Taipei packs skyscrapers, old temples, red-lantern lanes, and night markets into a tight radius, so a 4-night, 5-day trip pays off handsomely. This plan splits the trip by area: the city center (Taipei 101, Ximending, Longshan Temple), the outskirts (Yehliu, Jiufen, Shifen), and the food (Din Tai Fung, night markets). One zone per day, with no wasted backtracking. Tripop's AI drafted the skeleton; we added the MRT routing, visa, budget, and where to eat.
Taipei 101 is visible from almost anywhere in the city, and once the world's tallest building, it doubles as a landmark you can navigate by. That's Taipei in a nutshell: landmarks, temples, and night markets clustered a few MRT stops apart, so even a short trip covers a lot.
Why 4 nights, 5 days: balancing the city, the day trips, and the night markets
Two nights barely covers the city center and a night market. To fit in Taipei's real draw, the day trips out to Yehliu, Jiufen, and Shifen, four nights is the sweet spot. Split by area, one zone per day, and you can take it at an easy pace.
- Day 1 (arrival): Ximending + Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall + Longshan Temple
- Day 2: Taipei 101 + the National Palace Museum + Yongkang Street + a night market
- Day 3: day trip out of town, Yehliu + Jiufen + Shifen
- Day 4: Maokong Gondola or Beitou hot springs + sunset at Tamsui
- Day 5 (departure): pineapple-cake shopping + fly out
Planned this way, you get a bit of everything: the modern city (Taipei 101, Xinyi), history and faith (Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall), nature and old lanes (Yehliu, Jiufen), and the food (Din Tai Fung, night markets).
Before you go: visa, connectivity, payments, and transit cards
Taipei is a simple place to prep for. Sort these four things and you can hit the ground running.
- Visa: Many passports, the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, and more, get 90-day visa-free entry to Taiwan. Check that your passport is valid for at least six months, and have a return or onward ticket ready.
- Connectivity (eSIM): Buy an eSIM before you leave and maps and translation work the moment you land. Grabbing an unlimited SIM at an airport counter is a cheap option too.
- Payments: It's mostly EasyCard and cash. Many night-market and street stalls take cash only, so carry some New Taiwan dollars; department stores and larger shops take cards fine.
- Transit card: A single EasyCard covers the MRT, buses, and convenience stores. Buy and top it up at any convenience store; MRT fares run roughly NT$20–65 per ride.
Taoyuan / Songshan airport → city, and MRT routes
- Getting in: Most international flights use Taoyuan International (TPE). The Airport MRT reaches Taipei Main Station in about 35 minutes on the direct train or 50 minutes on the regular train, for roughly NT$150. Some short-haul flights land at Songshan (TSA), closer to town, with a direct MRT link into the center.
- MRT: Lines are color-coded, so it's easy even on a first visit. Ximending, Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and Longshan Temple are all a short walk from a station.
- Where to stay: For a first trip, base around Taipei Main Station, Ximending, or Zhongshan. They're convenient for MRT transfers, airport access, and reaching the shops and night markets.
Day 1: Ximending + Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall + Longshan Temple
Start light and stay central on the first day to account for travel fatigue. Ximending is Taipei's youth district, packed with shops, food, and street performances, a good place to set the tone for the first evening.
Then take in the grand plaza and changing-of-the-guard ceremony at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (Liberty Square), and Longshan Temple, one of the oldest in Taipei. Thick with incense smoke, Longshan lets you watch local worship up close. All three link up easily by MRT.
Day 2: Taipei 101 + the National Palace Museum + Yongkang Street + a night market
Day 2 bundles the city's headline sights. Ride the high-speed elevator up to the Taipei 101 Observatory (89th floor) for a sweeping view over the city. It's about NT$600 for an adult, and booking online saves you the wait.
Next, head to the National Palace Museum, home to the cream of Chinese art and artifacts, the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-shaped Stone among them, for about NT$350. For lunch and a snack, hit Yongkang Street: soup dumplings at the original Din Tai Fung and mango shaved ice at Smoothie House. Cap the evening at the Raohe or Shilin night market with fried chicken, pepper buns, and bubble tea.
Day 3 · a day trip out of town: Yehliu + Jiufen + Shifen
Bundle Taipei's day-trip highlights into a single day. Start at Yehliu Geopark and its wave-carved rock formations, above all the "Queen's Head." Then, at Shifen, walk the old railway tracks, write a wish on a sky lantern and send it up, and take in nearby Shifen Waterfall.
Around sunset, make for Jiufen. The old lanes lit by red lanterns down the hillside, and the view from the A-Mei Tea House, are the showstopper. You can connect all three by train (Pingxi Line) and bus, but a single day tour saves the most legwork.
Jiufen at night, red lanterns glowing down the hillside. Narrow stair-stepped lanes and teahouses run one into the next, so just walking makes for a special evening.
Day 4: Maokong Gondola or Beitou hot springs + sunset at Tamsui
The fourth day is a flexible half-day. Ride the Maokong Gondola over the tea plantations for the view and a cup of oolong, or soak away the miles in the Beitou hot springs. Beitou is a hot-spring town you can reach on the MRT, so it's an easy trip.
In the afternoon, head to Tamsui for the riverside sunset, Fort San Domingo, and old-street snacks. Wrap up the evening over local food at the comparatively low-key Ningxia Night Market.
Taipei food: soup dumplings, beef noodle soup, lu rou fan, and bubble tea
From night markets to old institutions, Taipei is dense with good food. Know a few dishes and every meal is a pleasure.
- Soup dumplings (xiao long bao): The juicy dumplings Din Tai Fung made famous. Taste the original at the Yongkang Street flagship.
- Beef noodle soup (niu rou mian): Noodles in a rich beef broth, Taiwan's signature bowl.
- Lu rou fan: Braised soy-simmered pork over rice, a cheap, filling national staple.
- Bubble tea: The pearl milk tea that started in Taichung. Get it fresh with just-made pearls from one of the originator brands.
- Mango shaved ice and pineapple cake: The essential summer mango shaved ice, plus pineapple cake, which also makes a perfect souvenir.
The 4-night, 5-day budget (per person, flights excluded)
Excluding flights, local costs come to about ₩450,000–750,000 (roughly USD 330–550) per person. Taiwan is relatively affordable, a night-market meal runs just NT$150–300. Here's roughly how it breaks down.
| Category | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging (4 nights) | 30–40% | Varies around Main Station, Ximending, Zhongshan |
| Food | 25–30% | Night-market meal NT$150–300; Din Tai Fung a bit more |
| Admissions & day trips | 15–20% | Taipei 101, the Palace Museum, Yehliu/Jiufen/Shifen |
| City transit | ~10% | MRT rides NT$20–65, EasyCard |
| Misc. & shopping | 10–15% | Pineapple cake, oolong tea, bubble tea, souvenirs |
Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Ximending, and browsing the night markets are all free, so the overall cost stays reasonable. Check the NT$ exchange rate and admission prices on the official sites at the time of your visit.
Two downtown highlights. The 101 Observatory, reached by high-speed elevator (about NT$600), and the National Palace Museum, famous for the Jadeite Cabbage (about NT$350). A pairing that packs the modern city and Chinese art treasures into one day. Check prices on the official sites.
Yehliu's Queen's Head rock, a sky lantern released over the Shifen railway tracks, and Jiufen's red-lantern lanes at dusk. A route that bundles the best of Taipei's outskirts into one day. Do it by train (Pingxi Line) plus bus, or on a single day tour.
Soup dumplings at Din Tai Fung on Yongkang Street, fried chicken and pepper buns at the Raohe and Shilin night markets, and original pearl milk tea. Add beef noodle soup, lu rou fan, and mango shaved ice and your Taipei food tour is complete.
In short
Four nights in Taipei fits the essentials with no backtracking if you split it by area: the city center (Taipei 101, Ximending, Longshan Temple) → food and night markets (Yongkang Street, Raohe) → the day trips (Yehliu, Jiufen, Shifen) → hot springs and sunset (Beitou, Tamsui), one zone per day. Taipei's charm is how the modern city and old lanes, temples and night markets all sit within a tight radius. The MRT and an EasyCard reach most of the city; only the day trips need a train or a tour. Just sort your visa (90-day visa-free) and eSIM before you fly.
This Taipei plan, built in a minute with Tripop
Tell Tripop "make me a 4-night, 5-day Taipei plan with Taipei 101, Jiufen, Yehliu, Shifen, and the night markets," and the skeleton above appears automatically. Add MRT routing, food, a budget, and a checklist to finish it off. Your itinerary, vouchers, and maps open offline too (on the plane, on the branch-line train, or up in hilly Jiufen where the signal drops). That's especially reassuring on a Taipei trip with this much moving around.
Images: Pexels (Jerry LIANG: Taipei 101; Wei86 Travel: Jiufen at night; Kenneth Surillo: Shifen sky lantern; William Chen: Yehliu Geopark; Jimmy Liao: Ximending; Ehsan Haque: Raohe Night Market; Alan Wang: Longshan Temple), Pexels License.