Where should I stay in Taipei?

Zhongshan puts you at the intersection of Taipei's two most useful MRT lines. The red line runs south to Taipei 101 in 12 minutes. The green line runs east to Songjiang Nanjing, where you transfer for Raohe Night Market. Most mid-range hotels cluster between Zhongshan and Shuanglian stations, a 15-minute walk apart along Zhongshan North Road. The neighborhood smells like sesame oil and soy milk before 8am, when the breakfast vendors line up along Nanjing West Road. Expect to pay NT$2,500-3,500 ($80-110) for a business hotel with rooms smaller than you'd get in Europe but reliably clean. The Ambassador Hotel on Zhongshan North Road Section 2 has been operating since 1964 and runs closer to NT$4,500 ($140). For hostels, the blocks around Zhongshan MRT have several at NT$600-900 ($19-28) per bed. That said, Zhongshan gets quiet after 10pm. If you want late-night street food, ride 2 stops south to Ximen.

Da'an is the neighborhood for people who came to Taipei to eat. Yongkang Street sits a 4-minute walk from Da'an Park MRT station on the red line, and the block between Yongkang and Lishui streets holds more interesting food per square meter than anywhere else in the city. Din Tai Fung's original location is here, at No. 194 Xinyi Road Section 2, still pulling a 30-minute wait most evenings. The surrounding lanes have shops selling shaved ice with taro and condensed milk for NT$80 ($2.50), and scallion pancake vendors whose griddles hiss and spit all afternoon. Hotels in Da'an tend to run NT$3,000-5,000 ($95-155) per night, about 15-20% more than Zhongshan for the same tier. Worth it if your priority is walking out the door and finding a bowl of beef noodle soup within 2 minutes. The area around Technology Building MRT station, one stop south, offers slightly cheaper rates at NT$2,200-3,500 ($70-110).

Xinyi is Taipei's newest commercial district, built around Taipei 101 (completed 2004) and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (opened 1972). Hotels here start at NT$5,000 ($155) and climb past NT$12,000 ($375) at the W Taipei or Grand Hyatt. You're paying for wide sidewalks and department stores, not for neighborhood life. The streets around Songshou Road feel corporate after dark. Xinyi works if you're at the Taipei International Convention Center on business, but first-time visitors will spend most of their sightseeing time riding the MRT out. Ximending, around Ximen MRT station, is the opposite problem. The pedestrian zone stays loud until 1am with karaoke spillover and claw-machine arcades. Budget hotels run NT$1,800-2,800 ($56-87), and the late-night food along Kunming Street is solid. Mind you, the noise from Kunming Street carries through most hotel windows past midnight. Good for 1 night.

Booking 2-3 weeks ahead gets you within 10% of the best rate at most Taipei mid-range hotels. The exceptions are Chinese New Year (late January or February, dates shift annually), when rates double and rooms vanish, and early October around National Day on October 10, when domestic travelers fill the central districts. June through September brings typhoon season. The humidity currently sits at 86% with temperatures around 28°C, standard for early June in Taipei. Air conditioning is non-negotiable from May through October. Check that your booking includes it, because a few older guesthouses in Da'an and Zhongshan still list fan-only rooms. The Taipei Metro runs 6am to midnight, with trains every 3-7 minutes on the red and green lines. After midnight, a taxi from Zhongshan to Xinyi costs about NT$200 ($6). If you land at Taoyuan International Airport, the MRT airport express takes 35 minutes to Taipei Main Station for NT$160 ($5).