Best places to visit in Taiwan: top cities, regions and sights

Taiwan is small but the mountains and the east coast slow you down. The west is fast: high-speed rail links Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The east is slower and needs its own nights.

Use the table to pick a shortlist, then check the month and the budget before booking.

Taipei carries most of what people come to Taiwan for: Longshan Temple and Dalongdong Baoan Temple for folk religion, the National Palace Museum for the imperial collection, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the 228 Memorial Museum for modern history, and night markets every evening. Beitou and Xinbeitou put hot springs on the same MRT map.

The north coast and hills are day-trip territory. Jiufen is a former gold-mining hill town above the coast; go on a weekday. Tamsui sits at the end of the MRT line for a river sunset. Keelung, Yilan and Toucheng are further out but reachable by train.

Tainan was the old capital and still has the densest set of temples, Dutch-era forts and street food on the island. Two to three nights covers the Grand Mazu Temple and Confucius Temple area, Anping and the food streets. It is the single best second stop on a first trip.

Kaohsiung, about 30 minutes further south by high-speed rail, is a port city with a harbour arts district, Lotus Pond and an easy MRT. Two nights is enough, and you can fly out of Kaohsiung (KHH) instead of doubling back to Taipei. Kenting, at the southern tip, adds beaches and reef but needs its own 2 nights and a bus or car.

Taichung is a mild-weather city with museums and cafés, and the practical base for Sun Moon Lake. The lake loop by bike and boat takes a full day; tea farms fill another. One to two nights at the lake is the usual pattern.

Alishan is reached from Chiayi, not Taichung: forest trails, tea and sunrise above the clouds. One to two nights, and book the forest railway and sunrise transport ahead. Chiayi itself is worth a few hours for turkey rice and its night market.

Hualien is the gateway to Taroko Gorge, a marble canyon cut by the Liwu river. Parts of the gorge have been closed since the 2024 earthquake and typhoons, so check which trails and sections are open before you commit to the trip. Two nights in Hualien is the minimum.

South of Hualien, the East Rift Valley runs down to Taitung: rice paddies, hot springs and Indigenous communities. Taitung and the valley need 2–3 nights and reward a slower pace. The South-Link line joins Taitung and Kaohsiung in about 2 h 30, which makes an anticlockwise loop possible.

Penghu is the summer island: basalt cliffs, stone fish traps and fireworks in May and June. Two to three nights, and flights fill up in peak season. Kinmen and Matsu sit close to the mainland and have a different history — Cold War tunnels, old villages and strong local food. Both need flights and at least two nights each.

These are second-trip destinations. On a first visit, they compete with the east coast and the south for the same days.

If you have 5–7 nights, stay in Taipei and take day trips. If you have 10, add the west coast by high-speed rail and fly out of Kaohsiung. If you have 14, go round the island anticlockwise and put the east coast in the middle, when you are least rushed.

Two things change the plan: Taroko closures, which can remove the main reason to go to Hualien, and typhoons from July to September, which can cancel east-coast trains and flights. Check both before you lock in dates.