The old port town and ancient colonial center is in a tourist oriented area, with its waterfront, its colonial buildings (Fort San Domingo, The Oxford Museum, the Mackay Hospital or the Red Castle Restaurant), its ferries coming and going to the other side of Danshui river (Bali), its souvenirs shops, restaurants, coffee shops and traditional Taiwanese snack stores. For the Taiwanese it's the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon; especially for couples.
Things to do
This former US consulate building (1925) is today a great place owned by the Taiwan Motion Picture Cultural Society and dedicated to Taiwanese film. It includes a screening room in the old garage, a conference room, two fantastic coffee shops (Café Lumiere and Le Ballon Rouge) and a design boutique.
One of the wonderful things about Taipei is that, despite it being a big metropolis, you can escape from the noise and traffic easily, and find natural landscapes, including nice beaches.
One of the best and nearest is Baishawan, located on the north coast in Temou Village. The best way to reach it is by going to Dansui by MRT or bus and then taking the Dansui Express Bus or the Taichi Express Bus bound for Jinshan until Baishawan.
Another of the bizarre and really expensive but beautiful buildings built by the Japanese Government in Taipei. Completed in 1919, it shows a really strange neo-Renaissance style, with a 66-meter tower meant to be a watchtower.
A beautiful 362 steps stone stairway famous for being one of the shooting locations for "City of Sadness", including a restaurant with its name. The road and some of the buildings, along with other spots in Jiufen such as the refinery ruins, also inspired the Japanese director Miyazaki Hayao in his film "Sen To Chihiro" (Spirited Away).
