TAIPEI HOTELS

ABOUT TAIPEI

Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan and is located on the northern part of the island. She is a vibrant metropolis bursting with culture, history and towering skyscrapers.

ATTRACTIONS IN TAIPEI

• An iconic national identity in Taipei is the Taipei 101 tower was once the tallest building in the world. She stands at 508 meters tall. The observatory deck is on the 89th floor which is 382 meters high. Double deck lifts that travel at speeds of 60 km/hr carries visitors to the observation deck in 37 secounds. Tickets can be purchased inside the mall at approximately NTD600. Ticket holders will get to see the technical dampers and balancing mechanisms of the tower that protect against earthquake shakes and strong winds (swaying due to it’s height). Visitors may also enjoy shopping at the multi level mall inside the tower with world class brand outlets (Gucci, Cartier, Bvlgari, Louis Vuitton, Mikimoto, Chopard, Versace, e.t.c).
• History and cultural enthusiast should visit the National Palace Museum. It is home to one of the world’s largest collection of Chinese artifacts that showcases over 700,000 pieces of articles spanning over thousand years of Chinese history. The museum has 3 floors. On the 1st floor are articles from the Manchu, Qing and Wei (northern region kingdom before the unification of China) dynasties. The 2nd floor showcases articles from the Ming, Song (another northern kingdom before the unification of China) and Tang dynasties. Finally on the 3rd floor are articles from the Qing, Western Zhou dynasties and mix presentation of articles from ancient Longshan and Shandong cultures (2200 – 1900 BC).
• The Longshan Temple is a historic Buddhist temple that dates back to the Qing dynasty. Visitors are welcome to witness Buddhist worshipers lighting incense, make offerings and reciting prayers to the deities.
• The Yang Ming Shan National Park is located just a short drive from the city center. The park offers a variety of hiking trails, hot springs and volcanic craters that showcase the beauty of Taiwan’s natural landscape. Visitors can soak in the soothing waters of the hot springs, picnic amidst cherry blossoms trees or trek up Mount Qixing.
• The Shilin Night Market, Raohe Night Market, and Ningxia Night Market are just a few of the many markets where visitors can sample a wide array of Taiwanese street food. Unique local delicacies like stinky tofu, oyster omelettes, bubble tea, pork buns are commonly available at these night markets.

BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT TAIPEI

Weather in Taipei is best in March – May (Spring) and October – November (Autumn) with pleasant temperature and minimal rain. From July – September the country is most prone to heavy rain storms with most typhoon occurring in around August.

MORE ABOUT TAIPEI

The New Taiwan Dollar note is denominated in 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 while coins are denominated in 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50.

Electricity connection in Taiwan is at 110 volts / 60HZ. The standard American power plug design is equipped in all hotels.

Taiwan has a population of 23 million comprising of 4 main ethnic groups – Minnan (from Fujian province), Hakka (from Longyan / Meizhou / Guandong province) and 16 native indigenous groups. The Minnan ethnic group makes up 72% of Taiwan’s population while the Hakka ethnic group makes up 12% of Taiwan population. The city of Taipei has a population of 2.6 million inhabitants.

Getting around in Taipei is easy on the MTR subway, taxi, Youbikes (bicycle sharing system for short trips). The public bus is available but may not be user friendly to foreign tourist and often is stuck in traffic jams. Taxi rates are reasonable with NTD70 (about EUR2.20) base rate and and NTD5  (about EUR0.16) for every 200 meters distance. The city is safe for tourist to move around at night and solo female travelers would not face any major issues traveling in Taipei.