24 Hours in Taipei

After spending 7 beautiful yet challenging months in Thailand, I decided to visit my family during my month-long school break. To make the 23-hour journey (not including layover time) more pleasant, I purposely did a 24-hour layover in Taipei. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Taiwan so I was thrilled to be here again for the third time in the past year. My flight from Bangkok got delayed, meaning I had less than 24 hours in Taipei, but I still made the most out of it. 

Since it was my third time there, I wanted to do non-touristy things. This Taipei City guide includes where I stayed and what I did. I hope this is helpful when planning your short yet exciting stay in one of my favorite cities. 

Wandering around the streets of Taipei City, Taiwan.

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Where to Stay

At the airport, you can either choose a private taxi or take the train. I recommend doing the latter as it is affordable and fast, and it leaves you right in the center of Taipei. If you take the train, it will take you to Taipei Main Station. I recommend that you stay near there (there are countless options) as staying in other parts of the city means that you will have to take multiple modes of transportation, which will cut your limited time in the city. 

Beimen WOW Poshtel in Taipei City, Taiwan.

I stayed at Beimen WOW Poshtel and I highly recommend it. It is a 9-minute walk from Taipei Main Station making it easy to move around the city. What I liked about this hostel is that it had a common area where a lot of people hung out there making it easy to socialize and meet other travelers. The only downside about this hostel is that it is fairly small and there isn’t much space for your luggage.

Things to Do

Due to your limited time in the city, whatever you plan to do I recommend that you stick to one area/neighborhood so you don’t spend too much time moving from one place to another. If you are looking for other things to do in Taipei, I have another blog post with an extensive list and recommendations.  

Ningxia Night Market 

I arrived at my hostel at around 8:30 p.m. and I did not have much energy to go to the big night markets such as Shilin Night Market. A girl from my dorm recommended this night market that is only a 7-minute walk from the hostel. 

It is now one of my favorite night markets in Taipei. It is not super crowded but it still has lots of food stalls and fun games.

Make sure you try Watermelon Milk which is now one of my favorite drinks ever. It is watermelon with milk and a little bit of sugar/honey blended. Also, at this market, I tried RouJia Mou and it was SO good! It is considered to be the world's oldest sandwich originating from the Zhou dynasty in China in 1046 BC.

Tang Bao Hung 

 Taiwanese breakfast is unmatched. Out of the 7 countries that I have visited in Asia, Taiwan has THE best breakfast as it is somewhat similar to Western-style breakfast. Tang Bao Hung is a 6-minute walk from the hostel. 

The front desk at my hostel recommended this small stall and it was really good. A huge plus was how sweet the employees were. Anything you eat will be delicious, but one thing you need to make sure to try is the milk tea. It is a staple in Taiwanese breakfast. You’ll thank me later!

Huashan 1914 Creative Park

I had seen this park a lot on my Instagram feed so I decided to check it out and it did not disappoint. It’s located in an old sake winery that has local shops, which is a great place to shop for souvenirs. When I went, there were exhibitions for Haikyu, Hello Kitty, Snoopy, and many others. It also has several food and drink stalls! Towards the back, there is a small park, which is a great place to relax after walking around.

Milk tea with small boba from 50 Lan.

50 Lan 

No trip to Taiwan is completed if you do not have boba. If you did not know, boba tea was invented there. You will see a lot of boba shops around the city and it can be a bit overwhelming choosing one. 50 Lan is a boba franchise that you will see all over Taipei and the country. It is personally my favorite boba store. I’ve been to countless of their stores all around Taiwan and they do not disappoint. I recommend that you try the small boba. It is so good!!!

Ximending

Ximending is one of Taipei’s most famous spots. It is where you will find the iconic rainbow-colored Taipei sign on the street. This is a great place to spend your night as it has to offer a little bit of everything. Here you will find a lot of LGBTQ+ bars, shops selling souvenirs and clothes, and a lot of really good food. This district is also famously known for ‘Tattoo Street’, a street filled with tattoo shops. I got a tattoo and a piercing here so I recommend checking it out!

By the time I hopped on the train to go back to the airport, I felt a wave of sadness and happiness hit me. I was sad to leave this city because for me Taipei feels like the viral song on Instagram that goes “but when I’m back in Chicago I feel it” and I wanted more time there. However, I was also extremely happy and grateful that I got to visit it for a third time. I hope this blog helps you plan your quick layover in Taipei City. 

Sending you lots of love, 

Adriana