Morning
Land at TPE
Taoyuan International. The Airport MRT Express reaches Taipei Main Station in about 35 minutes, no transfers.
Pick up an EasyCard
Any MRT counter sells one. It pays for the metro, city buses, the Pingxi branch line and every convenience store on this trip.
Afternoon / Day
Check in: Cosmos Hotel Taipei
No. 43, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao W. Rd. Directly across from Taipei Main Station, which is where four of the next eight days start.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
No. 21, Zhongshan S. Rd. The hall closes at six but Liberty Square, the theatre and the concert hall stay open and free.
Book the Alishan Forest Railway
Seats on the Chiayi to Alishan main line are limited and go early. Reserve the day 6 uphill train and the day 7 return together.
Evening
Dinner at Ningxia Night Market
Ningxia Rd., Datong District. One short street rather than a maze: oyster omelette, taro balls, sesame-oil chicken, from about 5 PM.
Morning
Train to Ruifang
Taipei Main to Ruifang on the east coast line, about 45 minutes. Buy the Pingxi branch-line day pass at the Ruifang counter.
Pingxi Line to Shifen
A single-track branch built to carry coal, running on to Jingtong at the end. Trains are roughly hourly, so plan around them.
Sky lanterns on Shifen Old Street
Shifen St., Pingxi District. Shops paint and release lanterns from the track itself between trains; one colour per wish.
Afternoon / Day
Shifen Waterfall
No. 10, Qiankeng, Pingxi. Taiwan's widest curtain fall, free to enter. October to May the park shuts at 5, last entry 4:30.
Bus up to Jiufen
Back to Ruifang, then the Keelung Bus up the hill to Jiufen Old Street, about 15 minutes of switchbacks.
Evening
Shengping Theater
No. 137, Qingbian Rd., Ruifang. The restored mining-town cinema, free to walk through. Closed the first Monday of each month.
Tea at A-Mei Tea House
No. 20, Shixia Ln., Jiufen. The red-lantern teahouse above the Shuqi Road steps; open to 9:30, so stay for the lanterns lighting.
Bus back to Taipei
The 1062 runs from Jiufen straight to MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing in about 75 minutes, no change at Ruifang.
Morning
Breakfast at Fuhang Soy Milk
2F, No. 108, Sec. 1, Zhongxiao E. Rd., upstairs in Huashan Market. Thick sesame flatbread with egg. Closed Mondays, gone by noon.
National Palace Museum
No. 221, Sec. 2, Zhishan Rd., Shilin. Closed Mondays. Go to the jadeite cabbage and the Ru ware first, then work outward.
Afternoon / Day
Lunch at Din Tai Fung
Founded in Taipei in 1958 and now a chain across the city. Check the branch list, take a number, and order xiaolongbao and the pork chop rice.
Longshan Temple
No. 211, Guangzhou St., Wanhua. Open 6 AM to 10 PM. Buy incense at the front, then stand through the chanting at the rear hall.
Bopiliao Historic Block
Ln. 173, Kangding Rd., two minutes from the temple. A restored Qing shophouse street, free, and closed Mondays.
Evening
Sunset on Elephant Mountain
Aly. 22, Ln. 150, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd. Twenty minutes of stairs from MRT Xiangshan to the boulders that frame Taipei 101.
Raohe Street Night Market
Raohe St., beside Songshan Station. One of Taipei's oldest tourist night markets: pepper buns at the arch, then eat your way inward.
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Morning
Train to Jiaoxi
Taipei Main to Jiaoxi on the east coast line, about 75 minutes round the headland. Reserve; unreserved cars fill at Ruifang.
Check in: Wellspring by Silks
No. 67, Wenquan Rd. Five minutes on foot from Jiaoxi Station, with the spring water piped into every room and a rooftop pool.
Afternoon / Day
Tangweigou Hot Spring Park
No. 99-11, Deyang Rd. A free public foot bath in the middle of town; it closes for about an hour around midday for cleaning.
Kavalan Whisky Distillery
No. 326, Sec. 2, Yuanshan Rd., Yuanshan. Fifteen minutes by taxi from Jiaoxi. Guided tours run through the still house, and the tasting bar upstairs is paid.
Luodong Forestry Culture Park
No. 118, Zhongzheng N. Rd. The old Taipingshan log pond and narrow-gauge sidings, free, and a neat prologue to Alishan.
Evening
Luodong Night Market
Around Zhongshan Park on Xingdong Rd. Sanxing scallion pancake, deep-fried sweet potato balls, and Yilan mutton soup.
Soak before bed
Jiaoxi's spring is clear, odourless sodium bicarbonate rather than sulphur. Twenty minutes is enough; any longer and you wilt.
Morning
One stop north to Toucheng
A local train from Jiaoxi takes about eight minutes. The museum is a five-minute walk from Toucheng Station.
Lanyang Museum
No. 750, Sec. 3, Qingyun Rd., Toucheng. A wedge of dark stone tilted to match the cuesta cliffs behind it. Closed Wednesdays.
Afternoon / Day
Back to Taipei by rail
Toucheng to Taipei Main takes about 80 minutes along the coast. The high-speed rail platforms are directly downstairs.
High-speed rail to Chiayi
Taipei to Chiayi in about 90 minutes. Sit on the right going south for the paddy fields and the Central Range beyond them.
BRT into Chiayi city
The high-speed rail station sits out at Taibao. The BRT runs from it to Chiayi railway station in about 30 minutes.
Evening
Check in: Maison de Chine Chiayi
No. 257, Wenhua Rd., out by the fountain roundabout. A walk or a short cab from the station the forest railway leaves from tomorrow.
Turkey rice at Penshui
No. 325, Zhongshan Rd., beside the fountain. Shredded turkey and scallion oil over rice, served here since 1949. Chiayi's dish.
Wenhua Road Night Market
Wenhua Rd. runs straight out from the hotel and closes to traffic after dark. Papaya milk, grilled squid, tofu pudding.
Morning
Alishan Forest Railway, main line
From Chiayi Station mid-morning. Seventy-one kilometres and more than 2,000 metres of climb on 762mm track. Book weeks ahead.
Afternoon / Day
Railway bento at Fenchihu
No. 178-1, Zhonghe Village, Zhuqi. The train breaks here for about an hour; the hotel has sold the tin-box railway lunch for decades.
Fenchihu Old Street
A halfway town at 1,400 metres, built along the rails. Cypress doughnuts and wild aiyu jelly, all inside the layover.
Check in: Alishan House
No. 16, Xianglin Village. Taiwan's highest hotel, at the centre of the Alishan forest recreation area; ask the hotel how to get up from the station.
Evening
Zhaoping Station at dusk
The old logging terminus, ten minutes from the hotel on foot. Cherry trees line the platform; in November it is cloud that fills it.
Buy the sunrise train ticket
The Zhushan line departure moves with sunrise and is posted at 4:30 PM the day before at Alishan Station. Buy the ticket then.
Dinner at the hotel
Nothing else is open at this altitude after dark, and it gets cold fast. Reserve the set dinner when you reserve the room.
Morning
Zhushan sunrise train
Around 4:30 AM from Alishan Station, six kilometres up the branch line in the dark. Wear everything you packed.
Sunrise over the Yushan range
The Zhushan deck faces east at about 2,450 metres. November mornings sit near freezing and are usually clear. Coffee stalls open early.
Giant trees and Sisters Ponds
No. 59, Zhongzheng Village, Alishan. Two boardwalk sections past three dozen red cypresses. Allow two hours before the train down.
Afternoon / Day
Forest railway down to Chiayi
One service a day, around the middle of the day, roughly four hours. Book it at the same time as the uphill leg.
Train to Tainan
Chiayi to Tainan on a Tze-Chiang, about 40 minutes, and it lands you in the middle of town rather than out at Guiren.
Evening
Check in: Silks Place Tainan
No. 1, Heyi Rd. Next to the Tainan Art Museum and a ten-minute walk from Chihkan Tower and the Confucius temple.
Garden Night Market
No. 533, Sec. 3, Hai-an Rd., North District. Tainan's night markets rotate by weekday; this one runs Saturday from about 5 PM.
Morning
Milkfish congee at A-Tang
No. 728, Sec. 1, Ximen Rd., on the Xiaoximen roundabout. Opens before dawn and sells out by lunchtime. Ask for the belly cut.
Anping Old Fort
No. 82, Guosheng Rd., Anping. Built on the Dutch Fort Zeelandia, and a stretch of the original 17th-century brick wall still stands beside it.
Anping Tree House
Beside No. 108, Gubao St. A banyan has swallowed a 19th-century Tait and Co. salt warehouse; walkways run through the roots.
Afternoon / Day
Danzai noodles at Du Hsiao Yueh
No. 16, Zhongzheng Rd. The original 1895 shop; the cook still works a charcoal pot from a low stool by the door. Small bowls, order two.
Chihkan Tower
No. 212, Sec. 2, Minzu Rd. Fort Provintia's foundations under two Qing pavilions. Open to 9:30 PM, so it also works after dinner.
Tainan Confucius Temple
No. 2, Nanmen Rd. Founded 1665 and the first official school in Taiwan's history. Small charge for the walled main hall precinct.
Evening
Shennong Street
Shennong St., West Central District. One lantern-strung lane of Qing merchant houses, now bars, print studios and one very old temple.
Dinner at A-Sha
No. 7, Ln. 84, Sec. 2, Zhongyi Rd., beside the Tiangong temple. Old-Tainan banquet cooking since 1940. Closed Mondays; book ahead.
Guohua Street, then the Loop Closes
Morning
Spring rolls at Kintoku
No. 19, Sec. 3, Minzu Rd., at the Guohua Street corner of Yongle Market. A stall that has made one thing for decades; go early, it sells out.
Yongle Market and Guohua Street
Sec. 3, Guohua St. The densest block of Tainan snack stalls anywhere. Graze standing up rather than sitting down to one thing.
Afternoon / Day
Hayashi Department Store
No. 63, Sec. 2, Zhongyi Rd. Tainan's 1932 department store, restored and trading again from 11 AM. The rooftop shrine survived.
Shalun line to the HSR station
A shuttle train runs Tainan Station to Shalun, directly under the high-speed rail station, in about 25 minutes.
High-speed rail back to Taipei
Tainan to Taipei in a little under two hours. The loop closes exactly where it opened, at Taipei Main Station.
Evening
Airport MRT to TPE
Taipei Main to Taoyuan Airport, about 35 minutes on the Express. Some airlines take checked bags at the in-town counters.
Fly out of TPE
Leave the city three hours before departure. The train is frequent; the Terminal 2 security queue is the part that is not.
