Taipei 101 Observatory

Taipei 101 is the tower that defines the Taipei skyline. It opened on 31 December 2004 and rises 508 metres to its architectural top, and its observatory is the obvious first stop for anyone who wants to understand the layout of the city. The observatory sits high in the tower, with the main indoor viewing level on the 89th floor, an outdoor deck on the 91st, and a separately ticketed experience on the 101st floor called Skyline 460.

The views are the main draw. On a clear day you can trace the grid of Xinyi below, the green ridges of Yangmingshan to the north, the Tamsui and Keelung rivers and the hills that ring the basin. The other highlight is the tuned mass damper, a 660-tonne steel pendulum suspended between the 92nd and 88th floors to counter the sway caused by strong winds. Its ball is 5.5 metres across and made from 41 welded steel plates, and visitors can see it from inside the observatory. During Typhoon Soudelor in 2015 it swung by about a metre, the largest movement recorded. The damper even has its own mascot, the Damper Baby, created with Sanrio.

The observatory suits almost everyone: first-time visitors, families with children who enjoy the lift and the damper, and photographers. Couples often time a visit for late afternoon so they can see the city in daylight, at sunset and after dark in one go. If you are short of time, combine it with a walk around the Xinyi shopping district at the foot of the tower, or with the Elephant Mountain trail nearby, which gives the classic view of Taipei 101 from outside.

The observatory is open every day from 10:00 to 21:00, including weekends and national holidays. Tickets can be bought online through the official website, or in person at the Observatory Ticket Counter on the first floor of the Office Tower. Buying ahead is sensible at weekends and in holiday periods, when queues for the lifts can be long. Check the weather before you go: low cloud and rain can hide the view completely, so a clear morning or evening is worth waiting for if your schedule is flexible. Allow around one to two hours for the visit.

Taipei 101 stands on Xinyi Road in the Xinyi District, and the lower floors of the tower are taken up by a shopping mall, so it is easy to add a meal or some shopping before or after the observatory. The Taipei MRT serves the district, and the Elephant Mountain trail, with its classic view back towards the tower, is close by in the same district.