Taiwan Attractions: First and Return Visits
Most visitors to Taiwan see the same five sights on a first trip, and the return trip opens a different country. Sorting attractions by which visit they suit helps you avoid repeating the queue at the tower while skipping the quieter places that repay a second look.
First visit: the anchors in Taipei
Start with the National Palace Museum in Shilin. It holds nearly 700,000 imperial Chinese artefacts, among them the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-Shaped Stone. Adult entry is NT$350 and the concession fare is about NT$150. Opening hours are 09:00 to 17:00 with last tickets at 16:30, and the weekly closing day is worth checking at npm.gov.tw before you go.
Taipei 101 rises 508 m and is shaped like stacked bamboo stalks. Its observatory is sold in tiers. The standard NT$600 ticket covers the 88th, 89th and 91st floors, and higher floors and fast-track options cost more, so read the options at taipei-101.com.tw before paying. The entrance and ticket counter are in the office tower for now. Inside, the huge suspended tuned mass damper sphere is the part most people remember.
Add Longshan Temple, founded in 1738 and free to enter, where worshippers throw crescent wooden blocks to ask questions of the gods. Finish with the Beitou Hot Spring Museum, a 1913 Japanese-era bathhouse, and the steaming geothermal valley nearby. Guided minibus days to Jiufen, Shifen and Yehliu cost about NT$1,000 to NT$1,600 per person, and you can compare tours on Viator if the transport looks awkward.
Return visit: the south and the coast
Once Taipei is behind you, ride Taiwan High Speed Rail to Kaohsiung. The Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum has a seated bronze Buddha 108 m tall flanked by eight pagoda towers, and entry is free. It opens 09:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and to 19:00 at weekends, and it is closed on Tuesdays.
Down at Kenting, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium has an 81 m transparent tunnel with stingrays and reef sharks. It is open 09:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:00.
In Tainan, the old Dutch quarter at Anping holds Fort Zeelandia, from 1624, and a former Tait and Co. warehouse swallowed by banyan roots. Near Sun Moon Lake, a cable car climbs to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, and the lakeside Wenwu Temple is an easy stop on a boat day.
The attraction that needs a booking
The Alishan Forest Railway is the one ride worth reserving ahead. The full Chiayi to Alishan line runs, the fare is NT$600, and the official booking site is afrch.forest.gov.tw . Book the train before you fix hotel dates.
Practical rules
Complete the free online arrival card at twac.immigration.gov.tw up to 7 days before you land. Taiwan’s currency is the New Taiwan Dollar. On the MRT you cannot eat or drink, water included, and fines range from NT$1,500 to NT$7,500.
Verdict: a first visit is well served by the Palace Museum and one tiered tower ticket, and a return visit earns more from the free Buddha museum and the Kenting aquarium than from a second observatory. For route ideas, see the 4-day itinerary and the day trips from Taipei .