Taipei
A rabbit's warren of old gems. You'll find everything here from ornate furniture to kimonos, chinaware, plastic toys, dial-up telephones and rocking horses. There's even a car-sized wooden junk (Chinese boat). Prices seem a bit on the steep side, but rummage through and you might find a bargain.
This place is enormous – two floors and myriad rooms – so budget a bit of time. Because the place is both packed and narrow, all customers must leave their bags in a locker up front.
5.24 MILES
Home to the world's largest and arguably finest collection of Chinese art, this vast hoard covers treasures in painting, calligraphy, statuary, bronzes,…
1.49 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…
2.01 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…
2.71 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…
2.81 MILES
This former detention centre, court and jail was where political prisoners were incarcerated and tried during the White Terror period (1947–87). The…
0.46 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…
1.2 MILES
Borrowing from western urban-regeneration models, this early-20th-century wine factory has been restored as Taipei's most retro-chic venue. Remodelled…
3.14 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. Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
0.46 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…
2. Kishuan Forest of Literature
0.48 MILES
This sleepy wooden lodge was built by a Japanese family in 1917 and was lovingly reconstructed after two fires in the 1990s almost destroyed it. Visitors…
0.51 MILES
This oft-overlooked museum has had a massive makeover and is now bags of fun if you're a young kid, into stamps or even mildly interested in them. It…
4. National 2-28 Memorial Museum
0.52 MILES
This graceful memorial to the victims of the 2-28 Incident is housed in a beautiful Japanese building dating back to 1931. The excellent permanent…
5. Taipei City Hakka Cultural Park
0.55 MILES
This 4-hectare park is dedicated to the Hakka people. The grounds are modelled in part on a Hakka village – there's even a rice-paddy field. At the main…
6. National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute
0.63 MILES
This striking red-and-white building, with its circular neoclassical Chinese-style roof, dates back to just 1956. It now houses the Craft Research and…
0.76 MILES
An oasis in the city, this 8-hectare park has well-stocked greenhouses, literature- and Chinese-zodiac-themed gardens, a lotus pond and myriad lanes where…
0.8 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…