5 days in Taipei, Taiwan – what to do, where to eat, and where to stay

Okay so if you just finished watching this vlog and you’re already googling flights to Taipei – that’s the correct response. Five days solo in Taipei covers a genuinely impressive amount of ground: hiking Elephant Mountain at dawn, getting completely lost in Jiufen Old Street, eating your way through Ningxia Night Market, standing inside Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, and somehow fitting in matcha, taro balls, soy milk breakfasts, and a teahouse that looks like it belongs in a Studio Ghibli film. Taiwan has been quietly sitting at the top of solo travel recommendation lists for years and after watching this it’s obvious why.

This is a destination guide built around real footage from a 5-day solo trip in October 2024. No fluff, no sponsored hotel talking points. Just the actual places, the actual food, what things cost, how to get around, and where to sleep if you want to do this properly. Let’s go.

Why Taipei works so well for solo travel

Before getting into specifics – Taipei is one of those cities that removes almost every friction point that makes solo travel stressful. The MRT (metro) system is cheap, clean, logical, and has English signage everywhere. The city is extremely safe by any global standard. English is widely spoken in tourist areas and most restaurants have picture menus or point-and-order setups. Street food is abundant, excellent, and costs almost nothing. And the locals are genuinely, non-performatively friendly.

The cost of living gap between Taiwan and most Western countries is also significant. A proper sit-down lunch at a good local restaurant runs 150-250 TWD (about $5-8 USD). Night market food is cheaper. Even mid-range hotels are more affordable than equivalent properties in Tokyo, Seoul, or Singapore. Five days here costs less than two days in most Japanese cities at the same quality level.

Best time to visit: October to December is the sweet spot – temperatures drop to a comfortable 20-28°C range, humidity is lower, and typhoon season is mostly over. Spring (March to May) is also good. Summer (June-September) is hot, humid, and typhoon-prone. The vlog was filmed in what appears to be autumn and the conditions look ideal – though there’s a rainy day in the footage, which is just Taipei being Taipei. Pack a small umbrella regardless of when you go.

Where to go in Taipei – the actual highlights

🏔️ Elephant Mountain (象山)

Elephant Mountain – Xiangshan in Mandarin – is the hike that opens the vlog and it earns the screen time. It’s a short but steep climb up stone steps through forest on the eastern edge of the city, and the payoff is an unobstructed view of Taipei 101 and the entire city skyline. The trail takes about 20-30 minutes to reach the main viewpoint depending on your pace and how many times you stop to question your life choices on the steeper sections.

Go early morning or around sunset. The sunrise view with 101 catching the first light is the shot you’ve seen in every Taipei travel photo. At sunset the city starts lighting up below you and it’s one of those views that earns its reputation. It’s free, it’s accessible directly from Xiangshan MRT station (red line), and it takes half a morning. There’s no reason not to do it.

🏮 Jiufen Old Street (九份老街)

Jiufen is technically not Taipei – it’s a mountain village in New Taipei City about an hour from central Taipei by bus or taxi – but every Taipei itinerary includes it and the footage in this vlog explains why immediately. The narrow red-lantern-lit stairways, the teahouses carved into the hillside, the fog rolling in off the mountains – it genuinely looks like the real-world version of the town from Spirited Away. (The director has denied this was the direct inspiration but nobody believes him.)

Getting there: take the MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing or Taipei Main Station, then bus 1062 directly to Jiufen. Or take the train from Ruifang station. Give yourself a full day – arrive in the afternoon, stay for dinner and the lantern lighting in the evening, leave when it thins out. Weekday visits are noticeably less crowded than weekends.

🏛️ Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (國立中正紀念堂)

The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is one of those sites that’s worth visiting even if you arrive knowing nothing about the political history – and considerably more interesting if you arrive knowing something about it. The white marble complex with its blue octagonal roof sits in a massive plaza in the Zhongzheng district, flanked by the National Theater and Concert Hall. The changing of the guard ceremony inside happens on the hour and is worth timing your visit around.

The surrounding Liberty Square is also where large public events happen and the park space around it is a genuine neighborhood lung – locals do morning tai chi here, couples sit by the reflecting pools, and the scale of the whole complex only really hits you once you’re standing in the middle of the plaza. Free entry. Nearest MRT: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall station (blue and green lines).

🧵 Yong Le Market (永樂市場)

Yong Le Market on Dihua Street in the Dadaocheng area is primarily a fabric and textile market – floors of bolts of fabric, traditional patterns, haberdashery supplies – but the ground floor and surrounding street are worth the visit for the atmosphere alone. Dihua Street is one of the oldest commercial streets in Taipei, lined with Baroque-style red brick shophouses from the Japanese colonial period. Even if you have zero interest in buying fabric, walking this area in the morning before it gets busy is one of the more authentic neighborhood experiences available in central Taipei.

🎡 Shi-men Ting (西門町)

Ximending is Taipei’s answer to Harajuku – the youth culture, fashion, street food, and entertainment district in the Wanhua area. Pedestrianized, loud, covered in neon, full of pop culture shops, cosplay, independent fashion brands, and street food stalls. It’s worth an evening walk even if it’s not your scene, just for the energy. The Red House (Ximen Red House) at the entrance is a Japanese-era market building now converted into indie boutiques, bars, and creative spaces – the contrast between the 1908 building and everything surrounding it is genuinely striking.

🏙️ Taipei 101

Taipei 101 was the world’s tallest building from 2004 to 2010 and it still dominates the Xinyi skyline in a way that nothing else in the city comes close to. The observation deck on the 89th floor costs 600 TWD (~$19 USD) and the view on a clear day is exceptional. The building also houses a high-end mall at its base that runs from luxury brands to mid-range dining. The Xinyi district around it is the most upscale commercial area in Taipei – the Grand Hyatt is directly adjacent, which is worth knowing if you’re planning to stay in that area.

What to eat in Taipei – the specific stops

This is the section where Taipei genuinely separates itself. The food culture here is a combination of traditional Taiwanese, Japanese influence, Chinese regional cuisines, and a genuinely creative modern food scene. And it’s cheap. Here are the specific stops from the vlog:

🍵 A-Mei Teahouse (阿妹茶樓) – Jiufen

A-Mei Teahouse is the iconic multi-story teahouse you’ve seen in every Jiufen photo – red lanterns, wooden architecture, carved into the hillside overlooking the valley and ocean. It’s unambiguously beautiful and the tea service is traditional and properly done. It is also, predictably, very popular and can have queues. Go on a weekday afternoon and you’ll have a better experience. A traditional tea set runs around 250-350 TWD per person. This is the place in Jiufen – don’t skip it trying to find somewhere less crowded, because nothing else quite delivers the same setting.

🟣 Ah-Gei Taro Balls (阿柑姨芋圓) – Jiufen

Also in Jiufen, just up the hill from A-Mei – Ah-Gei’s taro balls are one of Jiufen’s most famous street food items. Soft, chewy taro and sweet potato balls served in either warm taro soup or over shaved ice. About 60-80 TWD for a bowl. The view from the seating area looking down over the village and the sea is as good as any photo you’d pay admission for. Get the warm version in autumn.

🍵 Matcha One – Da’an District

Matcha One on Yongkang Street is a specialty matcha cafe doing proper ceremonial-grade matcha in multiple formats – lattes, soft serve, layer cakes, and traditional preparation. Yongkang Street itself is one of Taipei’s best food streets with Din Tai Fung’s original location nearby, bubble tea shops, and independent cafes. The area is worth an afternoon of eating your way from one end to the other. Matcha One is small and fills up – go off-peak hours.

🥣 Moon Moon Food (雙月食品社)

Moon Moon Food (Shuang Yue Shipin She) in the Zhongzheng district is a traditional Taiwanese comfort food restaurant – the kind of place locals take their grandparents for a proper meal. Slow-cooked pork, braised vegetables, traditional soups, rice dishes. Gentle on the stomach, reasonable prices, excellent for a post-temple-visit lunch. Not glamorous, genuinely delicious.

☕ A Fighter Cafe (逆風楼咖啡館)

A Fighter Cafe in Dadaocheng, near Yong Le Market, is a concept cafe that doubles as a space supporting at-risk youth – the name refers to people fighting against adversity. The food and coffee are good and the interior has an interesting aesthetic. The location in the old Dihua Street neighborhood puts it on a natural route between the market and the nearby temple area. Worth stopping for coffee while exploring the Dadaocheng neighborhood.

🥛 Fuhang Soy Milk (阜杭豆漿)

Fuhang Soy Milk is Taipei’s most famous breakfast institution and there is almost always a queue stretching down the stairs from the second-floor shop on Zhongxiao East Road. It opens at 5:30am and runs out of things by mid-morning. The soy milk – both hot and cold – is genuinely transformative if you’ve only ever had commercial soy milk. The shao bing (flaky sesame flatbread), you tiao (fried dough), and fan tuan (sticky rice roll) are the supporting cast. Budget 60-90 TWD for a full breakfast. The queue moves faster than it looks. Go before 8am if you can.

🌙 Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市)

Ningxia Night Market is considered one of the more authentic night markets in Taipei – less tourist-oriented than Shilin (which is larger but more performative) and more focused on the food itself. Oyster vermicelli, braised pork rice, taro balls, scallion pancakes, stinky tofu if you’re feeling adventurous. An entire evening of eating here costs about 300-500 TWD. Go hungry, go late (8pm onwards), walk the full length before committing to anything so you don’t fill up on the first stall.

Where to stay in Taipei

The vlog lists three solid options across the luxury tier – here’s how to think about each one based on location and what you’re prioritizing:

🏨 Grand Hyatt Taipei

The Grand Hyatt Taipei sits directly adjacent to Taipei 101 in the Xinyi district – the most modern, upscale commercial area of the city. This is the right choice if you want to be near the high-end shopping, the best rooftop bars, and the financial district energy. World of Hyatt redemptions apply here, which is worth knowing if you’re accumulating Chase Ultimate Rewards points (they transfer to Hyatt 1:1). Rooms typically run $200-350 USD per night depending on season. The pool and gym facilities are excellent.

🏨 Taipei Marriott Hotel

The Taipei Marriott is in the Zhongshan district, near the Neihu Science Park and slightly north of the central tourist areas. Better for business travelers or those wanting a quieter base – the MRT gets you anywhere in 20-30 minutes. Marriott Bonvoy points apply. Rates are generally slightly lower than the Grand Hyatt at comparable room levels. The hotel has a good pool and multiple dining options on site.

🏨 Sheraton Grand Hotel Taipei

The Sheraton Grand Taipei wins on location for sightseeing – it’s in Zhongzheng district near Taipei Main Station, which puts you within walking distance of Ximending, the CKS Memorial Hall, and easy MRT access to everywhere else. Marriott Bonvoy property (Sheraton is part of the Marriott portfolio). Rates are competitive and the location genuinely saves time if you’re trying to cover a lot of ground in five days. Older property than the Marriott or Grand Hyatt but consistently well-reviewed and the location justifies any trade-off.

Budget alternative worth knowing: Taipei has an excellent mid-range hotel scene concentrated around Zhongshan and Zhongzheng districts. Clean, modern hotels with good breakfast options run $70-120 USD per night and are a legitimate choice if you’re spending more time and money on food and experiences.

Getting around Taipei

The Taipei MRT is your main tool and it’s excellent. Get an EasyCard (悠遊卡) from any MRT station – it’s a rechargeable card that works on the metro, buses, YouBike bicycle rentals, and even some convenience stores. Load 500 TWD to start. The EasyCard gives you a small discount on MRT fares versus single-journey tickets.

Key lines to know: the red line (Danshui-Xinyi) runs north-south and hits most tourist areas. The blue line (Bannan) runs east-west. Most places in this vlog are within 10 minutes’ walk of an MRT station.

For Jiufen, the easiest route is MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing, then bus 1062 (about 75 minutes, 101 TWD). Or train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang then bus or taxi up the hill. Taxis in Taipei are cheap, metered, and honest – use them for anything that’s awkward on the MRT.

YouBike (the city bike system) is genuinely useful for flat areas like Xinyi and Zhongshan. 10 TWD for the first 30 minutes with an EasyCard.

Practical details and costs

• 💱 Currency: New Taiwan Dollar (TWD). Roughly 32 TWD to 1 USD as of 2024. ATMs are everywhere and accept foreign cards. 7-Eleven ATMs are the most reliable for international withdrawals
• 📱 SIM card: Available at the airport on arrival. A 5-day data SIM runs about 300-500 TWD from Chunghwa Telecom or Taiwan Mobile. Get it at the airport before you exit arrivals
• 🚇 MRT single journey: 20-65 TWD depending on distance. EasyCard saves 10-20 TWD per trip
• 🍜 Street food and local restaurants: 60-250 TWD per dish. Budget 500-800 TWD per day for food if you’re eating local the whole time
• 🏨 Accommodation: $70-120 USD for good mid-range, $200-400 USD for the luxury properties listed above
• 🎫 Attractions: Most are free (CKS Memorial Hall, Elephant Mountain, night markets). Taipei 101 observation deck is 600 TWD. Jiufen is free to walk

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by Momo Travel