Taipei

The 508-metre bamboo-inspired tower offers a panoramic view of the entire Taipei Basin from its indoor observation deck on the 89th floor.

Housing over 700,000 artefacts moved from Beijing in 1948, including the famous Jadeite Cabbage and Meat-shaped Stone, it holds one of the world's largest collections of Chinese imperial treasures.

Built in 1738 and dedicated to Guanyin, this ornate Wanhua District temple buzzes with worshippers burning incense and consulting fortune sticks around the clock.

Perched on steep hillside above the northeast coast, this former gold-mining town is a maze of red lantern-lit teahouses and rain-slicked stone stairways with ocean views.

A hillside squatter settlement turned government-preserved art commune where studios, murals, and vegetable gardens coexist inside crumbling concrete buildings above the Xindian River.

This small riverside village southeast of Taipei is devoted entirely to tofu, selling stinky tofu ice cream, tofu pudding, and slow-braised tofu dishes from dozens of family stalls.

Unlike tourist-heavy Longshan, this Zhongshan District temple dedicated to Guan Di is packed with local businesspeople seeking blessings, and volunteers perform free spirit-cleansing rituals on the pavement outside.

A restored Qing and Japanese colonial-era street in Wanhua that escaped demolition, its red-brick arcaded shophouses now host rotating art exhibitions steps from the tourist trail of Ximending.

A refined yet relaxed Xinyi restaurant where Korean-American chef Paul Lee crafts market-driven dishes that blend French technique with East Asian produce in an intimate open-kitchen setting.

Set in a restored Japanese colonial villa in Da'an, this restaurant elevates indigenous Taiwanese ingredients — wild boar, flying fish, maqaw pepper — into elegant multi-course banquets.

Chef André Chiang's flagship Zhongshan restaurant serves seasonally rotating tasting menus that weave Taiwanese ingredients like aiyu jelly and milkfish into technically precise contemporary cuisine.

Located inside the Palais de Chine Hotel, this two-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant is celebrated for its meticulously lacquered Peking duck and thousand-layer abalone pastry.

A compact Da'an bar pouring an ever-changing lineup of Taiwanese craft beers on tap alongside imported rare releases, with knowledgeable staff who can walk you through local brewery styles.

Taihu Brewing's flagship taproom in Neihu pours the full catalogue of the island's most decorated craft brewery, including their flagship Raspberry Wheat and seasonal sour ales, in an industrial warehouse space.

A narrow Zhongzheng record-bar hybrid where vinyl spins continuously, the beer list skews Belgian and Taiwanese craft, and the walls are lined floor-to-ceiling with albums curated by the owner.

This cheerful Yongkang Street bottle shop and taproom pairs rotating craft pours with an impressive board of imported European cheeses, making it a favourite neighbourhood stop before dinner.

Taipei's most respected underground club, a basement venue in Zhongzheng that books serious international and local DJs for extended techno and house sets in a dark, no-frills room purpose-built for dancing.

A sprawling multi-floor Xinyi club with production-level light rigs and sound, drawing large weekend crowds for EDM and hip-hop nights headlined by both international acts and resident DJs.

Gongguan's legendary live music venue and adjoining club has anchored Taipei's indie rock and electronic scene since 2001, hosting nightly gigs in a gritty basement beneath Roosevelt Road.

A Da'an warehouse-style venue with a powerful Funktion-One sound system where local selectors and visiting artists play deep into the morning, drawing a dedicated crowd of regular dance-music followers.