Arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei places you among it all, with nearby cities and landscapes an easy drive away. Taipei is friendly, safe, and food-obsessed, a city where night markets, hot springs, and mountain trails are all a metro ride apart. Temples full of incense sit beside design shops and bubble-tea counters, and the hills that ring the basin are never out of view.

Standout experiences around Taipei: - Graze through Shilin or Raohe night market for oyster omelets and pepper buns - Ride the elevator up Taipei 101 or hike Elephant Mountain for the skyline view - See the jade cabbage and imperial treasures at the National Palace Museum - Soak in the hot springs of Beitou, where the steam rises from the valley - Light incense at Longshan Temple in the old Wanhua district - Browse tea shops and old merchant houses on Dihua Street in Dadaocheng - Take the Maokong gondola up to the tea houses above the city - Eat beef noodle soup, the dish Taipei argues about most - Wander the youth fashion and street food of Ximending

Taipei is the gateway to northern Taiwan. The lantern-lit teahouse town of Jiufen is about an hour east, the mushroom-shaped rocks of Yehliu Geopark an hour north, and the riverside sunsets of Tamsui a quick metro ride. The volcanic peaks of Yangmingshan National Park begin at the city's edge, and Yilan's hot springs and surf beaches are about an hour through the tunnel. Order a cup of bubble tea where it was perfected, and on a weekend watch families release wishes on paper lanterns at Shifen. Taipei is a city that feeds you well and sends you home happy.