Taipei 3-Day Itinerary: Museums, Night Markets, Maokong

What is the best 3-day itinerary for Taipei?

Spend day one in the old west of the city, from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to Wanhua and Ximending. Give day two to the National Palace Museum, closed on Mondays, and Shilin night market. On day three, eat around Yongkang Street, go up Taipei 101 and ride the Maokong Gondola for an evening view.

Taipei is an MRT city, and each day here follows one or two lines. Six colour-coded lines cover the centre, according to Taipei Metro’s route map, and the red and blue lines cross at Taipei Main Station, which is also where the Airport MRT from Taoyuan arrives.

Closed days shape the order. The National Palace Museum and Beitou’s Thermal Valley close on Mondays, and the Maokong Gondola closes for maintenance on most Mondays. If your trip starts on a Monday, run day one as written, because Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Taipei 101 open daily.

For where to sleep, see where to stay in Taipei. With a week, the Taipei 7-day itinerary adds Jiufen, the Pingxi Line, Beitou and Tamsui.

What do the three days look like at a glance?

Each day pairs a daytime anchor with a night market on the same side of the city, so you never cross Taipei twice. The table lists official opening hours and closed days, what to book and a swap for heavy rain or a typhoon day. Avoid putting day two or day three on a Monday.

Hours come from the city’s official Taipei Travel pages and the operators’ own sites, linked in each day below. Night markets keep long hours, so the evening part of each day is the easiest to move if you are tired or it is raining.

Nothing on this plan needs booking weeks ahead outside holiday periods. If your dates overlap Lunar New Year, 4–10 February 2027, or a long weekend, book rooms early and expect busier evenings at the night markets.

How should you spend day one in Zhongzheng, Wanhua and Ximending?

Start at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, open 09:00–18:00 every day, then take the MRT to Longshan Temple station on the blue line and walk Wanhua’s older streets. Late in the afternoon, move one stop east to Ximen for Ximending’s shopping streets, and stay for dinner and the evening crowds.

Taipei Travel lists Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as open 09:00–18:00 every day, which makes it a safe first stop on any day of the week, including a Monday when museums elsewhere are shut.

Longshan Temple station (BL10) is one stop west of Ximen on the blue line, according to Taipei Metro. Ximending, centred on Zhonghua Road in Wanhua District, is described by Taipei Travel as the city’s hub of youth culture, with shopping, cosplay and street dance, and pop stars often hold promotional events there at weekends.

If you prefer quieter evenings, swap Ximending for Dadaocheng: Dihua Street’s tea, herb and fabric shops and nearby Ningxia Road night market, open 17:00–23:30, are both reached from Daqiaotou and Zhongshan stations.

How should you spend day two at the National Palace Museum and Shilin?

Give the National Palace Museum the morning and early afternoon; it opens 09:00–17:00 and is closed on Mondays. Rest in the late afternoon, then go to Shilin night market, which runs 16:00–00:00 near Jiantan and Shilin MRT stations on the red line. Go early in the evening and keep the late night free.

Taipei Travel lists the National Palace Museum as open 09:00–17:00 and closed on Mondays. It is the strongest single indoor anchor in Taipei, so on a wet day you can simply stay longer and drop the night market.

Shilin night market trades 16:00–00:00 and is reached from Jiantan and Shilin stations. If you would rather soak than graze, the red line continues north to Beitou, where Thermal Valley opens 09:00–17:00 and is also closed on Mondays.

Monday is the one day this plan cannot run as written, because the museum, Thermal Valley and, on most Mondays, the Maokong Gondola are all closed. If you arrive on a Sunday, make Monday your day one, which uses only sights that open every day, and keep the museum and Maokong for Tuesday and Wednesday.

How should you spend day three in Da’an, Xinyi and Maokong?

Start with a late breakfast or lunch around Yongkang Street, then go up Taipei 101, whose observatory opens 10:00–21:00 every day. In the late afternoon, take the brown line to Taipei Zoo and ride the Maokong Gondola into the hills for the city at dusk, returning for Raohe night market.

The Yongkang Street area, reached from Dongmen or Daan Park stations, is known for dumpling houses, vegetarian restaurants and teahouses, with listed hours of 10:30–21:30. The Taipei 101 Observatory opens 10:00–21:00 every day, across floors 89, 91 and 101.

The Maokong Gondola starts about 350 metres from Taipei Zoo MRT station on the brown Wenhu line and stops at Taipei Zoo South and Zhinan Temple before Maokong. It runs 09:00–21:00 on weekdays and until 22:00 on holidays, and closes on Mondays for maintenance except national holidays and the first Monday of each month (Maokong Gondola hours).

Raohe Street night market opens 17:00–00:00 beside Songshan and Houshanpi stations, if you still have energy after the gondola.

Which night markets fit a 3-day trip?

Pick one per evening on the side of the city you are already in: Ximending or Ningxia on day one, Shilin on day two and Raohe on day three. Ningxia is the smallest and easiest to walk back from, Shilin is the biggest name, and Raohe is the simplest to combine with Xinyi and Taipei 101.

Ningxia Road night market opens 17:00–23:30 and is reached from Shuanglian, Zhongshan, Daqiaotou, Minquan West Road and Beimen stations; Taipei Travel describes it as nostalgic and known for friendly service. Raohe Street night market opens 17:00–00:00 every day.

Night markets are outdoors, so on heavy-rain evenings swap them for Xinyi’s malls, which Taipei Travel calls the Manhattan of Taipei (Taipei Travel), and check typhoon and heavy-rain warnings before heading out.

Raohe and Shilin both trade until midnight, so there is no need to rush dinner, while Ningxia closes a little earlier, at 23:30. If you only want one market in three days, choose the one nearest your hotel; where to stay in Taipei maps the areas by MRT line.

How do you get around Taipei in three days?

Use the MRT for everything on this plan. From Taoyuan Airport, the Airport MRT express runs to Taipei Main Station (A1) roughly every 15 minutes, stopping only at A3, A8 and the two terminals. On your last day, A1’s in-town check-in lets you drop bags in the morning and sightsee bag-free.

Taoyuan Metro’s timetable shows express or extended-express departures from early morning about every 15 minutes, and commuter trains that stop everywhere and take longer. The in-town check-in at A1 runs 06:00–21:30 on level B1 for same-day flights from Taoyuan and closes three hours before departure.

Airlines offering A1 check-in include China Airlines, EVA Air, Cathay Pacific and Starlux, among others. Within the city, the six MRT lines on Taipei Metro’s map reach every stop on this plan; the FCDO warns that vehicles may not stop at pedestrian crossings, so take care on foot.

If you fly from Songshan Airport instead, the brown line has its own station at the terminal, Songshan Airport (BR13), three stops north of Zhongxiao Fuxing, which makes a Da’an or Nanjing base the easier choice for that airport.

How should rain, heat or a typhoon change the plan?

Taipei sees rain on 12 to 16 days in every month, so build each day around one indoor anchor. In a typhoon, follow the city’s work and school suspension notices, expect the Maokong Gondola to stop, and switch to the National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall or Xinyi’s malls.

The Central Weather Administration’s 1991–2020 normals record 12 to 16 rain days in every month and about 30 days at or above 30°C in July. The CWA says three to five typhoons typically affect the vicinity of Taiwan each season (CWA outlook), and the DGPA publishes each county’s suspension decisions.

The Maokong Gondola suspends service in strong gusts, after lightning anywhere along the route, in earthquakes above intensity 4 and when a land typhoon warning covers Taipei. For month-by-month timing, see the best time to visit Taipei.

What should you book before three days in Taipei?

Very little. Book your hotel, buy Taipei 101 Observatory tickets online, and complete Taiwan’s online arrival card in the three days before landing. Around Lunar New Year, 4–10 February 2027, and the long weekends in the 2027 government calendar, book rooms and any day tours early.

The FCDO says UK passport holders can visit Taiwan without a visa for up to 90 days and must submit the Taiwan Arrival Card online within three days before arrival. The 2027 holiday calendar was approved in May 2026 (DGPA).

Compare food tours, night-market walks and day trips across platforms with GetYourGuide vs Viator vs Klook, and see things to do in Taipei for more ideas.

Is three days enough for Taipei?

Three days is enough for the city’s main museum, its best-known night markets, Taipei 101 and one view from the hills. It is not enough for the day trips most visitors want next: Jiufen, the Pingxi Line and Tamsui. Add two to four days for those, or use the 7-day plan.

The Taipei 7-day itinerary keeps the museum and Maokong but adds Jiufen, Shifen Waterfall and the Pingxi Line, Beitou’s hot springs and Tamsui, at a slower pace.

For hotels, shortlist properties on our Taipei hotels page, read the Taipei destination guide, and check onward routes in finding cheap flights from Taipei.