Things to do in Taipei with kids: best attractions and family tips

Taipei is unusually easy with children: one MRT map covers the zoo, the science museum, the children's rides and the night markets, and almost everything has a toilet, a lift and somewhere to buy water. The picks below are ordered by how well they fill a half or full day, not by fame.

Two rules make the difference. Go on a weekday and arrive at opening; the zoo and the Children's Amusement Park are calm before 11:00 and crowded after lunch. And keep one indoor backup per day — a museum or an aquarium — because afternoon thunderstorms are common from May to September.

Everything on this page sits on the MRT. The zoo and Maokong gondola are on the brown Wenhu line (Taipei Zoo station). Shilin, the Children's Amusement Park and the science museum are on the red Tamsui–Xinyi line (Shilin and Jiantan). The National Palace Museum is a short bus ride from Shilin. Taipei 101 and Daan Forest Park are on the red and brown lines respectively.

Distances are short: the zoo to Taipei 101 is about 30 minutes by MRT with one change. Budget 20–40 minutes between any two picks, and use the lifts marked on station maps rather than stairs with a stroller.

Taipei is safe and family-friendly, with clean public toilets, convenience stores on every block and drinking fountains at stations and parks. Tap water is treated but many locals boil or filter it, so bottled or filtered water is the easy choice with small children.

Strollers work on the MRT and in most museums, but older night markets and some temple lanes are narrow. Carry a light rain cover from May to September. For food, night markets are the cheapest and most fun: pick stalls with a queue, order one dish at a time, and let children choose from what they can see being cooked.

If you need a quiet hour, department stores near Taipei 101 and Taipei Main Station have nursing rooms, play areas and food courts. Pharmacies are everywhere; bring any prescription medicine you rely on.

October to December and March to April are the best months: mild, mostly dry and comfortable for the zoo and gondola. January and February are cooler and wetter in the north, but the museums and hot springs are at their best.

July to September is hot, humid and the typhoon season; plan indoor mornings and outdoor evenings, and check the gondola and zoo for weather closures. Weekdays are noticeably quieter than weekends at every pick on this page, and the first hour after opening is the calmest of all.