Free City Tour
If your layover in Taiwan is between 7-24 hours, you can opt to join a free city tour. The tours are short ( 4 hours) and convenient and good for those who want a little bit of Taiwan without the hustle of missing buses or trains.
First things first : ( assuming you have your boarding passes for your next destination already)
When you arrive at the airport, go to your airline desk.
In our case, it was EVA Air. They contacted the tourist information office for us and made sure we are booked for the morning or afternoon tour.
We went to the immigration area located on the second floor and informed the immigration officer we will be out sightseeing for a few hours.
Once approved, we headed towards the tourist information office located on the first floor and they made sure everything was right and briefed us on the tour.
Important Note: It is not allowed to bring luggage on the bus. No worries, there is a locked luggage deposit area ( cost- $4-$6 for 6 hrs). The automated luggage system does not take cards so make sure you have cash before proceeding to this area.
Stopover Itineraries:
Morning Tour
Qingshui Zushi Temple
Ornate Daoist temple; founded in 1769; dedicated to a Song Dynasty General deified as the “Divine Ancestor.” Much of the artwork in the present structure was created by a team of the world’s best master artisans beginning in the late 1940s.
Sanxia Old Street
Beautiful old street; renovated red-brick merchant houses and residences dating from the late Qing Dynasty/early Japanese colonial era; houses feature ornate facades with late Qing, Japanese, and Baroque elements.
Yingge Ceramics Old Street
Yingge is the “Pottery Capital of Taiwan,” producing high-quality ceramics since the early 1800s, with over 800 resident artists; cobblestoned Old Street with over 100 attractive outlets selling everything from inexpensive cups to costly handcrafted statues.
Tai-Hwa Pottery
A great treasure-house of beautifully crafted ceramics pieces, from traditional Chinese to modern/abstract; produces diplomatic gifts for the ROC President’s office.
Afternoon Tour
Taking in the sights of western Taipei from the bus
Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Grand Hotel
Dalongdong Baoan Temple or Taipei Confucius Temple (visit)
Taking in the sights of eastern Taipei from the bus
Taipei City Government
Songshan Cultural and Creative Park
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Taipei 101 (opportunity for photo shooting)
Taiwan’s most iconic manmade landmark and one of the world’s tallest buildings; a modernist stratosphere-scraper also rich in auspicious Chinese symbolism.
Link: https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/tour/index.htm