Taipei Guide: Cafes, Night Markets, Rent and Nightlife

🫖 The City That Wants You To Sit Down

Taipei gets left off shortlists, which is strange, because it quietly does the two things remote workers care about better than almost anywhere.

One: the cafes. Not just that there are a lot, though there are an absurd number. It is that Taipei has a culture of people working on laptops for hours without anyone minding. In most cities that is something you get away with. Here it is simply what cafes are for.

Two: the food. Taipei's night markets are the best in Asia and it is not particularly close. Raohe and Shilin between them hold more Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition than any comparable market scene in the region.

And it is meaningfully cheaper than Seoul, with no key money deposit to find.

📍 Where To Base Yourself

• Da'an — the default, and rightly. Leafy, cafe-lined streets, National Taiwan University, boutique cafes, a mix of young professionals and families. Daan Forest Park is the city's Central Park. If you are here to work, start here.
• Zhongshan — the elegant one. A central spine of restaurants and design shops, specialty roasters, third-wave cafes, independent boutiques and craft beer bars. Residential and commercial mixed together, so it feels lived-in rather than staged.
• Xinyi — Taipei 101 and the designer shops. Worth knowing that the backstreets are the good part: local restaurants doing wontons and Sichuan food, small cafes and rustic alleys, a few minutes from the glass towers.

Da'an for a working stay. Zhongshan if you want the cafes and the craft beer. Xinyi if you want the skyline, but eat in the alleys.

🏠 Rent

A solo remote worker typically lands at $1,500 to $2,200 a month all in.

Compare that with Seoul, where a one-bed in a comparable central area is $1,200 to $1,900 and you need ₩5 to ₩20 million in key money sitting with the landlord. Taipei is the easier entry by a distance.

☕ Cafes And Coworking

This is the reason to come.

Cafes: the chain Louisa Coffee is everywhere and genuinely fine to work from, and the indie specialty scene is deep. Both tend to have solid wifi. The unspoken rule that makes Taipei different is that nobody will move you along.

Zhongshan in particular has the specialty roasters and third-wave places if you care about the coffee itself rather than the room.

Coworking, if you want desks and people:

Given how cafe-friendly the city is, most people here never bother with a desk. Try the cafes for two weeks before you pay for anything.

🌃 Night Markets: The Actual Main Event

Taipei has more than a dozen tourist-grade night markets. Two matter most.

Raohe — Songshan District, 600 metres along Raohe Street. Established by the city in 1987 as Taipei's second official tourist night market. Opens 17:00 to 23:00. The more manageable of the two and the one most people prefer.

Shilin — the biggest and most famous. Opens around 16:00, peaks 20:00 to 23:00. Also a nightlife destination in its own right, not just food.

What to actually order

• Oyster omelette — the signature. Have it early.
• Large fried chicken fillet — the one everyone queues for.
• Gua bao, the Taiwanese burger, sometimes called tiger eating pig. Pork belly in a folded bun.
• Flame-grilled cube steak, blowtorched to order.
• Stinky tofu — do it once, properly, at a busy stall.
• Pig's blood cake, if you are being brave.
• Sweet potato and taro balls, and tang hu lu candied fruit, for after.
• Bubble tea — the brown sugar version, or taro if you want it softer.

Beyond the markets: cold sesame noodles and scallion bread are the two everyday things worth seeking out.

🍸 Nightlife

Taipei's bar scene runs from hidden speakeasy-style cocktail bars through relaxed beer bars to student pubs. The cocktail bars are expensive but the quality is genuinely high, which is not true everywhere.

• Shilin — busy and young, the market doubling as a night out.
• Zhongshan, Da'an and Xinyi — the quieter, better-made end. Craft beer in Zhongshan, cocktails in Da'an and Xinyi.

🧭 Practical Notes

1. Plugs are Type A and B at 110V, the American standard. Unusual for Asia, and it catches European travellers out.
2. Try cafes before paying for coworking. The culture genuinely supports it.
3. Raohe over Shilin if you only do one, unless you want the spectacle.
4. Get an EasyCard for the MRT on day one.

📋 Take The Checklist With You

Every market, cafe and number here as a printable one-page tick list: the Taipei checklist. Free, no email.

✅ The Short Version

• Taipei cafes expect you to work in them for hours. That is the single best thing about the city.
• Da'an to live, Zhongshan for coffee and craft beer, Xinyi's backstreets to eat.
• Studio $600 to $900, one-bed $900 to $1,300, all in $1,500 to $2,200. No key money, unlike Seoul.
• Raohe 17:00 to 23:00, Shilin from 16:00 peaking 20:00 to 23:00. Raohe is the better one.
• Order the oyster omelette, the fried chicken fillet and a gua bao. Stinky tofu once.
• Plugs are US-style Type A and B at 110V.

❓ Common Questions

Is Taipei good for digital nomads?

Yes, and it is underrated. Cafes have a strong culture of laptop work with nobody moving you along, wifi is reliable, and rent sits well below Seoul or Tokyo with no large deposit required.

How much does it cost to live in Taipei?

A solo remote worker typically spends $1,500 to $2,200 a month all in. A central studio in Da'an or Zhongshan is $600 to $900 and a one-bedroom $900 to $1,300.

Which Taipei neighbourhood is best?

Da'an for a working stay, with leafy streets, cafes and Daan Forest Park. Zhongshan for specialty coffee, design shops and craft beer. Xinyi for the Taipei 101 skyline, though the good food is in its backstreets.

Raohe or Shilin night market?

Raohe for most people. It is 600 metres along Raohe Street in Songshan, opens 17:00 to 23:00, and is more manageable. Shilin is bigger and more famous, opens around 16:00 and peaks 20:00 to 23:00.

What should I eat at a Taipei night market?

Oyster omelette, large fried chicken fillet, gua bao, flame-grilled cube steak and stinky tofu at a busy stall. Finish with sweet potato and taro balls or candied fruit, and a bubble tea.

Do I need coworking in Taipei?

Probably not. CLBC and JustCo run about $100 to $180 a month and FutureWard starts at NT$3,950, but the cafe culture is so laptop-friendly that most people work from cafes instead.