Taichung offers the advantage to the traveller of a combination of historical and natural wonders. In the city you will find an array of culture, museums, galleries and libraries to keep you busy if you want to learn more about the city and its past. For those seeking nature, it offers great natural wonders around the coastal areas and more inwards you will find walking trails with mountain views, rivers and the famous Sun Moon Lake. 

In order to see most attractions it's important to have plenty of time taking transport, as most places of interest are not close by in the city centre, except for the museums or galleries. Where possible we have also included the local transport options to save you time when planning to visit. 

Below you find the highlights of Taichung:

• City Centre: The old town area in Taichung refers to the area near the old train station where it used to be the center of prosperity in the past. It is nicknamed “Little Kyoto” for the grid street plan and commercial streets. If you want to take a break from the city hustle and bustle, the old town area is a great destination to learn about Taichung’s unique culture through exploring century-old historic buildings and tasting local home cooked food in the hidden alleys. Places of interest include the Old Train Station (Also where next to it is the new station), Taichung Park, the Taichung Prefectural Hall, the Taichung Shiyakusho (japanese city hall), Natural Way Six Arts Cultural Center, Taichung Literature Museum, National Museum of Natural Science, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, the National Taichung Theater or the National Library of Public Information. Many of these are interesting buildings mainly for their architecture. 

• Rainbow VIllage: One of the surprising attractions is, for sure, Rainbow Village. It is a one man masterpiece, painted by a very talented, and rather visionary, old veteran soldier which still lives (2019). It is actually a small place, but with many houses painted in the colorful paintings, some open to the public and hosting a souvenir shop, a cafe and a visit to see the author where he posses with tourists and photographers in exchange for a small donation, is actually worth the visit.
  To get there take bus 56 from the city centre. 

• Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden: is one of the most fascinating places in the area. The mansion was the official residence of the influential and gifted Lin Family of Wufeng. Different members of the Lin family played pivotal roles in several events of Taiwan history of the last 200 years. It's truly liked with the island's history and culture. The entry fee is $250NT. (€7) although for Taiwan standards its quite expensive, the entry is well worth as the area is quite big and take a couples of hours to see everything and learn about the events which took place in relation to the family there. To get there take bus 100 from the main Taichung Railway Station. 
• Feng Chia Night Market: It's the biggest night market in Taichung, with around 1 kilometre wide of stores, shops and eateries. During the weekend, as much as 30,000 people can pass through the market, which is home to Wenhua Night Market, Fengjia Road, Xitun Road, Fuxing Road, Beacon Sun Plaza. You can travel to the market by bus 45 from the city centre nearby the train station. 

• Aofong Hill Observatory: The view from the top of Aofeng hill is worth the walk up. A rather pretty walkway winds up through landscaped woodland to a pavilion style view point.  From the top, one can see Taichung Port, Qingshui town. Also undoubtedly very picturesque at night. Take care of the sun on hotter months and take a bottle of water for the hike. Also around the area you can find a temple and shops/restaurants. To get there take bus 304/305 from the Taichung City centre nearby the rail station. Trip takes around 45 min. 

• Gaomei Wetlands: is the place in Taichung where the sea and the land meet. It is a grassy and muddy tidal flat where you can catch the sea breeze and watch beautiful sunsets.
  It also a place where you can spots thousands of crabs, mud-skippers and rare birds. The Taichung government has recently built an elegant boardwalk 800 meters long to preserve the delicate environment of the sedge grassland.  The boardwalk also makes easy for everybody to access the wetlands. Unless it is high tide, as you follow along the walkway, you will see little creatures, all around in the mud: fiddler crabs, mud-skippers and a lot of birds, such as Egrets and Black-faced Spoonbills. 

✔️Tip: The boardwalk can be off limits and guarded at around the time of high tide. At these times you can still enjoy the walk along the Landscape Bridge but, unfortunately, not the boardwalk. So, in order not to be disappointed, check the tide times onTaiwan Weather Bureau website to plan your trip to Gaomei Wetlands (select Taichung Port to have the tide chart for Gaomei Wetlands). To get there take bus 309 from Taichung Railway Station and get of at Windmill #18 stop. Note that the busses stop running at 18.30 after sunset.