Taipei Traveler Essentials
- Safety rating
- 8.9/10
- Best time to visit
- October to December and March to May for the most pleasant temperatures. July–August is hot and humid with typhoon risk. Chinese New Year (January/February) is festive but many businesses close.
- Population
- 2.7M
Overview
Taipei is Asia's most underappreciated great city — a seamless blend of traditional Chinese culture (temples on every corner, incense-thick shrine courtyards) with Japanese precision (spotless MRT, incredible convenience store culture) and a Taiwanese warmth that makes it one of the world's most genuinely welcoming destinations. The night markets are world-famous.
Getting around
MRT is excellent — fast, cheap, and goes almost everywhere. YouBike (shared bikes) from MRT stations. Uber and taxi apps for areas not on MRT. High Speed Rail (HSR) connects south in 90 minutes.
Local etiquette
Taiwanese are polite and friendly — offer and receive business cards and gifts with both hands, and a slight bow or nod is courteous. On the MRT, eating and drinking are prohibited and fined, and you should give up priority seats. Never stick chopsticks upright in rice, queue orderly, and stand on the right of escalators.
Safety
Exceptionally safe. Violent crime against tourists is essentially unheard of. The city is safe at all hours. Scooter traffic can be intense but orderly. Typhoon season (July–October) may disrupt with occasional warnings.