Taipei from Above: Taipei 101 Observatory, Elephant Mountain, Maokong Gondola and Free Sunset Spots

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Taipei sits in a basin ringed by hills, so there is a viewpoint for every budget: straight down from the 89th floor of Taipei 101 (台北101), level with the tower on Elephant Mountain (象山), over tea hills by gondola, or across the Tamsui River (淡水河) at sunset. Four of the six places below are free, and all start at an MRT station one EasyCard (悠遊卡) ride from Taipei Main Station (台北車站).

We checked prices, hours and closures on official pages in September 2026. Two changes catch visitors out this year: Taipei 101 moved its observatory ticket counter and entrance to the 1st floor of the Office Tower on 1 July 2026, and Taipei's Geotechnical Engineering Office (大地工程處) is rebuilding parts of the Elephant Mountain trail until 13 April 2027.

The six viewpoints at a glance

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以台北車站為起點的示意圖，青綠框為免費、紫框為收費。右側由上而下：文湖線到劍南路站（22 分、NT$30），文間山平台夜景，免費；淡水信義線到台北101/世貿站（14 分、NT$25），觀景台全票 NT$600、101 樓加價 NT$380、10:00–21:00、20:15 最後入場，入口改在辦公大樓 1 樓，收費；淡水信義線到象山站 2 號出口（15 分、NT$25），步道約 1.5 公里、全程約 1 小時 40 分，免費，部分路段施工封閉至 2027 年 4 月 13 日；文湖線到動物園站（25 分、NT$35）搭貓空纜車，單程 NT$180、一日票 NT$300，平日 09:00–21:00、假日 09:00–22:00，收費。左側：淡水信義線到劍潭站（10 分、NT$20）轉小15 公車（虛線）到擎天崗，平日班次 05:40–16:20、假日至 17:30，免費；松山新店線到北門站（5 分、NT$20）或大橋頭站（8 分、NT$20）到大稻埕碼頭看淡水河夕陽，免費。Schematic map centred on Taipei Main Station; teal cards are free, purple cards need a ticket. Right, top to bottom: Wenhu Line to Jiannan Rd. (22 min, NT$30) for the free Wenjianshan platform night view; Tamsui-Xinyi Line to Taipei 101/World Trade Center (14 min, NT$25) for the paid observatory, NT$600 adult, NT$380 extra for the 101st floor, 10:00 to 21:00 with last entry 20:15, entrance now on Office Tower 1F; Tamsui-Xinyi Line to Xiangshan Exit 2 (15 min, NT$25) for free Elephant Mountain, trail about 1.5 km and about 1 hour 40 minutes in all, partly closed until 13 April 2027; Wenhu Line to Taipei Zoo (25 min, NT$35) for the paid Maokong Gondola, NT$180 a ride or NT$300 a day, 09:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 09:00 to 22:00 at weekends. Left: Tamsui-Xinyi Line to Jiantan (10 min, NT$20) and bus 小15 (dashed) to free Qingtiangang, weekday departures 05:40 to 16:20 and to 17:30 at weekends; Songshan-Xindian Line to Beimen (5 min, NT$20) or Daqiaotou (8 min, NT$20) for the free sunset at Dadaocheng Wharf.

Taipei 101 Observatory: tickets, hours and the new entrance

Take the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (淡水信義線, red) to Taipei 101/World Trade Center (台北101/世貿) station. Since 1 July 2026 the observatory ticket counter and entrance have been temporarily relocated to the 1st floor of the Office Tower, so ignore older directions to the mall's 5th floor. The observatory is open daily 10:00–21:00, last admission 20:15. A general ticket covers the 89th-floor indoor deck, 382 m up, and the 88th floor, where you stand beside the tower's 660-tonne wind damper.

Children under 115 cm go free with a paying parent. Concession tickets need Taiwanese ID and are sold only at the counter, so visitors pay full price, the same ticket sold online. Online tickets are for a time slot: arrive within 30 minutes of it; an unused ticket can be refunded in full on the ticket page until closing time that day. Skyline 460 is cancelled in bad weather. Bags are security-checked, and outside food stays out.

Elephant Mountain: the free view of Taipei 101

Ride the red line one stop past Taipei 101 to Xiangshan (象山). The line now runs one stop further to its new terminus, Guangci/Fengtian Temple (廣慈/奉天宮), so do not wait for Xiangshan to be the last stop. The Geotechnical Engineering Office tells hikers to leave by Exit 2 and follow the trail signs through Xiangshan Park (象山公園). Taipei Travel lists about 1.5 km of hiking trail (about 2.3 km in all), a 183 m summit and about 1 hour 40 minutes for the whole walk, but for the view you only need to reach the viewing decks. Expect plenty of steps.

The decks are the point: the office lists the Photographer's Platform, the Six Boulders, Chaoran Pavilion (超然亭) and several more. Taipei Travel picks the Six Boulders for photos at dawn, when Taipei 101 catches the first light, and at dusk, when Xinyi slides from sunset into city lights, and rates Chaoran Pavilion as the best view over the basin. On New Year's Eve the decks fill for the fireworks; set off early.

Maokong Gondola: tea hills and city lights

Take the Bannan Line (板南線, blue), change at Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝復興) to the Wenhu Line (文湖線, brown) and ride to the end, Taipei Zoo (動物園), then walk to the gondola's Taipei Zoo Station. Taipei Travel describes a 4.03 km line with four stops, Taipei Zoo, Taipei Zoo South (動物園南), Zhinan Temple (指南宮) and Maokong (貓空), and a one-way ride of about 20 to 30 minutes. At either end you must get off and pay again. Maokong is tea country, and its city lights are the reason to stay until dark.

Hours are 09:00–21:00 on weekdays and 09:00–22:00 at weekends and on public holidays. Many Mondays are maintenance days: the dates left on the operator's 2026 list are 14 and 21 September, 12 October, 9, 23 and 30 November, and 14 and 28 December, and it never runs on Lunar New Year's Eve. Service stops for lightning, strong wind and typhoons. Cabins are left unlit so the night view stays clear, and only water may be drunk on board. Riders with heart conditions or a fear of heights are asked not to board. QR tickets are also sold on the operator's ticket website (Taipei Metro Go, Facebook or Google login): a single must be used within 7 days, a day pass within 90 days, and unused tickets are refunded free.

Qingtiangang: Yangmingshan's grassland by bus

Qingtiangang (擎天崗), in the middle of Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), is a lava terrace among the Datun volcanoes where cattle grazed from the late Qing dynasty through the Japanese era; today it is open grassland. It is free, but make it a daytime trip: the direct bus timetable ends in the late afternoon.

• Bus 小15 (小 means minor) runs from MRT Jiantan (劍潭) to the Qingtiangang terminus for a one-section fare. The e-bus timetable lists departures from 05:40 to 16:20 on weekdays and to 17:30 at weekends; check return times there.
• Bus 108, the Yangmingshan tour bus (遊園公車), also stops at Qingtiangang.
• Visitor centres open 09:00–16:30 and close on the last Monday of each month (the next day if that Monday is a public holiday) and on Lunar New Year's Eve.
• The water buffalo are feral herds from the ranch days; the park warns they may charge people who get close, touch or tease them, especially near calves.

Free sunset and night views: Jiannan Road and Dadaocheng Wharf

Jiannan Road: the Wenjianshan platform

The Jiannanshan (劍南山) night view became famous through a scene in the 2011 Taiwanese drama 我可能不會愛你 (In Time with You) and was counted among Taipei's ten best night views, until trees hid it. The Geotechnical Engineering Office cleared the spot and built the Wenjianshan platform (文間山平台) beside the Wenjianshan trail on section 5 of the Taipei Grand Trail (臺北大縱走); it connects to Jiannan Road (劍南路), and the MRT station is Jiannan Rd. on the Wenhu Line. No official walking time is published and the path is a natural footpath, so bring a torch and carry your rubbish down.

Dadaocheng Wharf: sunset over the Tamsui River

Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕碼頭) sits by Water Gate No. 5 (五號水門) on the Tamsui River, once a river port for the tea and textile trade and now a cycling stop and boat pier. Taipei's tourism office suggests late afternoon: walk the riverbank, eat at the container market (貨櫃市集) and watch the sun set over the water. Its Dadaocheng walk starts at the Taipei Memory Warehouse (臺北記憶倉庫) near Beimen (北門) station, passes the Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) on Dihua Street (迪化街) and ends at the wharf. River boats run fixed sailings at weekends and mostly group charters on weekdays, with tides shifting the times.

Photo etiquette and safety

• Share the railing. On crowded nights the trail office asks photographers not to fix tripods to railings, to watch the steps and not to push.
• Hornets are busy in summer: wear light-coloured long sleeves, skip perfume, and if one circles you, stay calm and back away slowly. Never swat.
• Summer afternoons bring sudden thunderstorms. Stay off trails in heavy rain, when loosened rocks can fall; the gondola stops for lightning.
• At Qingtiangang give the water buffalo plenty of room and never touch them.

Before you go: entry, payment and language

Entry: Taiwan's Bureau of Consular Affairs (BOCA) grants visa-free stays of up to 90 days to passports from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, all EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and more, and 30 days to Singapore and Malaysia; check BOCA's list for yours. You need a passport valid for at least six months on arrival and a return or onward ticket. Before landing, file the free Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC) at twac.immigration.gov.tw, within 7 days before arrival, counting the arrival day.

Payment: an EasyCard covers the MRT and the gondola gates, which also take iPASS and icash; the Taipei 101 store takes payment online. At Bank of Taiwan rates in mid-September 2026, NT$600 is roughly US$19 and NT$3,000 roughly US$95. Language: Taipei 101, the gondola, Yangmingshan National Park and Taipei Travel (travel.taipei) all publish English pages.

Taipei city guide on Mokaair

Taipei in four days: an itinerary for first-timers

• Itineraries
• Viewpoints