Spend your morning exploring the grand halls of the National Palace Museum, home to centuries of Chinese art and jade treasures. Ride the Maokong Gondola up into the tea hills for oolong with a view, then return to the city for a rooftop spa session or a soak at one of Taipei’s stylish wellness retreats. End your day with night market bites — try oyster omelette, pepper buns or tofu grilled over coals — at the lively Shilin or Ningxia markets.

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Start your day in the Dadaocheng neighbourhood, wandering through vintage apothecaries and indie cafés on Dihua Street. Stop at Lungshan Temple to hear the clink of coins and smell incense curling through the air. In the afternoon, take a coastal train ride east to Jiaoxi — where steamy laneways and stone bathtubs await. Settle into a hot spring hotel with a private in-room soak and enjoy a quiet evening meal, local sake optional.

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Wake early for a final soak, then travel back to Taipei by mid-morning. This time, stay in a modern hotel in the heart of the city. Spend your afternoon browsing Huashan 1914 Creative Park, an old sake factory turned design hub, or drop into a day spa for a massage or tea-infused facial. For dinner, book a table at a contemporary bistro serving local ingredients with a global twist, or let your senses guide you back to the food stalls of the night market.

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Continue exploring central Taipei, or venture northeast for a whimsical escape from the city. Start the day in Taiwan’s famed Cat Village, where hundreds of cats lounge along the old railway platforms and shopfronts of this former mining town. Then continue to Jiufen, perched on a lush mountainside overlooking the sea. Stroll the lantern-lit alleys, sample street snacks like taro balls and herbal rice cakes, and enjoy tea in a century-old teahouse with views of the Pacific. Return to Taipei in the evening — perhaps after watching the sunset over the coast.

Your last few hours in Taipei are yours to enjoy. Sleep in, soak one last time, or wander the quiet courtyards of Bao’an Temple. Transfer to the airport feeling refreshed and rebalanced — your skin softened by steam, your senses tuned to the subtle rhythm of Taiwan.

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