as the entrance fee for all attractions is included. The tricky part is traveling by bus with the kids, as some of the rides can be pretty long, and getting on and off the bus quickly is necessary! You can check the bus arrival timing on the board and figure out where you are going before boarding because the bus driver has no time to answer you. That explains why their buses always arrive on time!
P.S. If you have purchased the Funpass, remember to collect it at the airport or HSR station. We forgot about it and spent a lot of time wasted on traveling to collect the pass.
Luggage storage
During the last day of our trip, we need to check out at 11am, but we still want to explore Taipei. As there are no further extension available, I have to find a place to park our 6 luggages.
After much googling, I managed to find Ecbo Cloak. It allows us to store our luggage and other belongings in a vacant space. It’s actually from Japan and they just launched in Taiwan in August 2023! Lucky us, because many of the services that I found either use coin-operated lockers (which may not be sufficient for us), other services that have numerous bad reviews, or are too far away from our Airbnb location.
Their charges are based on how many pieces of luggage you have, with each piece costing about NT$160 per day.
I managed to find one near our Airbnb – Jing Sheng Yu, which is about a 15-minute walk away. Storing 6 pieces of luggage (bags on top of the luggage are not counted, very worth) cost us NT$960 for 5 hours of storage. The storage place is actually a tea art house, which is very beautiful and nicely set up. If not for the kids, my husband and I would love to enjoy some tea art!
You can get 300 yen discount code and reserve with the ‘ecbo cloak’ app with code ecbocloak-l3lpoK7z. You can use it while you are in Japan too!
Where to stay in Taipei
This time, we decided to stay in an Airbnb in Taipei because Taipei is a large area. So, it depends on where you would like to explore and narrow down the list. Because my family is big, there are limited choices, so based on the locations and family-friendly options, I chose an Airbnb in the Da’an District.
It’s not right at the heart of Taipei, but it’s about 3 mins walk to MRT station and good local breakfast.
The room can sleep up to 10 guests with 3 bedrooms and 3 toilets. It’s simple but very clean, and they also provide toiletries and towels. The bed and pillows are very comfortable, especially the pillows!
The only downside is that the Airbnb is on the second level with no lift landing. Therefore, we have to carry the luggage up and down. Luckily, we only have 3 large and 3 small pieces of luggage, so it’s still manageable.
Where to play in Taipei
Due to our short stay in Taipei and the significant time wasted in traffic and collecting our FunPass, I need to readjust the itinerary. The attractions I have chosen are all near our Airbnb. Since we purchased the FunPass, you can see the list of the 30+ attractions included and plan the itinerary accordingly.
Below the age of 6, there is no need to purchase a FunPass, as most attractions and rides are free for children in this age group. Just ensure you have documents on hand to prove your child’s age when required.
θ²η©ΊηΊθ» Maokong Gondola
Recommended time spent: 1hr
Maokong Gondola is a cable car in Taipei. There are total 4 stations – Taipei Zoo station, Taipei Zoo South Station, Maokong Station and Zhinan Temple station. Total one way ride will take about 20-30mins.
I suggest taking the cable car from Taipei Zoo station as your first stop. From there, you can ride all the way to Maokong station and exit. At Maokong, you can enjoy a tea session and enjoy the scenery. Or participate in a tea bag DIY activity (free activity under Funpass). However, due to our limited time (as mentioned above), we only took the ride back and disembarked at Taipei Zoo South Station.
Once we arrived, we were given the option to choose between a normal cabin or a crystal cabin before joining the Q. We opted for the full crystal cabin. However, for the crystal cabin, the waiting time in the queue is slightly longer because there are limited crystal cabins available. Additionally, each crystal cabin only allows up to 5 passengers, compared to the normal cabin, which can accommodate up to 8 passengers.
Sitting inside the crystal cabin, you can enjoy the scenery differently!
Take note that if you are using the fun pass, you can only exit once. If you need multiple exit, you may need to top up.
Attractions for each stations:
Taipei Zoo & Taipei South Zoo Station – Taipei Zoo
Zhinan Temple station – Chih Nan Temple
Mao Kong Station – Tea House and cafe
θ²η©ΊηΊθ» Maokong Gondola Information
Weekdays: 9:00~21:00
Holidays: 9:00~22:00
Closed on Monday.
ε°εεη©ε Taipei Zoo
Recommended time spent: 5-6hrs
Once you alight from the station, you can see the Zoo entrance. You just need to pay for the train ride to the Zoo.
We didn’t expect the Zoo to be so huge; we didn’t manage to cover the entire zoo, so do allocate more time if you want to truly enjoy the experience! Even though the animals are fenced up or in cages, they are all very up-close. Additionally, all the animals are quite active and lively.
Food wise, you no need to worry because there are a lot of food options available, a total about 21 F&B. So even though the place is really huge, every few steps you will have a eating place.
There are also rental of wheelchair and strollers available. It’s chargeable, which you can check with the counter for more details.
We spent quite a lot of time at the reptile center, perhaps because all the reptile cages are clear and up-close. Furthermore, the information about the reptiles and other animals is also very detailed and clear.
Showing you guys some of the animals
Taipei Zoo Information
Address: No. 30θ, Section 2, Xinguang Rd, Wenshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 116
Opening hours: 9am – 5pm daily.
Tickets: If you do not want to buy the unlimited funpass, you can get individual pass from klook.
ηΎιΊθ―ηΎζ¨εζ©ε€©θΌͺ Miramar Ferris Wheel
Recommended time spent: 1hr (if only taking the ferris wheel.)
It’s not a must to take the Ferris wheel, but since it’s in our direction towards the heart of Taipei and is included in the FunPass, we decided to proceed with the Ferris wheel ride. From here, you can enjoy a birdβs eye view of Taipei.
The Ferris wheel is actually located on top of the Miramar Entertainment Park Mall, where you can also choose to do some shopping or relax and unwind at the mall. Simply head to level 5 and use your FunPass to exchange for the tickets. The ride lasts about 17 minutes, and there are 2 crystal cabins available. We opted for the crystal cabin, which can accommodate up to 7 passengers.
ηΎιΊθ―ηΎζ¨εζ©ε€©θΌͺ Miramar Ferris Wheel Information
Address: 10491, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongshan District, Jingye 3rd Rd, 20θ5ζ¨
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm
ε°ε101 Taipei 101
Recommended time spent: 2hrs
When visiting Taipei, a definite must-see is Taipei 101, offering spectacular views of Taiwan. With the FunPass, the visit is only valid for levels 88th and 89th. If you wish to access level 101, you can purchase an additional ticket.
If you are staying near Taipei 101, it’s better to redeem your tickets first to choose your preferred time slot. Otherwise, once you arrive, the time slot you want may not be available. So plan wisely!
The queue system is very efficient, although we waited about 30 minutes before it was our turn. Once you reach level 89, you can walk around to see the view of Taipei. The circular walkway is divided into 4 sections: North, South, East, and West. In each section, you can see different iconic landmarks of Taiwan and also find Instagrammable themes. In the middle of the level, there is a mixture of cafes and retail shops.
The outdoor observatory was closed when we were there, so I can’t provide much feedback on that. Afterward, we went to level 88 or 87. From there, we could see the “yellow sphere” like structure in the middle of the building. However, we didn’t go in as we had already passed our dinner timing. If you are visiting Taipei 101, make sure to allocate time for that. The “ball” is an important structure of the building during earthquakes, so it would be very interesting to see how the sphere looks and functions!
ε°ε101 Taipei 101 Information
Address: No. 7, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City 110, Taiwan
Opening hours: 10am to 9pm, last admission 815pm
θ’ηεη©ι€¨ Miniatures Museum of Taiwan
Recommended time spent: 1hr
Initially, this wasn’t on my list because I wasn’t sure if the kids would really appreciate it, but I included it anyway because it’s near our lunch place and is under the funpass. Luckily, they enjoyed the museum, and they were able to see some of the fairy tale stories that they are familiar with, like Peter Pan. The girls also read about the stories behind each miniature and their miniaturists.
θ’ηεη©ι€¨ Miniatures Museum of Taiwan Information
Address: 10489, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongshan District, Section 1, Jianguo N Rd, 96θB1
Opening hours: 10am to 6pm, closed on Monday
ι₯ζ²³θ‘θ§ε ε€εΈ Raohe Street Night Market
Recommended time spent: 2-3hrs
Raohe Night Market is one of the most popular night markets in Taipei. From our airbnb, it takes about 20mins via car and about 35mins via public transport. We had our light dinner at the beef stall inside the night market – ηιηηζ, which I found okay even though quite a lot of people patronized it. So I saved my tummy for the street food!
We walked past this stationary shop which sells lots of cute stuff at very low prices. So we gave the kids some money to spend in the shop!
ι₯ζ²³θ‘θ§ε
ε€εΈ Raohe Street Night Market
Address: Raohe St, Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Opening hours: 5pm – 11pm
Where to eat in Taipei
ζ°Έεθ±ζ΅ε€§η
ζ°Έεθ±ζ΅ε€§η is about a 4-minute walk from our Airbnb. We happened to walk past while on our way to MRT station and it looks very old-school and super legit, with locals queuing up to buy breakfast from them.
Give it a try if you are near the areaοΌReally worth trying and their food are freshly make everyday. Go early if possible because some of the popular items go OOS very fast!
ζ°Έεθ±ζ΅ε€§η Information
Address: No. 128-1θ, Shida Rd, Daβan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Opening hours: 5am to 11am (closed on every other Monday)
TankQ Cafe & Bar
This is the cafΓ© that I mentioned, near the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan. It’s within walking distance, about 7 minutes between the two of them.
TankQ CafΓ© is famous for its container-style food. Once you arrive, you can see many Lilo & Stitch soft toys outside the cafΓ©. As you walk in, you’ll be welcomed by all the Tsum Tsum soft toys and decorations.
To avoid disappointment, reservation is needed!
Even though the food prices are on the high side, the presentation is very nice and the portions are quite huge too. Most importantly, the staff’s service and attitude are good. I asked them a lot of questions, but they were still very patient and nice, answering my questions even though it was peak hours.
TankQ Cafe & Bar Information
Address: No. 3-2θ, Lane 90, Songjiang Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491
Opening hours: 11am to 10pm
*Take note, there is min. order of main meal or drink per pax.
ε΅ε± Meow θ»½ι£ι€εΊ
Once we touched down in Taipei, we headed straight to a cat cafe located on Heping Lane, a small alley in Taipei. It’s about a 7-minute drive, 20 minutes by bus, or a 22-minute walk from our Airbnb.
Upon entering the cafe, you have to remove your shoes and wait for the staff to unlock the door. This is to prevent the cats from escaping. The cafe doesn’t have a strong cat smell; in fact, it’s very clean and bright. All the rescue cats look healthy and good!
All the cats here are rescue cats, so they need extra TLC and handling.
ε΅ε± Meow θ»½ι£ι€εΊ Information
Address: 106, Taiwan, Taipei City, Daβan District, Lane 171, Section 2, Xinhai Rd, 11θ1ζ¨
Opening hours: 1130am to 8pm
*Take note, there are min. spending of NT100 per pax.
My Itinerary for Taipei, for reference
Our Taipei trip is only 3D2N and focuses mainly on the attractions and eateries near the Da’an district. The itinerary is suitable for you to follow if you plan to stay around the area.
Day 1
1800hrs ε΅ε± Meow θ»½ι£ι€εΊ
2000hrs XiMenDing
Day 2
0900hrs θ²η©ΊηΊθ» Maokong Gondola
1000hrs ε°εεη©ε Taipei Zoo
1500hrs ηΎιΊθ―ηΎζ¨εζ©ε€©θΌͺ Miramar Ferris Wheel
1800hrs ε°ε101 Taipei 101
2000hrs ι₯ζ²³θ‘θ§ε
ε€εΈ Raohe Street Night Market
Day 3
1130hrs TankQ Cafe & Bar
1300hrs θ’ηεη©ι€¨ Miniatures Museum of Taiwan
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