What to See in Taipei, Taiwan: Free Audio Guide

Looking for things to do in Taipei? Taiwan’s capital brings together historic gates, traditional temples, literary houses, museums, and green public spaces, offering plenty to explore beyond its best-known modern landmarks. Neywo has a free audio guide for Taipei with 251 narrated places, so you can discover the city while each story plays as you reach it.

What to See in Taipei

Evergreen Maritime Museum

The Evergreen Maritime Museum in Zhongzheng District is Taiwan’s largest maritime museum. Run by the Evergreen Group’s Chang Yung-Fa Foundation, it was founded by Chang Yung-Fa to introduce maritime history to the public and preserve Taiwan’s maritime culture.

The collection extends from the first to the fifth floors of the foundation’s building on Zhongshan South Road. Ship models, ocean charts, navigational instruments, and other maritime artefacts trace the relationship between Taiwan and the sea.

Kishu An Forest of Literature

Along the Xindian River in Zhongzheng District, Kishu An offers a quieter cultural stop. Today, the site is known as the Kishu An Forest of Literature and hosts exhibitions and lectures dedicated to Taiwanese writing.

Its history is layered. The building began as a Japanese-era restaurant, or ryotei, before becoming housing for government employees after the war. The main building was destroyed by fire in 1994, but the detached house survived and is now a municipal historic site.

National Taiwan University Archives

The National Taiwan University Archives, located on the university’s Shuiyuan Campus in Daan District, provides a focused look at the history and records of one of Taiwan’s important academic institutions. It is a quiet museum stop for visitors interested in the university’s past and archival collections.

South Gate of Taipei City

The South Gate of Taipei City is the best-preserved gate from Taipei’s old city walls and a national monument. Its official name is Lize Gate, although it is also widely known as the Great South Gate.

Built between 1879 and 1884 during the Qing Dynasty, it was one of five gates protecting the old city. The gate originally followed the Southern Fujian architectural style. Most of the walls were removed during the Japanese colonial period, while the South Gate remained. It was later rebuilt in a different style, giving the landmark its present appearance.

Lin An Tai Historical House and Museum

The Lin An Tai Historical House and Museum in Zhongshan District is a preserved four-sided courtyard house, or siheyuan, and an important example of traditional southern Fujian architecture.

The house was originally built during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty in what is now Daan District, where the Lin family lived for generations. When demolition threatened the building in 1978, its preservation became part of a wider heritage movement in Taipei. The structure was carefully dismantled, relocated, and rebuilt at its current site by 1984. It later opened as a museum dedicated to folk artefacts and traditional life.

Liberty Square

Liberty Square is one of Taipei’s most prominent public spaces. Completed in the late 1970s, the plaza covers more than 240,000 square metres and includes the National Concert Hall, the National Theatre, and the National Central Library.

A grand archway, ceremonial avenue, and landscaped areas shape the square. Formerly known as Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Square, it was renamed Liberty Square in December 2007. The name reflects Taiwan’s transition from one-party rule to a modern democracy and its emphasis on freedom, democracy, and human rights.

228 Peace Memorial Park and the Huang Family Widow’s Memorial

Within 228 Peace Memorial Park stands the Huang Family Widow’s Memorial, a stone paifang dating from 1882. Built during the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty, the traditional memorial arch honours a widow from the Huang family who remained devoted to her husband’s memory and raised her children alone.

The park also contains the National Taiwan Museum, established in 1908 during Japanese rule. It is the oldest museum in Taiwan, and its building is a national monument. The museum was originally known as the Taiwan Governor-General’s Museum; locals may also refer to it as the Tai-phok or Tai-phok-koan.

Taiwan Power Corporation President Hostel

Behind the Presidential Office Building, the Taiwan Power Corporation President Hostel preserves one of the few remaining traces of an earlier period in this part of Taipei. The municipal monument originally formed part of a compound containing Western- and Japanese-style buildings. Only the Western-style structure remains.

Its brick walls and carefully applied plaster show the craftsmanship of early twentieth-century residential architecture. After World War II, the building became a central reception venue and later served as the official residence of the Taiwan Provincial Governor. The Taiwan Power Corporation headquarters once stood across the street but was destroyed during the American bombing of Taipei in 1945.

Chien Mu House

On Soochow University’s Waishuangxi campus in Shilin District, Chien Mu House preserves the memory of the scholar Chien Mu. Also known as Su Shu Lou, the residence became his home and teaching space after he moved to Taiwan in 1968.

Chien Mu lived and worked there for more than two decades, writing and lecturing beside the creek. After he left in 1990 following a political controversy involving Taipei’s mayor, the building served as a public library for a period. It is now a municipal memorial site maintained by the University of Taipei.

Taipei Confucian Temple

The Taipei Confucian Temple in Datong District is one of Taiwan’s most important Confucian sites. Its predecessor, the Taipei Prefectural Confucian Temple, stood from 1875 to 1907. After it was lost, local families donated land for a new temple, with planning beginning in 1925 and construction completed in 1939.

The temple was designed by Wang Yishun, a master of traditional Quanzhou-style architecture. Its courtyards cover more than four thousand ping, creating a spacious and peaceful setting. On September 28, Teachers’ Day, the temple hosts autumn ceremonial rites attended by government representatives, including the yi dance.

The Red House Period Museum

The Red House Period Museum in Datong District offers a very different kind of museum visit. Opened in June 2022, it is dedicated entirely to menstruation and is described as the only museum in the world devoted to the subject.

Its exhibitions examine menstruation through physiology, psychology, art, and social issues, making it an unusual and focused addition to Taipei’s cultural landscape.

Lai Family’s Tomb Tower

In Wenshan Forest Park, the Lai Family’s Tomb Tower reveals a distinctive example of cultural exchange. Built in 1940 during the Japanese colonial era, it was the family tomb of the Lai family, a prominent household from Dadaocheng.

A lion-head sculpture on the front likely reflects the Okinawan tradition of shisa guardian figures. The open doorway and absence of a gravestone also resemble Okinawan burial practices. Taipei City designated the tower a historical building in 2008, and it was later incorporated into Wenshan Forest Park.

Museum of Drinking Water

The Museum of Drinking Water occupies a former water-intake and purification facility in Zhongzheng District. The site still operates as the Gongguan Water Purification Plant under the city government and forms part of Taipei Water Park.

The original pump house remains alongside historic structures including the Guanyin Mountain reservoir, water measuring room, and turbid water pumping station. It offers a chance to explore the development of Taipei’s water system while seeing part of its infrastructure still in operation.

SanYu Temple

In Shilin’s TianMu neighbourhood, SanYu Temple is a Taoist temple dedicated to the Grain Emperor, an ancient deity associated with agriculture and harvest. The present building was constructed in 1947 in a traditional style influenced by classical Chinese temple architecture.

Explore Taipei with a Self-Guided Audio Tour

Neywo offers 7 walking tours, 1 bus route, and 1 bike route in Taipei. The walks range from 2.12 to 4.85 km and from 78 to 118 minutes, with 7 to 10 narrated stops each. The bus route covers 6.2 km in 27 minutes with 9 stops, while the bike route covers 6 km in 30 minutes with 3 stops.

Routes include Liberty Square and the old capital, Wanhua’s temples and old gates, Dadaocheng’s tea merchants and historic streets, Xinyi and Taipei 101, Beitou’s hot springs and mountain temples, and the area around Taipei Confucian Temple. There is also a route through Taipei’s old botanical quarter, plus a riverside bike ride from Dadaocheng to Wanhua.

Download Neywo and explore Taipei at your own pace. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, and the free audio guide includes 251 narrated places. Taipei is also a starting point for exploring Taiwan, with cities such as Keelung, Taichung, and Tainan offering different perspectives on the island.