Seal Co‑living 海抱共居
EN
繁體中文 English 日本語 한국어

Weekend day-outs

A weekend from Taipei City Hall Station: Songshan Cultural Park, Four-Four South Village, Xiangshan sunset and the 101 night view

Living in Xinyi District, you don't need to go far for the weekend. Starting from Taipei City Hall MRT Station, you can link up Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Four Four South Village, Xiangshan Trail and the Taipei 101 Observatory on foot and by YouBike, for almost zero MRT fare in a day.

Seal Co-living team Updated 5 min read Translated from Chinese · 中文原文

Taipei 101 and the Xinyi skyline from Elephant Mountain by day
Photo: Vas / Unsplash
On this page
  1. How to spend the day
  2. Route and train times
  3. Walking tips
  4. Budget
  5. If you've just moved here
  6. FAQ
  7. Sources

After you move to Xinyi District, you'll slowly realise that many of the places people make a special trip to see are actually within walking distance of your home. This route starts from MRT Taipei City Hall Station (Bannan Line BL18), and you'll spend most of the day on foot, so it suits a Saturday when you don't want to rush. From CityHall House to the MRT station: Taipei City Hall Station (Bannan Line), about a 2-minute walk. If you live in one of our houses near Houshanpi Station, ride the Bannan Line 2 stops west (about 3 minutes on the train, NT$20) to join the route.

How to spend the day

  1. Morning10:00

    Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

    Walk west from Taipei City Hall Station to the area around S.Y.S. Memorial Hall Station. The two stations are about 800 m apart in a straight line; if you don't feel like walking, ride one stop. The park is about 400 m from S.Y.S. Memorial Hall Station. Its outdoor areas are open 24 hours and its indoor areas 08:00–22:00; exhibition hours depend on each organiser. On the way you pass the main hall of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, which is still under renovation. The official target for completion is the fourth quarter of 2026, but as of 5 October 2026 no reopening date has been announced, so check the official website before you set out. Zhongshan Park around it is open as usual and is a lovely place to sit and let your mind wander.

  2. Afternoon13:30

    Four Four South Village

    From S.Y.S. Memorial Hall Station, head south to Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station, about 1.1 km in a straight line; it's an easy walk or YouBike ride. Four Four South Village is about 230 m from Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station. Right behind the low old houses of this former military dependents' village stands Taipei 101, a scene that feels very Taipei.

  3. Late afternoon16:30

    Climb Elephant Mountain for the sunset

    From Taipei 101 it's about 600 m on foot to Xiangshan Station, or you can ride one stop. Leave by Exit 2 and walk 10–15 minutes through Zhongqiang Park to the trailhead; along the way you can turn around and see Taipei 101. According to the Central Weather Administration's 2026 sunrise and sunset timetable, the sun sets in Taipei City at about 17:40 in early October and about 17:15 at the end of October, and it moves earlier to around 17:05 in November–December, so set off earlier in winter.

  4. Evening19:00

    Night views from the Taipei 101 Observatory

    Come back down to Taipei 101. The 89th-floor observatory is open daily 10:00–21:00 (including holidays), and tickets are sold at the observatory counter on the 1st floor of the office tower. The official website doesn't give a last entry time, so if you go in the evening, arrive early. Afterwards it's about 1 km back to Taipei City Hall Station, just right for an after-dinner walk.

Route and train times

Leg How to get there Time on the train Fare
Taipei City Hall → S.Y.S. Memorial Hall Bannan Line, 1 stop, or walk About 1.3 minutes NT$20
S.Y.S. Memorial Hall → Taipei 101/World Trade Center Walk or YouBike (about 1.1 km in a straight line) — First 30 minutes of YouBike free＊
Taipei 101/World Trade Center → Xiangshan Tamsui-Xinyi Line, 1 stop, or walk about 600 m About 1.1 minutes NT$20
Taipei 101 → Taipei City Hall Walk (about 900 m in a straight line) — 0

Times on the train are calculated from Taipei Metro open data and don't include waiting or walking into and out of stations. ＊You need to be a registered member riding a YouBike 2.0.

Walking tips

  • Add up the straight-line distances above and you'll walk at least 5 km this day (a rough estimate; the actual route is longer), so wear comfortable shoes.
  • Bring water for the late-afternoon climb up Elephant Mountain. It will already be dark when you come down, so your phone's flashlight comes in handy.

Budget

Item Full fare
MRT (you can skip it by walking the whole way) NT$0–40
Taipei 101 Observatory, 89th floor NT$600
Total (excluding food and drinks) About NT$600–640

Prices in the table are full-fare prices. Taipei 101 also has an NT$300 concession ticket for students, people aged 65 and over, people with disabilities, and military, police and fire service personnel, available only to holders of Taiwanese identity documents (one of these is checked: a national ID card, an ARC (Alien Resident Certificate), a National Health Insurance card or similar), and it must be bought at the ticket office on the 1st floor of the office tower.

If you've just moved here

  • EasyCard: You'll be walking most of the day, so just tap your card for each single ride; there's no need to buy the NT$150 MRT one-day pass.
  • YouBike: Once you register as a member with your EasyCard, the first 30 minutes on a YouBike 2.0 in Taipei City are free (subsidised by the city government since 28 February 2024). After that, it's NT$10 for every 30 minutes, up to 4 hours. Single rentals paid by credit card are not covered by the subsidy. There's a YouBike station outside Exit 3 of Xiangshan Station.
  • Rainy-day plan: The indoor areas of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park are open until 22:00, and the Taipei 101 Observatory is indoors too, so just swap Elephant Mountain for Taipei 101 in the daytime.

FAQ

Can I go up to the 101st floor?

Add NT$380 on top of the 89th-floor ticket.

Can I go inside the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall?

The main hall is officially expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026, but as of 5 October 2026 no reopening date has been announced, so please check before you set out. Zhongshan Park around it is open as usual.

If you'd like to live in this area for the long term, take a look at CityHall House.

Sources

(All accessed on 5 October 2026)

  1. 1.Tourism Administration, MOTC – Songshan Cultural and Creative Parktaiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0001090&id=A12-00223
  2. 2.Tourism Administration, MOTC – National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Halltaiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0001090&id=2889
  3. 3.Tourism Administration, MOTC – Four Four South Villagetaiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0001090&id=A12-00237
  4. 4.Taipei 101 Observatory – Opening hourstaipei-101.com.tw/tw/observatory
  5. 5.Taipei 101 Observatory – Ticketstaipei-101.com.tw/tw/observatory/ticket
  6. 6.Taipei Travel Net – Xiangshan Parktravel.taipei/en/attraction/details/703
  7. 7.Taipei Travel Net – Four Beasts Mountain trail routetravel.taipei/en/fun/tour/details/1193
  8. 8.Central Weather Administration, MOTC – 2026 sunrise and sunset timetable (Taipei City)cwa.gov.tw/Data/astronomy/Timetable_PDF/sun2026_01taipeicity.pdf
  9. 9.National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall official websiteyatsen.gov.tw/
  10. 10.YouBike – Taipei City ratesyoubike.com.tw/region/taipei/rate/
  11. 11.Taipei Metro – One-day passmetro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=CEF54168B23F73B4&s=9D540D31C5F81237
  12. 12.Data.Taipei – Running times between MRT stationsdata.taipei/dataset/detail?id=513e97fe-6a98-4a0d-b7dc-11122c8638d4
  13. 13.Data.Taipei – MRT station data (used for distance calculations)data.taipei/dataset/detail?id=1eefa68d-7c8d-491b-8e75-66a161947426
  14. 14.Data.Taipei – MRT faresdata.taipei/dataset/detail?id=4acb4911-0360-4063-808d-fcee629508b3

Living in Taipei

Keep reading

Weekend day-outs

Along the Green Line: From Gongguan to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Longshan Temple, and Sunset at Dadaocheng

Living in Gongguan, you're just a few stops north on the Songshan-Xindian Line from old Taipei neighborhoods like Wanhua and Dadaocheng. Watch the ceremonial guard performance at Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in the morning, walk through Longshan Temple at midday, stroll Dihua Street in the afternoon, catch the sunset at Dadaocheng Wharf in the evening, and finish with dinner at Ningxia Night Market before heading straight home on one train.

5 min read

Weekend day-outs

Starting from Houshanpi: Zoo in the Morning, Tea in Maokong in the Afternoon, and a Stroll Through Raohe Before Walking Home at Night

Living around Houshanpi in Nangang, you can head south into the hills on weekends and north to the night market in the evening. Visit the zoo in the morning, take the Maokong Gondola up for tea at midday, come back down to Songshan Ciyou Temple and Raohe Night Market in the evening, then cross the Rainbow Bridge and walk home to Houshanpi.

5 min read

Weekend day-outs

From Kunyang to Shilin: a classic cross-city day with the National Palace Museum, Shilin Official Residence, and Shilin Night Market

Starting from Kunyang Station at the eastern end of the Bannan Line, you only need to transfer once at Taipei Main Station to reach Shilin. Spend the morning at the National Palace Museum, the afternoon at the Shilin Official Residence, and the evening at Shilin Night Market — it's mostly indoors, so it still works on a rainy weekend.

5 min read

Seal Co-living

Make Taipei home.

7 furnished shared houses. From NT$8,000 per bed per month on a 12-month lease, minimum lease 30 days.1

Browse the houses Book a viewing