Taipei, Alishan and Tainan in November

Start in Taipei with three nights, because the city rewards small choices more than grand planning. The airport train brings you into Taipei Main Station, and from there the Mass Rapid Transit, usually called the metro, makes the first days easy. Base yourself near a metro line, eat when you are hungry, and let the city teach its rhythm at crossings, temple gates and late food streets.

Begin with Dihua Street, a long strip of old trading houses in Dadaocheng, north of the main station. The arcades smell faintly of dried fruit, tea, medicinal herbs and incense from nearby shrines, and the shopfronts give you a soft landing after a long flight. Give it two hours, longer if you want tea or fabric shopping, and walk toward the river when the light turns warm on the brick facades.

From there, ride or taxi southwest to Wanhua for Lungshan Temple, one of Taipei’s most active temples. The sound is layered: prayer blocks clicking, people chanting, scooters passing outside the gate, water dripping from the roof after a shower. Go before dinner or in the early evening, move gently around worshippers, and then stay in the neighborhood for a simple bowl of noodles or a snack-stall wander.

Make the next morning slower and ride north to National Palace Museum. The collection is large enough to tire anyone, so choose a few rooms of bronzes, ceramics and painting instead of trying to absorb the whole building. A Tuesday to Sunday morning works best, and two to three hours is enough before museum quiet begins to feel heavy.

In the afternoon, continue by metro toward Xinbeitou and walk up to Beitou Thermal Valley. Steam rises from pale green water, and the sulfur smell follows you before the pool comes into view. The paths are short, so pair it with a hot-spring bath nearby; avoid Monday, and go late in the day if you want softer light and fewer tour groups.

For the first full night-market meal, choose Raohe Street Tourist Night Market beside Songshan Station. The entrance by the temple is bright and theatrical, with a line often forming for pepper buns baked against the wall of a hot oven. Arrive around opening time, eat in small rounds, and leave by metro before you are too full to enjoy the ride back.

By the end of Taipei, the useful memory is how close everything feels once you trust the trains. The city can look large on a map, yet the best days are made of short rides and long pauses. If you have only nine days, keep these three nights and cut one from Tainan before you shorten Taipei.

Leave Taipei after breakfast. The simpler route is Taiwan Railways direct to Chiayi Station; the faster route is Taiwan High Speed Rail to Chiayi, followed by the Bus Rapid Transit, which serves as the free Taiwan High Speed Rail shuttle bus, or a taxi into central Chiayi/Taiwan Railways Chiayi Station. What matters is reaching Chiayi Station with time to spare, because the forest railway platform feels like a small world tucked inside a larger station.

The railway begins in the flat heat around Chiayi, then climbs through villages, tunnels, bamboo and tea country. Build in a stop at Fenqihu Old Street if your ticket timing allows. It is famous for railway lunch boxes, and the old street is best as a lunch pause with a little wandering, rather than a long sightseeing project.

By late afternoon, settle into Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, the high forest area of cypress boardwalks, ponds and short rail branches. The air changes quickly here, and sound carries in a different way: footsteps on planks, train whistles, wind moving through tall trees. Stay inside or just outside the recreation area for two nights if you can; one night gives you the sunrise, while two nights let you enjoy the forest after day visitors leave.

On the clearest morning, make the early trip to Zhushan Sunrise Observation Deck. The sunrise train time changes with the season and is posted the previous afternoon, which makes the evening before feel gently suspenseful. The platform can be busy, yet the cold and the dark keep people quiet until the first light reaches the ridges; if cloud wins, the walk back through the trees is still worth the early start.

Alishan takes more effort than the cities, and that is part of its value. The reward is less a single view than the feeling of spending a night above the warm plains, with train brakes squealing somewhere in the trees. If you have eleven days, this is the easiest place to add a second slow morning.

Come down from Alishan by forest railway or bus to Chiayi, then continue south to Tainan. Taiwan Railways brings you into the central station; Taiwan High Speed Rail is faster, though its Tainan stop sits outside the old center and needs a local rail connection or taxi. Stay in the West Central District if you want to walk at night, because Tainan’s best moments often sit between named sights.

Start with Chihkan Tower, where Tainan’s long history is laid out in courtyards, brick walls and turtle-backed stone tablets. It is compact, so you can enjoy it without turning the day into a lesson. Go near opening for space, or after dark when the warm lights make the old walls feel theatrical, and allow about an hour.

Walk south to Hayashi Department Store, a restored 1930s department store that shows another side of the city. The old lift dial, tiled details and rooftop shrine are small pleasures, and the shop floors are good for gifts you will actually pack. It works best late morning or late afternoon, when you need shade and a slower hour between temples and food.

As evening comes on, drift toward Shennong Street. The street is short, but it asks for a slow pace: lanterns, worn timber, cats in doorways, small studios and signs asking you to be careful with photos. Come around dusk, then keep walking into nearby lanes rather than treating it as a single photo stop.

The next day, take a bus or taxi west to Anping, where the city meets its older port story. At Anping Tree House, banyan roots pour over old warehouse walls and turn the walkways into a shaded maze. Go in the morning before the heat builds, then continue to Anping Old Street for shrimp crackers, candied fruit and the easy pleasure of eating while you walk.

Save one evening for Garden Night Market, which shows how Tainan does night markets differently. Instead of a permanent nightly street, this is a large open-air lot that appears on set evenings with food, games, banners and families moving slowly between stalls. Check the day’s opening before you go, take cash, and use a taxi from the old center if you want the simple version.

Tainan is the soft landing after Alishan’s early mornings. What stays is the warmth in the stone after sunset, the smell of frying batter near a temple, and the way old buildings keep being reused without losing their age. If you have one spare day, spend it here with no fixed plan beyond lunch, shade and one more evening walk.