With how well connected Taiwan is, it was really easy to explore other parts of the country! I visited a couple other areas near Taipei. Some of these might even technically count as the Taipei metro area, but they did still feel distinct enough that I wanted to include them here instead of my main summary of Taipei.
Jiufen
This is the first day trip to come up on almost any list of recommendations. It’s about 45 minutes to an hour east of Taipei. I was absolutely delighted to find that there was a bus that picked up about five minutes from my hotel and went directly there, so it was the first place I went outside of the city!
Jiufen was originally a gold rush town! There is a museum there about this time period, but I wasn’t able to go because it was closed while I was there. When Taiwan was occupied by the Japanese, their time in Jiufen made a big impact on the architecture as well.
The mine shut down in 1971 and the town fell into decline, as so many old mining towns do. However, it was revitalized because it was a filming location for a Taiwanese film, A City of Sadness. The tourism boom from that movie led to a lot of development there, including the cafés and teahouses that remain popular today.
It is also known for its resemblance to the town in the Ghibli movie Spirited Away. While Miyazaki has denied that Jiufen was any sort of inspiration for the town in the movie, it’s still a popular destination for the many fans of Ghibli’s films.
I had a really nice day in Jiufen. I loved the teahouses and ended up waiting out a massive rainstorm at one of them – it had such a beautiful view from the patio when it wasn’t pouring rain! There are a ton of souvenir shops, as well as a lot of paths to walk around the city and see the views over the valley. It definitely has enough to stay busy for a day. I imagine the lanterns would look beautiful at night as well.
Beitou
This was even easier to get to, as it is on the red line of the metro. Beitou is known for its hot springs, which smell very strongly of sulfur.
Wikipedia informs me that Beitou has one of the largest concentrations of hot springs in the entire world! What was fascinating to me was how accessible they are. From the metro, it was a short walk to a public park that went right into the Thermal Valley area.
I also visited the library while I was there, which was beautiful and peaceful, and had a really delicious lunch at a local restaurant. It was one of those where I walked in right after it started pouring rain and I was feeling somewhat overwhelmed at figuring out what I wanted to eat, and they were so kind and made sure I got an English copy of the menu and knew where I was supposed to go to get service.
I didn’t go to any of the actual spas, which I think would have been fun, but there are always trade offs in travel and I paired Beitou with Tamsui, which was just a little farther along on the red line.
Tamsui
Tamsui sits at the mouth of the river where it meets the sea, and the Old Town is primarily located alongside the water.
Tamsui was one of my favorite areas to walk around – I found it very charming, and it also felt a lot more walkable than some of the other areas where I was. Most of the Old Town was closed to cars and the areas right next to the river functioned more like a boardwalk.
One other fun note – I love the instinct in East Asia to make these kind of charming, personified characters out of everyday objects. This one was the best that I saw on this trip!
Tamsui was a solid half day, although there is probably enough for a full day if you keep going to the fort or end up having a leisurely lunch along the river. It also was rainy while I was there, so my walk could’ve been longer if I hadn’t been trying to beat another potential downpour.
All of these were so convenient from Taipei and I would say they were all worth it. You could give Beitou and Tamsui their own full days, but I do think it was sufficient to do a half day for each due to their proximity if you’re short on time, like I always feel like I am. That said, I feel like I got a good sample of a few different areas in the north!