Things to see and do Taipei 台北市

Right in front of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial is the newest fashionable attraction in Taipei. Founded in 1937 by the Japanese colonial government, this former tobacco company, which is still being renovated today, has been transformed into an exhibition centre, with numerous shops, artist galleries, cafés, and a small design museum (free entrance). The place is very successful, and offers an interesting leap into the past: almost all the structures of the factory have been preserved and refurbished. Numerous events are regularly organized there.

At weekends, stands are set up in the small park for craftsmen who come to offer their products. An initiative of the Taipei Municipality to promote the talents of those who, during the rest of the week, have a diverse but talented professional activity. And we can only congratulate her. Just next door, on reaching Zhongshan Road, you will notice the impressive (and very successful) structure of the future stadium that will host the upcoming sports competitions in the capital. If it is ever completed, its construction having been marked by a multitude of irregularities and local political problems. But its structure is already there, and it's beautiful. So the whole neighbourhood is changing and becoming fashionable, with cafés and shops opening one after the other in the small streets nearby.

The hot springs of Beitou remain one of the most authentic experiences in Taipei. In the open air, they include 6 basins, kept at different temperatures. But before you can enter, you must first wash yourself with the buckets of water provided for this purpose. Given the success they are enjoying, you sometimes have to wait for the little Japanese style entrance on weekends and in the summer, but it's worth it. Don't forget to bring your bathing suit!

The "New Park" was inaugurated in 1907 and renamed Peace Park in 1996, in memory of the Taiwanese who died during the February 28, 1947 demonstration against the KMT. A memorial reconciles Taiwan with its past by acknowledging acts of terror committed under martial law. Opposite the park, a neighbourhood store open on Heng Yang Road (No. 2) produces a very good plum juice, a popular drink in Taiwan, very thirst-quenching during hot weather.

On Chingshan overlooking the Keelung River, the Martyrs Mausoleum is far from the turmoil in Taipei. It was a resting place, built in a Ming style in 1969, dedicated to the memory of the 330 000 young soldiers (the majority was less than 33 years old) died during the war against Japan and the civil war with the Communists. Many men fell in the battle of Kinmen - the island of the Formosa Strait, a few kilometres from the Chinese coast - on 23 August 1948. The names on small wooden shelves, located in the main buildings, reflect the importance of the massacre. As for the two city memorials, guards are identified every hour. Twice a year, the President of the Republic commemorates the courage of these men: on March 29, at Youth Day, and on September 30, on the occasion of the Military Celebration.

Located near the Museum of Fine Arts, this park is the first of its kind in Taiwan. Covering more than 10 hectares, it is perhaps one of the most pleasant green spaces in the Capital. There are artistic works of art reflected in the water, sculptures, modern constructions including an open-air theatre. At dusk, the light is beautiful. On the other hand, the quietness of the place disappears on weekends: the Taiwanese love to go there with their families.

Raw nature in the middle of Taipei! Close to the business district of Xinyi, this mountain, which offers magnificent hiking trails, has something to surprise you. Just a stone's throw from an ultra-modern residential complex, a small temple marks the entrance to the path that leads to the heights of the city. Be careful, although a staircase allows you to reach the top of the first hill, the slope is steep and untrained walkers may suffer. But it's worth the effort: after twenty minutes of climbing, a small platform allows you to observe one of the most beautiful views of the capital, with Tower 101 in all its splendour in the foreground. The ideal is to go there just before nightfall, to admire the sunset over Taipei which lights up. It takes less than two hours to get there and back from the metro station.

Most tourists stop at this first stage, but the hiking trail continues for several kilometres and splits into several branches that penetrate the surrounding forests. A single day is not enough to go around them, so visitors in a hurry will have to make do with just one of these routes. Our favourite starts just after the first viewpoint: just a little further up is a small open-air gym, and continuing to the right of it, a path goes down into the mountain and allows you to visit several temples little known to tourists.

This former industrial complex where wine was produced was renovated in 2007 and offers a series of artists' studios and exhibition centres. Here you can learn the secrets of making objects such as lanterns from talented artists and craftsmen. But the place given to contemporary arts is also important. An excellent visit, if only for the locals. Cafés have also opened there so that you can grab a bite to eat after visiting the complex.