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Taipei is famous for its night markets, and strolling through at least one is a must do on any tourist itinerary. Two of the largest and most famous ones are the Raohe Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市) and Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). Although it's not at all uncommon to hear tourists and snarky travel writers remark that one is "for locals" and the other one is "for tourists," but both of these markets are popular with tourists, and they're both fun. travelgasm.com would recommend that you visit both — as well as a smaller Taipei night market a bit more off the beaten track — if you have time.

However, if you can pick one only, we give the prize to Raohe Street because it is a bit closer to where you likely are staying, tends to attract a slightly less pushy crowd, and has better integration with the metro. It's a particularly attractive metro station, too. If it is raining, though, we would instead head to Shilin Night Market, because its main food court is inside.

Famous Taiwanese night market food options include pepper meat buns (胡椒餅), oyster omelettes (蚵仔煎), mango shaved ice (芒果冰), and, of course, the infamous stinky tofu (臭豆腐).

Both of these night markets are open into the wee hours of the morning, but note that the metro stops running at midnight; so you will need to take a taxi if you stay after that time.

How to Get Here: For the Raohe Street Night Market, take the Green Line (Line 3, Songshan-Xindian Line) to MRT Songshan Station (松山). Exit 1, Exit 2, and Exit 5 all go to the market, which is just north from the station (toward the river). For the Shilin Night Market, take the Red Line (Line 2, Tamsui-Xinyi Line) to Jiantian Station (劍潭), Exit 1. Also note that despite the name, Jiantian Station is closer to the Shilin Night Market than Shilin Station (士林).

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