From the moment I landed at Songshan Airport, I realized that escaping Taipei 101 was going to be impossible.
As I wandered around Taiwan’s capital, rarely a block slipped by where I couldn’t spot this massive tower peering out from above the skyline. That constant reminder was enough to inspire me to break my morning plans (which, let’s be honest, just involved walking and eating) and reckon with this beast up close.
Standing below Taipei 101 turned out to be a different experience entirely from seeing it from afar. Walking below Taiwan’s tallest building for the first time, I felt genuinely engulfed.
I’ve stood at the foot of plenty of famous tall buildings before. None made me feel quite as small as Taipei 101.
(And that still holds even after adding a few more big ones to the list since then, like the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Shanghai World Financial Center.)
Here’s why you need to check it out, and what to expect…
How to start a Taipei 101 visit
After spending a few minutes marveling at its scale from outside (and, as I’m updating this, wondering how Alex Honnold was crazy enough to willingly scale this beast without ropes), I decided to check out Taipei 101 from inside.
The lobby was, unsurprisingly, bright and airy, with distractions in every direction.
(That includes its sprawling food court, outside of which, we’ll find Taiwan’s most famous restaurant, Din Tai Fung. Noted. Added to the bucket list.)
But I wasn’t here to eat food (yet). So, I headed straight up to the 5th floor to buy tickets to board the elevator to the tower’s biggest (or, umm, highest?) attraction: the Taipei 101 Observatory.
Gawking at Taipei from above at Cityview360
When you get up to the 5th floor, hop aboard one of the world’s fastest elevators to whisk up to Cityview360 on the 89th floor in just 37 seconds.
The elevator ride feels so fast that your brain hardly has enough time to catch up. When the doors slide open, and you make your way to the floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s a little jarring to see Taipei start to appear beneath you in every direction.
The 360-degree panoramic view from the Taipei 101 Observatory is, without question, one of the finest I’ve seen anywhere in Asia. But what struck me most wasn’t the height; it was how the city itself looked from up here.
Even after wandering Taipei’s neighborhoods at street level, I had no sense of how vast Taiwan’s capital was until I saw it from this angle. Both high-rise and low-rise, it sprawls in every direction, up to the mountains suddenly visible along the fringes.
(Which beckoned me to explore later on in my Taipei itinerary, of course.)
Before you leave Cityview360, make sure you stop by the 88th floor to see the Tuned Mass Damper. This massive golden sphere is the world’s largest wind damper, designed to reduce the building’s swaying.
I wasn’t expecting to see this fascinating feature here. As a bit of a design and architecture nerd, I thought it was almost as compelling as the city views themselves!
At the time I visited, visitors could also head up to the 91st floor to enjoy an outdoor view of the city. This open-air observatory has since been closed to guests.
(It’s unclear whether the closure is temporary or permanent. Cross your fingers: Maybe you’ll get lucky!)
Get even bigger views at Skyline460
Since my visit, Taipei 101 has opened Skyline460 to the public. This outdoor deck is located on the 101st floor at 460 metres above sea level, making it the highest outdoor observatory in the world.
Previously only accessible to VIPs, Skyline460 is now available to tourists willing to pay for the experience. If you dare to partake, you’ll get strapped into a harness and set free to stroll along the 460-metre-high outdoor “cloud walk” to epic 360-degree views over Taipei City.
At NT$3,000 (~$95), the Skyline460 experience is a significant step up from the standard NT$600 (~$19) observatory ticket. Sessions run at 2 pm and 3 pm daily, last around 50 minutes, and require advance booking.
NOTE: There are also physical requirements to visit Skyline460. Participants must be over 145cm (4.75ft) tall and between 30kg and 120kg (66 to 265 lbs).
Is Skyline460 worth it?
If you’re comfortable with heights and want something genuinely unlike any other experiences you can have in Taipei, then, yes, it’s probably worth splurging on the Skyline460.
If the standard observatory view already blew you away or you’re on a tight budget, however, you might not want to upgrade.
Practical information
The Taipei 101 Observatory is open daily from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, with last admission at 8:15 pm. Adult tickets for the 89th floor start at NT$600, while the combined 89th- and 101st-floor indoor “Secret Garden” ticket costs NT$980. The combined Skyline460 and observatory ticket will set you back NT$3,000.
Tickets can be purchased at the 5th-floor counter inside the building or booked online in advance. I’d recommend the latter to avoid queuing, particularly on weekends.
For the best experience, aim to arrive in the late afternoon and stay into the evening as the city lights up below you.
Getting there
To get to Taipei 101 by public transportation, take the MRT to Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station and follow the signs. You (literally) can’t miss it!
