Revisiting Taipei 2014

When asked where to go in Taipei, the usual sites are Xi Men Ding, Xinyi Business District, Shih Lin night market, Jiu Fen, and the list goes on...

On my recent visit to Taipei City, I searched for some alternative sites to take a tour around and here's a list of my selections:

Si-Si Nan Cun / 四四南村

Located right behind famous landmark, Taipei 101, this village was the old location of the very first military family village (眷村) in Taipei City. Although the families have already moved out of the village long ago, you can still find the beautiful old houses and a museum documenting the place's history. The place is small but really great for photo taking and you can find locals ejouying themselves arount the slopes in the village.

There's also a lovely cafe called Good Cho's (好丘) which is famous for its bagels. It is also a lifestyle store featuring organic goods and locally produced wares, from honey to postcards to socks.

On Saturdays and Sundays, there's a lovely market - Simple Market, where you can find arts and crafts and food.

Address: Sōngqín St, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110 [Google map]

Simple Market opens every Sunday, 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. Good Cho’s opens daily except Monday

Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區)

Located within a old abandoned wine facotory, the whole compound was revived into creative park housing several restaurants and shops featuring goods by Taiwanese designers. The place gets more vibrant at night where locals come visit.

One of the great shops located within the park is VVG Thinking. The first storey house a restaurant and the second storey is a lifestyle, stationery & book shop of rare books.

Address: No. 1, Bade Road Sec. 1, DaAn District, Taipei, Taiwan

Factory grounds are open 24/7 to public but individual shops, restaurants & performance venues vary [website]

VVG Thinking opens daily from 12 p.m. – 9 p.m

Songshan Creative Park (松山文創園區)

This is really one of my favorites out of the three. Previously an old tabacco factory, this place has been transformed into another cultural park where the old factory now houses a creative design museum and a huge building housing the Eslite bookshop - The Eslite Spectrum. You can also see locals having picnics or just enjoying the sun at the open spaces in the park.

Inside The Eslite Spectrum, there's a hotel, performance hall, retail shops (ground floor), DIY shops (2F), tea shops (3F), a food court (B2), and an Eslite book store (3F). For DIY fans, you can be sure to spend most of your day on the second floor. There're workshops for leather craft, silver craft, paper making, cross stiching classes to name a few. A great place to spend an afternoon.

Address: No.133, Guangfu South Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City 11072, Taiwan [website]

#taipei #travel #sights