It's useful to get a feel for Taipei, so we've listed a few neighborhoods. Dadaocheng is one of the oldest and most famous neighborhoods with narrow streets, traditional merchant houses, good souvenir shops with really good stuff and colorful temples.

If you want to see the hip, young side of the city, then Ximending de go-toTaipei's version of Shibuya (which is in Tokyo) with neon lights, street food, boutiques, manga and clothing stores, especially at night it gets going.

For a slightly quieter, more luxurious vibe, you can go to xinyi, the city's business district. Here you'll find chic shopping malls, rooftop bars with skyline views, and modern architecture. And then there's Songshan, where you can feel the creative side of Taipei. The Songshan Cultural & Creative Park is full of museums, design shops and concept stores.

For budget-conscious travelers, we're opting for OrigInn Space in Dadaocheng, a 19th-century trading port (and one of Taiwan's oldest districts). No grand hotel here, just a handful of rooms. Hostel vibe, but Taipei-style, with all the luxury. It's a bed and breakfast with the panache of a design hotel in a beautifully restored 1930s shophouse with original wooden window frames and terrazzo floors. The rooms don't have TVs, but instead have record players with carefully selected vinyl records. Books are provided, and in the mornings, you can enjoy Taiwanese tea.

The famous Ningxia Night Market is just around the corner and the rest of the city is also easily accessible.

Orig Inn Space

These are sacred to the locals. Some start with a long walk through their neighborhood, after which they almost always end up at a good breakfast spot. Other locals choose an active start and run around the riverbanks at Daan Forest Park, the “Central Park” of Taipei or Dadaocheng Wharf, Songshan Riverside Park or Guting Riverside Park (very popular with students).

But don't miss a traditional Taiwanese breakfast: try tofu pudding at Tian Tian Li or Ting's Soybean Milk & Breakfast for rice balls ("fàn tuan") and rice and peanut milk ("mi jiang"). Interesting and definitely worth a try.

Taipei's cocktail scene is a world unto itself. Bars across the city serve cocktails topped with Taiwanese fruit, tea, or spices. Although, as the Netflix show Midnight Asia tells us, these elements often appear in the lead roles.

Bar Mood is one of those stylish, understated addresses where you come not only for the classic Negroni, but also for surprising, modern twists. Bar Pine 松 combines natural materials with artistic details and serves cocktails inspired by Taiwanese flora and memories. In 2026, they'll call it slow cocktail culture. under Lab is a bar full of inquisitive bartenders who use new techniques, just like they do at Wu.

When you want to get through the evening and dance, set your course towards KOR, a tight lounge with hip-hop and R&B beats.

Hop from night market to night market until you know it. But if you have to choose two night markets in Taipei for pure, unadulterated street food energy, then Raohe St. Night Market and the Ningxia Night Market Don't miss it. The latter isn't a mega-shopping fest, but it is a compact one with classic Taiwanese snacks. Along Ningxia Street, two streets of food stalls are so close together that you can't escape the smell. Try the famous oyster omelet, where fresh shellfish, egg and greens come together in a sweet-savory sauce or go wild with fried taro balls, filled with creamy yû (with salty egg yolk). For something a little more daring, there's the stinky tofu (yep... the smell) and, last best, the classic Taiwanese mochi or ice cream wraps with peanuts and coriander afterward.

Raohe Street Night Market is one of the oldest and most atmospheric night markets in Taipei and you can easily walk in from the Ciyou Temple Square, a colorful gate that lights up beautifully at night. Here are the famous Black Pepper Buns: crispy, oven-baked rolls filled with juicy pork, spring onion and black pepper, for which you often see a queue.

It feels a bit like cheating when you don't fill your belly with typical Taiwanese food When in Taipei. But Pizza Has a Face is a trendy spot, and therefore perfectly captures what Taipei stands for. The interior is minimalist, yet retro, with an open kitchen where the pizza makers work diligently. Relaxed beats play in the background, and in the foreground, thin-crust pizzas. You can order a "Brooklyn," "Django," and "Sollozzo."

They serve local Taiwanese craft beers and they go, yes, well with the classic pizzas and the trendy variations.

Pizza Has a Face