Places to Stay

Howard International House Taipei

The hotel of choice in Taipei for civil servants and government officials on business trips and just up the road from the GetSet Taipei Centre. We have corporate rates here from around 62$US a night with breakfast.

Leader Hotel

Right next to the National Taiwan University Campus and five minutes walk from the Taipei GetSet Centre, we also have corporate rates here at around 90$ per night.

Hyatt Hotel

Top of the range five star hotel near the World Trade Centre and 101 Building. Rooms start at 203$US per night.

Shangri La Far Eastern Plaza

Top of the range five star hotel on the Anho Road 'pub zone'. Rooms start at 207$US a night

More information on Taiwan hotels can be found here at asiahotels.com.

Details for taxis can be found by clicking here for most of the places mentioned below.

Places to Eat and Drink

Although there are good bars and restaurants all over Taipei there are "zones" that are renowned for their night life. The main areas are now the Anho Road where if you start at the Far Eastern Hotel and work your way up you can enjoy establishments such as Saints and Sinners, Carnegies, People Restaurant, Champagne among others. Another zone used more by visiting business men than the locals and expats is the ‘Combat Zone’on Shuang Cheng Street, so called as it was once frequented by US servicemen on RNR from Vietnam. Now it is quite tame but there are still plenty of small bars, mainly on Shuang Sheng and the intersecting street, My Place, Farmhouse and Malibu West to name but a few. Chung Hsiao East Road is a popular area on which can be found the trendiest night clubs such as Luxy. Finally, the Shida area is still quite popular with pubs such as Roxy Junior Roxy 99 and 45.

Following is a selection of Bars Pubs and restaurants that will have menus in English. Details for taxis can be found by clicking here to download a Word file with most of the places mentioned below.

Alley Cats – Voted Taipei’s finest pizza restaurant, also has a bar with a selection of beers and fine wines. Best to book a table first.

Bliss – A lounge bar downstairs and upstairs is the stage for the live music. OK food.

Brass Monkey – Australian pub, good food, Ladies night is Thursday night. Good for sport on TV especially rugby and cricket.

Carnegies – Good pub food served during the day, disco on Wednesday (Ladies Night), Friday and Saturday nights with dancing on the bar.

Dan Ryans – American restaurant with a good bar.

Himalaya - Best Indian restaurant in town. Another branch has just opened on Shihta Road.

Italian Job – Very good Italian food.

JB’s – English pub with good pub food and imported British beer and cider. Good place to watch the football.

Lawry’s – Up market large American restaurant that specializes in roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

Mei-Kung – Thai and Vietnamese food, very busy so best to book first.

Persian Heaven – Iranian restaurant, great kebabs.

Sate House – Excellent little Indonesian restaurant a few minutes from the far Eastern Hotel and Carnegies.

Shannon – Irish themed pub with OK Food but the main attraction here is the live music.

The Tavern – Sports bar with wall to wall TVs for watching the football. Very close to the exhibition site.

Tequila Sunrise – Mexican Restaurant not far from the GetSet Centre across from the National Taiwan University.

Tony Roma’s – American restaurant specializing in ribs. Massive portions.

Trader Vic’s – Good food but most famous for their rather lethal Mai Tais.

Night Clubs

Luxy – Located on Chung Hsiao East Road very fashionable and large club which usually requires queuing to get in. Music is Techno and Hip Hop

Plush – Located at the top of the Living Shopping Mall, up market night club. Music is entirely Hip Hop

Room 18 – Not far from the Hyatt Hotel and the Exhibition venue. Music is Hip Hop and Electronic Music in separate rooms.

TU – Near the Howard Plaza Hotel, One of Taipei’s older discos. Music is Hip Hop and R&B

Places of Interest

There aren't too many sites in Taipei City. The ones worth seeing are the old town centre now known as Wan Hua. This includes Ximending which is a largely pedestrianised area full of shops selling fashion, watches, sunglasses, CDs, in fact anything of interest to the young and trendy. A ten or 15 minute walk will take you to Snake Alley night market. This area was once notoriously sleazy but in recent years has become quite a tourist attraction. Tourists are still forbidden to take photos of the snakes and turtles being brutally killed. The Long Shan Temple is near Snake Alley and if you are into temples it is the best one in Taipei to visit. The best way to get to Ximending is by MRT, the stop bears the same name. There is also a stop on the MRT named Longshan Temple.

The Presidential Palace is worth a look, It was built by the Japanese in 1919 and a short walk from the Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. The grounds of the CKS Hall also house the National Concert Hall and the National Theatre. The CKS Memorial also has a stop on the MRT.

The National Palace Museum is a must if you have time, you really need to allow a full day to get round and see everything, They have around 650,000 exhibits. The best way to get there is take the MRT to Jian Tan and then take a taxi the rest of the way.

Shopping Centres

101 Building has about five floors of designer shops and a huge food court in the basement. If it is a clear day it is worth going to the top in the world’s fastest lift for the view. The 101 is linked to the exhibition centre by a walkway.

Warner Village and Mitsukoshi Department Store: Short walk from the 101 Building

Far East Plaza Hotel Shopping Mall has some good stores as does the one in the Regent Hotel on Linsen North Road. Here you can find a DFS in the basement.

Night Markets: Taipei Is full of them but the best ones are the above mentioned Snake Alley, Shihlin (get off the MRT at Jian Tan and not Shilin) Rau Ho and Tong Hua Street.

Outside Taipei

If you have time you could go to one of the following quite conveniently, click here for the MRT Map.

Dansui – The last stop on the MRT heading north. A nice place to wander around the shops on the waterfront and sampling the snacks from the numerous food stalls.

Beitou Hot Springs - Take the MRT and get off at New Beitou. A short walk from the station and you will see lots of establishments offering hot spring baths. You will probably be able to smell the sulphur in the air as well.

Mao Kong – A great place to go if you want to get away to the mountains for while to take in some scenery and do some tea drinking. There are scores of tea houses and restaurants here but it gets a bit crowded over the weekend. To get there you have to take the elevated train to the zoo and then get on a number 15 bus which will take you up the mountain.

Wu-Lai – Is a nice day out, there is a waterfall and cable car which takes you to the top and hot spring spas. To get there you need to take the MRT to Hsindian and from there take a bus to Wu-Lai from the bus stop just past the 7/11. The bus should have Wu-Lai displayed in English.