Taipei is Taiwan's warm, welcoming and wonderfully liveable capital — a green, mountain-ringed city where glittering skyscrapers, golden temples and the world's best night markets sit side by side. Famous for its street food, its hot springs and the soaring Taipei 101, it blends the buzz of a modern Asian capital with an easygoing, famously friendly atmosphere and superb convenience — consistently rated one of the safest and most enjoyable cities in Asia to call home.
Taipei has a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers, mild winters and a typhoon season in late summer. It has a friendly, well-established international community, with English taught everywhere and increasingly used, and Mandarin the language of daily life — a great place to learn it. A reasonable cost of living, world-class public transport, fast and open internet, and a uniquely safe, polite, helpful culture make settling in remarkably easy.
Location Info
- Friendly, welcoming city with a great quality of life and an established expat scene
- One of the safest cities in Asia, with very low crime day or night
- A clean, cheap MRT metro, buses and bikes make getting around effortless
Top Experiences
Taipei 101
Once the tallest building in the world, this bamboo-inspired tower still defines the skyline. Ride one of the world's fastest lifts to the observatory, or admire it lit up from the trails of Elephant Mountain.
Night Markets & Street Food
Taipei lives for its night markets. Graze your way through Shilin and Raohe for stinky tofu, beef noodles, bubble tea, oyster omelettes and a hundred other only-in-Taiwan treats.
Longshan Temple & the Old City
Soak up the incense and devotion at the city's most atmospheric temple, then explore the historic lanes, herbal shops and snack streets of old Wanhua and Dadaocheng.
Beitou Hot Springs
Ride the MRT to this steaming volcanic valley on the city's edge and soak in mineral-rich thermal baths — a beloved Taipei ritual, especially on a cool evening.
Maokong Gondola & the Tea Hills
Glide above the forest by cable car to the tea plantations of Maokong, where hillside teahouses serve fresh local oolong with sweeping views over the city.
Elephant Mountain & the Hikes
Climb the short, steep trail up Elephant Mountain for the postcard view of Taipei 101, or head further out to the mountains, gorges and coast that are never far away.
Getting Around
Taipei has one of the best transport systems in Asia, and you'll never need a car. The clean, cheap MRT metro is fast and fully signed in English, backed by an extensive bus network and the YouBike share scheme, all paid with a single tap-and-go EasyCard that also works in shops. Taxis are plentiful and affordable, and high-speed rail reaches the south of the island in under two hours. Most journeys cost barely more than a dollar.
When to Go
Autumn (October to December) and spring (March to April) are the most pleasant, with mild, comfortable days. Summers are hot, humid and bring the occasional typhoon, while winters are mild but can be grey and drizzly — and the city's hot springs come into their own.
Good to Know
- The New Taiwan dollar (NT$) is the currency, and Taipei offers a great quality of life for the cost.
- Mandarin is the language of daily life, and Taiwan is a wonderful, welcoming place to learn it.
- An EasyCard covers the MRT, buses, bikes and convenience stores — pick one up on arrival.
- Internet is fast and completely open, with no restrictions or VPN needed.
- Taipei is famously safe, clean and polite, with very low crime at any hour.
- The city runs on National Standard Time (GMT+8).
