Day by day
Day 1: Old town and the tower
- Longshan Temple at Longshan Temple MRT, 1 hr
- Bopiliao Historic Block lanes, 45 min
- Beef noodle soup lunch in the Wanhua lanes, 1 hr
- MRT to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for the hourly honor-guard change, 1.5 hr
- Rest valve: tea at a Yongkang Street tea house near Dongmen MRT, 1 hr
- MRT to Taipei 101, ride up at 4:30 PM, 1.5 hr
- Dinner and dessert at Raohe Street Night Market by Songshan MRT, 1.5 hr
- Total: about 5 km walking; 4 MRT segments
Day 2: Mountain views and tea hills
- Climb Elephant Mountain from Xiangshan MRT for the Taipei 101 view, 1.5 hr
- Scallion pancake and bubble tea breakfast from a street cart, 30 min
- MRT to the National Palace Museum via Shilin, bus 815 from the station, 2.5 hr
- Rest valve: lunch and a sit-down in the museum garden cafe, 1 hr
- MRT to Maokong Gondola at Taipei Zoo, ride the standard cabin up, 1.5 hr
- Tea-plantation walk and viewpoint at Maokong, 1 hr
- Mango shaved ice and dinner at Ningxia Night Market near Zhongshan MRT, 1.5 hr
- Total: about 6 km walking; 5 MRT segments and 1 bus segment
Day 3: Jiufen hillside day trip
- Train from Taipei Main Station to Ruifang, 30 to 50 min
- Bus 788 or 827 from Ruifang up to Jiufen Old Street, 20 min
- Walk the stepped lanes and tea houses before the coaches arrive, 2 hr
- Rest valve: a hillside tea house with a sea view in Jiufen, 1.5 hr
- Bus back to Ruifang and train to Taipei, about 1.5 hr total return
- Dinner at a beef noodle shop near Taipei Main Station on arrival, 1 hr
- Total: about 4 km walking; 2 train segments and 2 bus segments
