travelgasm®

The oldest portion of Taipei skirts along the eastern edge of the Tamsui River (淡水河) and many of the most historical structures are in this part of the city including its most famous temple.

First built in 1738, and rebuilt several times after earthquakes, typhoons, fires, and an aerial bombing in WWII, the Mengjia Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) — sometimes also called the Manka Lungshan Temple — is the most popular temple in Taipei and combines shrines for Buddhist, Taoist, and Matzu deities as well as other folk religions.

Although it is beautiful, and there is no cost to enter the temple, it is completely swarming with tourists in peak times and sadly often feels more like an amusement park than a spiritual experience. Nevertheless, it still is well worth seeing, particularly if you can arrive early before the crowds. It opens at 6 AM, so a very early morning visit is quite possible.

The Mengjia Longshan Temple's location in the allegedly former — but obviously still active — red light district (also swarming with mostly male tourists) means that if safety is important to you, you will want to go early in the day and limit your time in the area, also. If you're looking for a red light district, on the other hand, well... here you go.

travelgasm.com would suggest taking a morning look at the Mengjia Longshan Temple and the attractively refurbished Bopiliao Historical Block (剝皮寮歷史街區) — a collection of shophouses built during the Qing dynasty and the imperial Japan era — and then head to other portions of the city.

If you want a quick breakfast, the 85°C bakery and coffee chain by the temple is an easy choice, but a couple of well-regarded local options that also are convenient include Zhou Ji (周記肉粥) for congee and Chen Ji (陳記專業麵線) for mee sua noodles. Of course, there are dozens of other options in the district, as well.

We've mapped out our preferred walk through the area from Longshan Temple MRT station via Mengxia Park (艋舺公園).

How to Get Here: Take the Blue Line (Line 5, Bannan Line) to Longshan Temple Station (龍山寺), Exit 1. You can conveniently loop around with a walk and re-enter the station via Exit 3.

Cities > Taipei > Taipei Best 7 > Next: (2) Pay Respect & Be Creative... >>

Like the Longshan Temple or Bopiliao Historical Block? Tell your friends and frenemies on social media that you discovered it first:

Intelligent and good-looking readers of travelgasm.com like you also sign up for our free monthly-ish mailing list.

Live in Taipei? What tourist attraction do you most like to share with visitors? 謝謝. Spotted anything out-of-date or inaccurately translated? 對不起我是老外. Please tell travelgasm.com. Thanks!