When we booked this trip, we knew nothing about what to do in Taiwan, let alone Taipei.  We were worried that two weeks was going to be too long and we would get bored.  This worry was pointless, as it would take a lot longer than two weeks just to get bored in Taipei (if you ever could).  There are plenty of fun things to do in Taipei with kids.

What we will cover in this guide: All the practical details and reviews of the best things to do in Taipei with kids as well as the option to download a complete list of all Taipei attractions for kids. We will cover the best family hotels in Taipei as well as where to eat and how to get around.

There were sooo many things we wanted to do in Taipei that we didn’t have time for them all (click the checklist link below to see everything on offer).  The weather was also unpleasant during our stay here (drizzling basically the whole time with heavier rain at times) which also made some activities a no go.  We also spent a lot of time eating and checking out night markets.

Click here to download the complete checklist of 26 things to do in Taipei with kids!

It is also worth checking out our Danshui post if you want more ideas of things to do in Taipei as this is only an easy ride on the MRT away.  You can also read our overall opinion of Taiwan as well our overall thoughts about family travel in Taiwan.

Top 13 things to do in Taipei with kids

Yongkang St

Yongkang Street was a hive of activity day or night, and full of awesome restaurants, eateries and shops.  It is a great street to just walk around, taking it all in.  It is an even better one to sit down and eat!  Just don’t take too long as the restaurants fill up quick!

I had read a lot before coming to Taiwan about how seriously the locals take their food, and this was illustrated clearly to me when the first time I left the apartment, I straight away found two places with long lines mid afternoon!  We even saw a massive line at 8am Sunday morning at one dumpling shop!

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a massive, imposing monument and a very popular thing to do in Taipei.

It is located on large grounds that also contain the massive National Theatre and National Concert Hall.  There are also large gardens.  Unfortunately, it was too wet on our visit to make much use of these.

It honours the man who was the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party from 1925 and thus, Taiwan from the time they fled here in 1949 until his death in 1975.  The Memorial Hall has 89 steps to get to the top which represent Chiang’s age when he died.  Inside, there is a big sculpture of the man himself as well as two guards.

Downstairs, there is a museum dedicated to Chiang’s life.  It is full of Chiang memorabilia.  In addition, it is meant to have an interesting, nationalist party (of which Chiang was formerly the head of) slant version of history.  Unfortunately, I did not get much time to look through this museum, as S had had enough at this point 🙁 I recently studied this period of Chinese history at university, so I would have been interested in this.

Entry is free and it is easily reached on the MRT via Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall station

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

This is another big memorial hall and lovely gardens.  It honours the man who was critical in the Chinese revolution, and the first president of China. He founded the Chinese Nationalist Party who fled to Taiwan after the communists came to power in mainland China.  It looked small compared to the Chiang Kai-shek ones but it isn’t small at all.

This one also has a big stature of Dr Sun flanked by guards and a museum.  I enjoyed the museum until S decided that we had to go (and enforced it by screaming until we had no choice but to remove her).

This Memorial Hall is close to Taipei 101, and you can see it clearly in the background. You can easily visit this site in conjunction with a trip to Taipei 101.

Taipei 101

Taipei 101 is the currently the eighth tallest building in the world (formerly tallest and was second when we visited not so long ago). It is so tall – 508m! – that you can see it towering over the city from many different places – it absolutely dwarfs anything else.  It was built to resemble a bamboo stalk.

You can visit the observation deck of Taipei 101. More information here or buy discounted tickets here.

Longshan Temple

Longhsan temple has a reputation for being one of the more beautiful temples in Taipei.  I would have to agree, even though it is the only one I saw!

It was built in 1738. It is a interdenominational temple with many enshrined deities.

It is gorgeous, ornate and packed full of flowers and incense, it makes for quite a sight.  There were also lots of animal statues and figurines at the front which S loved, and she seemed to enjoy walking around this temple nearly as much as us.

Entry is free and it is easily reached on the MRT via Longshan Temple station

Daan Park

We were lucky enough to be staying a very short walk away from this big city park.  Even better was that there was a very big, awesome kids playground inside.  We all loved it!!  It is a fabulous thing to do in Taipei for kids.

Taipei Zoo

Taipei’s zoo is located on the edge of Taipei.  It is one of the country’s most visited attractions, and we could see why!  Situated on 165 hectares and simulating various environments, it is a very beautiful place.  There are many different animals, including two gorgeous pandas, which was easily the highlight.

It is a big place, and the hour and a half we spent here was not nearly enough (and was only so short thanks to toddler tantrums).  There is also a mini train that can you take you between two sections of the park, and a shuttle bus to one of the Maokong gondala stations.

We liked this place a lot, and can’t believe how cheap it is (about $2!).  Z especially got into it which was really lovely to watch.

It is easy to reach as it has its own MRT station.  You can find more information here. When we visited, kids under 120cm or 6 were free. More information here.

Maokong Gondola

Maokong is a hilly region of southern Taipei known for its tea growing, although nowadays, is more about tea drinking, with many tea houses dotting the hills. Tea drinking is not really our thing, but there is a fabulous gondola ride from Taipei zoo up into the hills that is really beautiful, easy to do and cheap, so it was on our list of things to do!!

It lived up to its rep.  It was a beautiful, impressive ride over green hilltops to our destination. The only downside was the dreary weather.  It was quite cold at the top, and I imagine there would have been really impressive views of Taipei, in clearer weather.  We could still see a fair bit though (including the ever present Taipei 101), so it was still worth it.

It was cold enough at the top that we didn’t want to hang around for long though, so we just had some lunch at a hawker area and came back down. It is a quick and easy way to be out of the city.  The MRT ride here is even scenic, as it is above ground.  The kids seem to both love the cable car ride (for awhile anyway!), and so did we, so another big thumbs up.

The gondola starts from near the zoo MRT station.  It has 4 stations, the second is on the other side of the zoo and can be reached via a shuttle bus from the zoo.  More information here.

National Palace Museum

The National Palace Museum is the number one thing to do in Taipei.  It reputedly houses the world’s largest and finest collection of Chinese art.  I don’t think I have come across a list of top attractions in Taipei without this being near the top, and so it was also on our must see list.

It required 3 trains and a bus to get here, so J and I each went separately rather than taking the kids. This museum has so many items, that there are too many to show at any one time, so they are rotated around.  Many of the items were “liberated” from mainland China when the nationalists fled in 1949.  There are three large levels to explore.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the museum.  The main problem was that it was chock a block full of big tour groups.  This made it really hard to get around and see anything.  There are lots of english descriptions, but it was hard to read them through the crowds.  The top floor is meant to have the best items, and this was too full to really see anything.  I spent a fair bit of time just completely stuck in the middle of tour groups here.  I gave up after 45 minutes :-/

It is the one time I wish I had bought the audio tour.  I usually don’t bother with them as I get bored easily and they have too much information for me!  But then I could have at least listened to something while I was waiting and not had to rely on being able to see the information boards.

Take a MRT to Jiantan, then there are many buses out of the front of the station to the museum.  It is very easy to work out.  The buses let you know (in case you somehow miss it), that you are at the museum.  Glad I left the kids at home. You can buy tickets here.

Beitou

Beitou is an awesome hot springs area which is basically a suburb of Taipei. It is easily accessible via the metro trains, and that makes it very popular.  There are hot springs accessible in the streets (so I read) and many hotels with private and public bathing areas as well as  public pools.

We decided to hire a private area in a hotel, so the kids could make noise without worrying about bothering others. We caught the train here, actually from Danshui, rather than Taipei.  It is easily accessible from either.  I was surprised when it was like a normal residential area (with lots of hotels), as I had imagined it being out in the hills and not so built up. A big park is in the middle of the area, and there are many places to bathe around this.

We found a hotel with private baths that fit all our requirements very easily on arrival.  For about $34, we got the room pictured below.  It had a hot spring bath, a cold bath, a shower area, and an area for our clothes, as well as towels, some toiletries and bottled water.  It was a very relaxing, wonderful way to spend an hour and a half with the kids.  They absolutely loved it, and this meant we got to relax as well!  I worried it would be too hot for them, but it wasn’t a problem.  This was one of the better activities we have done as a family, since we all got something from it.

Take the MRT to Xinbeitou.  We went to SweetMe Hotspring Resort, TW$1050 for 1.5 hours as described above

Click here to download our complete checklist of 26 things to do in Taipei with kids!

Danshui

Danshui is a suburb of Taipei at the end of a train line. It feels like much further away.  It’s a popular weekend destination and it’s nice to walk around the waterfront.

Read more in our article about Danshui.

Visit the night markets

My absolutely favourite thing to do in Taipei was to eat and the night markets at the best place to go! There are many and they offer a fantastic opportunity to try out lots of different food for great prices.

They also have a great atmosphere and are fun to just walk around. Thanks to all the people, the outdoors and noise, they are also quite kid friendly.

We visited Shilin Night Market, Raohe Night Market and Shida Night Market. They are all quite different but all delicious and fun.

I recommend you read my full post about eating in Taipei and our experiences visiting the night markets.

Free walking tour

If you have older kids, consider going on a free walking tour! Like It Formosa offers fun, informative and FREE walking tours. Kids are welcome but they do need to keep up and walk 3.2 kilometres on average.

Find more information here.

Best family hotels in Taipei

With kids, we find it far easier to book ahead. Taipei is a big city and you don’t want to be wandering for hours with all your luggage.

We recommend booking with Booking.com which combines all the popular hotel booking engines so you can quickly determine which is the cheapest or directly with Agoda who have many great deals in Asia.

We also recommend the following hotels, which one in particular is based on your budget. They make visiting all these attractions easy as they are in a central location by the train.

Read our full guide to where to stay in Taipei.

Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei

This is a great choice for families looking for a hotel with a pool in central Taipei, not far from Daan Park. Triple rooms are available as well as cribs. Check out more details and the latest prices here.

Hotel Riverview Taipei

Another great choice with triple rooms, 2 double bed rooms and cribs. Check out more details here.

One Plus One Hotel

A fabulous choice for families on a budget, this hotel is a step down in quality compared to the two above (but still fine) and a step down in price. The One Plus One has family rooms. You can find more reviews, information and latest prices here.

Click here for our full guide to where to stay in Taipei.

Eating in Taipei

I think the food in Taiwan is the best in the world – it is amazing! There is so much to say about eating in Taiwan that it has its own post – check it out here. Visiting a night market is definitely a must do on your list of things to do in Taipei.

Getting Around

It is very easy to get around Taipei thanks to the excellent MRT (underground trains). They are continually adding new lines and stations, so it will be even more awesome by the time you all make it here 🙂 It is also cheap and easy.

It is worth buying an “easycard” so you can just touch on and off every time without worrying about separate tickets and they also give you a discount for using one. It is easy to buy them at machines at the station. Only TWD$100 and it’s refundable (minus TWD$20 if you have it for less than 3 months). Kids under 6 OR under 115cm are free (so S will probably need a ticket when she is 3!).

People are very accommodating to children on the trains and we are always offered seats, and often strangers help with getting S on and off escalators at stations too. There are lots of escalators and stairs in stations so that makes things tough at times, especially when we take the pram. There are also a lot of elevators, but they don’t always get you to the exit you want to go to. It is hard work travelling in peak hour, but we kept doing it, so it is certainly achievable.

There are buses everywhere as well, but the trains were so good, that we only used them to get from a train station to the National Palace Museum. It was also very easy to do and the pertinent information was in english (including what stop was next).

Taxis are everywhere and also very reasonably priced. We caught a 25 minute taxi ride one night for only TW$210.

Random Stuff

We found our stroller very useful in Taipei and used it a lot. There is often not footpaths, except on main roads, but everyone walks on the street and the traffic pretty much gives way to you. There are many “breastfeeding stations” around the place, especially in MRT stations.

MRT stations also have excellent toilets for kids. The disabled toilets double up as toilets for parents with toddlers and babies, and have a second kids toilet in them, as well as a baby seat with a harness. They are always very clean too.

Nappies, wipes, formula is everywhere (although information is in Chinese, so I would bring formula from home). I didn’t see any baby food.

Our verdict

We loved Taipei!!  It’s an awesome city, and I highly recommend it.  It’s very modern, but it feels completely different to Australia.  It is a big city with big city energy, but it has a fabulous public transportation system so it is quick and easy to get around.

There is plenty to do.  It is cheap and very good value. It is busy without being too busy.  People are friendly, but not too friendly and don’t hassle or stare at us (except when the kids are being loud or at S’s red hair anyway). And don’t get me started on the food… omg!!!! Soooooo good!!

The language barrier is big, and not many people speak English.  However, we didn’t find this to be a big problem.  People are generally helpful.  It does make me want to learn Chinese so I can order even better food next time!

We really did love it here.  When we were planning our time in Taiwan, we wanted to pack a lot in as we didn’t think we would ever come back (not because we thought it would be bad, just because there are so many other places we want to go).  However, this place is fantastic, and we definitely plan on coming back.

My only complaint would be that I felt like the kids were not tolerated as well when they were misbehaving as they were in the other countries we have been to in this trip.  We don’t really see young kids out much, except at the park, and we certainly haven’t seen loud ones, like our two year old.  I felt like people were disapproving of us when S was being loud or naughty (although most people would chuckle at her tantrums). It probably doesn’t help that they probably think she is 6 or some ridiculously high age. This added a bit of stress to these situations, which no doubt helped to make S’s behaviour even worse.

It wasn’t the best time to come, weather wise.  It rained every day and pretty much just went between drizzling and heavier rain the whole time.

You can also download our  complete checklist of 26 things to do in Taipei with kids – including everything we did not have time for! Or read where to stay in Taipei.

Do you have any tips for things to do in Taipei with kids?

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Tags:  Taiwan Travel Blog