Taipei Alone cover

Asia · Available now

Taipei
Alone

A solo travel guide for women 50 and over
By Jennifer Brandt

Taipei's night markets make dinner an outing in itself. For a change of scene, take the MRT toward Beitou's hot springs, with green hills around the neighborhood.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99Read a sample

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

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Where you might stay

  • BudgetHotel Relax IIIcentral base beside station transport links
  • Mid-rangeSolaria Nishitetsu Hotel Taipei Ximenshops, food streets, and metro nearby
  • A treatW Taipeinear shopping and metro in Xinyi

Two places to eat alone

  • L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon TaipeiAsk for a place at the counter around the open kitchen.
  • Raohe StreetEat at stalls, browse, and pause for shaved ice.

SAMPLE

Why Taipei

Most travelers weighing a first trip to East Asia default to Tokyo, and Tokyo earns the reputation. But Taipei deserves a place on that shortlist for a specific reason: it is, by a wide margin, one of the easiest big Asian cities to land in alone for the first time. The subway is legible within an hour of arrival. The night markets turn dinner for one into the simplest, least fraught meal of the day rather than a small ordeal to talk yourself into. English signage is common on transit and in most tourist-facing services, and the general civic temperament runs toward quiet helpfulness rather than indifference or intrusion. None of this is unique in isolation, since plenty of cities have good subways. The combination, in a city of Taipei’s size and interest, is unusual.

A free excerpt from Taipei Alone.

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Dining Alone: The Real Mechanics

Eating alone in Taipei is less a skill you have to develop than a default the city has already built for you. Understanding the mechanics in advance, at Shilin or Raohe, makes the first meal or two easier, and after that it stops requiring thought at all.

Night markets are the clearest example. Stalls at Shilin, Raohe, Ningxia and the smaller neighborhood markets run on a simple model: approach a stall, order one dish, pay, and eat standing at a shared counter or carry your food to communal tables. Many stalls display food in photographs or under glass, so pointing works. Others use an ordering sheet: mark items, hand it back, and wait for a number. There is no audience for ordering for one.

A free excerpt from Taipei Alone.

Inside this book

  • Taipei Awaits
  • A City Shaped by History
  • When to Go and How to Plan
  • The Solo Woman’s Taipei
  • Where to Stay
  • Neighborhood by Neighborhood
View the chapter contents
  • Taipei Awaits
  • A City Shaped by History
  • When to Go and How to Plan
  • The Solo Woman’s Taipei
  • Where to Stay
  • Neighborhood by Neighborhood
  • Days in Taipei
  • Art, Culture & Creativity
  • The Pleasures of the Table
  • Evening & After Dark
  • Retail Therapy
  • Beyond the City: Day Trips
  • Conversation Notes
  • Practical Matters

BUY THE GUIDE

Taipei Alone

Taipei's night markets make dinner an outing in itself. For a change of scene, take the MRT toward Beitou's hot springs, with green hills around the neighborhood.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

Instant download · Secure checkout by Payhip

THE GUIDE + YOUR OWN PLANS

Ready to settle your plans?

Which base? Da'an, Zhongshan or Zhongzheng. The kit plans a first evening in each.

See inside the Taipei kit →
A page from the free sample of the Taipei kitRead the free 3-page sample (PDF) →
Do I need the kit as well?

No. The guide stands on its own. The kit is a separate, optional pack of decisions, day plans and a booking list. Read the free 3-page sample to see whether it suits the way you plan.

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