Taipei
Walk into Fourplay and ask for a drinks menu – the bartender is likely to say that he is the drinks menu. Tell him what you fancy and he'll tailor a tipple. Packed to the gills, even on a weeknight, you'd be wise to reserve a spot. A second branch has opened at number 61 down the street.
Absinthe cocktails are a speciality here. Gastropub-style meals are also available, but if you've come to enjoy a cocktail it seems a shame to fill up on fried food.
4.4 MILES
Home to the world's largest and arguably finest collection of Chinese art, this vast hoard covers treasures in painting, calligraphy, statuary, bronzes,…
2.94 MILES
Founded in 1738 by Han immigrants from Fujian, this temple has served as a municipal, guild and self-defence centre, as well as a house of worship. These…
2.66 MILES
This former 'Centre Street' has long been known for its Chinese medicine shops, fabric market and lively Lunar New Year sundry market. It has attracted…
1.1 MILES
Towering above the city like the gigantic bamboo stalk it was designed to resemble, Taipei 101 is impossible to miss. At 508m, Taipei 101 held the title…
3.43 MILES
This former detention centre, court and jail was where political prisoners were incarcerated and tried during the White Terror period (1947–87). The…
1.58 MILES
This grandiose monument to authoritarian leader Chiang Kai-shek is a popular attraction and rightly so. It is a sobering feeling to stand in the massive…
1.23 MILES
Borrowing from western urban-regeneration models, this early-20th-century wine factory has been restored as Taipei's most retro-chic venue. Remodelled…
3.22 MILES
Recipient of a Unesco Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for both its restoration and its revival of temple rites and festivities, Bao'an Temple (also called…
1. Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab
0.64 MILES
This sprawling complex, formerly the Air Force Command Headquarters, was turned over to the Ministry of Culture in 2018 to develop as a space for young…
0.83 MILES
This is Taipei’s Central Park, where the city comes to play. And play it does, from kids rollerblading to teens shooting hoops to old men engaged in…
3. National Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
0.88 MILES
The hall and its surrounding gardens occupy an entire city block. The latter are well used by picnickers, kite flyers, breakdancers and the early morning…
0.97 MILES
Built with money from the Saudi government and other Middle Eastern countries back in the 1950s, this modest, traditional structure is set in its own…
0.97 MILES
When the Nationalist army decamped to Taiwan in 1949, one million soldiers (and in time their families) had to be rehoused. Thus arose military-dependents…
0.98 MILES
This squat Lego-like building, in pink stone, stands next to the much more impressive Taipei 101 and is the capital's main venue for international trade…
0.99 MILES
Housed in one wing of an atmospheric former tobacco factory, this exhibition space showcases modern designs by local and international artists.
8. Songshan Cultural & Creative Park
1.06 MILES
Set in a former tobacco factory (or more accurately an industrial village) from the 1930s, this lovely park is part lush gardens, part frog-filled lake,…