Design Parks and Cafés in Taipei
Part of the Taipei travel guide — see every topic in All Taipei Guides.
Taipei has a lively design and café culture. Old factories have become creative parks with shops, studios and exhibitions. Small streets are full of independent cafés, bookshops and design stores. In 2016 Taipei was named World Design Capital. You can spend a full day moving between parks, museums and coffee shops, all close to MRT stations.
Huashan 1914 Creative Park
Huashan 1914 Creative Park is in a former wine and alcohol factory near Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT station. The old brick buildings and chimneys now hold galleries, small cinemas, concert spaces, shops and restaurants. There are often pop-up exhibitions, design markets and live music, especially on weekends. The outdoor lawns are popular for picnics and photos. Entry to the park itself is free, but some exhibitions sell tickets. It is a good place to see what young Taiwanese designers and artists are making. Check the park's events calendar before you go, because the shows change often.
Songshan Cultural and Creative Park
Songshan Cultural and Creative Park is in a former tobacco factory from the 1930s. It is near Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall MRT station. The long factory halls surround a quiet garden and pond. Inside are design exhibitions, a design museum and small workshops. Next to the park, Eslite Spectrum is a large building with a bookstore, design shops, a cinema and a hotel. The park is calmer than Huashan and good for a slow walk. Taipei Dome, a large modern arena, stands nearby. Some exhibition halls close on certain days, so check before you go.
Café streets
Taipei has many small, independent cafés with careful coffee and quiet rooms. Fujin Street in Songshan district is a calm, tree-lined street with cafés, plant shops and design stores. The lanes around Zhongshan MRT station, including Chifeng Street, mix old repair shops with new cafés and fashion boutiques. Yongkang Street, near Dongmen station, has cafés, tea shops and famous food, including mango shaved ice and dumplings. Many cafés have a minimum order or a time limit at busy hours. Some open late in the morning, so start your café walk after 10am.
Museums and bookshops
For modern art, visit the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, near Yuanshan MRT station. It shows Taiwanese and international contemporary art in a large white building. The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei, near Zhongshan station, is in an old red-brick school building and shows new and experimental work. Bookshops are a big part of Taipei life. Eslite stores are large and well designed, and some branches stay open late. Many smaller independent bookshops also sell zines, prints and local design goods. These are good places to find gifts that are made in Taiwan.
Tea culture
Tea is as important as coffee in Taipei. Taiwan is famous for oolong tea, grown in the mountains. Many tea houses serve tea in the traditional way, with small cups and many short pours from the same leaves. Staff will often show you how. Maokong, reached by gondola, has tea houses with views of the city. In town, modern tea shops serve cold tea, cheese foam tea and bubble tea. If you want to buy tea to take home, ask to taste first. Good shops will let you try a few kinds before you buy.
Design Parks and Cafés at a glance
| Getting there | Huashan: Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT · Songshan Park: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall MRT |
|---|---|
| Hours | Parks open daily; shops and exhibitions keep their own hours |
| Cost | Parks free; some exhibitions charge entry |
| Best time | Weekday afternoons; weekends for markets and events |
| Café streets | Fujin Street, Chifeng Street, Yongkang Street |