Things to do in Keelung 基隆 on a Taipei day trip

Last updated July 5th, 2024

Taiwan‘s capital city of Taipei has plenty to do, but if you’re looking for a day trip option, one popular town near Taipei to check out is Keelung 基隆 (jí lóng). One of Taiwan’s major ports, Keelung City is is less than an hour away from Taipei and despite the fact that it apparently rains over 200 days in a year in Keelung, it’s a lovely little coastal town for a chill out day trip from Taipei. Here’s my solo guide to Keelung with suggestions on things to do and how to get around easily.

How to get from Taipei to Keelung

Keelung is located northeast of Taipei along the north coast between popular spots Yehliu in Wanli and the mountainous Jiufen. It’s about 30 mins by car from Taipei. Here’s a Klook link [affiliate] if you’re looking to rent a car to visit Keelung – might save the time and hassle of waiting for public transport especially if you have a small group.

By train

TRA train from Taipei to Keelung City takes about 45 minutes to get from Taipei (Taipei Main Station, Songshan Station or Nangang Station) to Keelung Station. There are plenty of trains that leave every 15-20 minutes and the fare costs 41 NTD (about S$1.80) which you can pay for by Easycard at the train gantry.

You could also take the train from Taipei to Ruifang Station, and then change to the Shen’ao Line which leaves every hour and stop at either Badouzi Stop or Haikeguan Stop if you are headed to Badouzi.

By bus

Kuokuang bus 1813 from Taipei Main Station to Keelung City takes about 50 minutes, but it is a bit more dependent on traffic conditions – the Tourist Info desk recommended not taking the bus on weekends/public holidays as overall road traffic is higher.

Bus 1800 goes from Taipei City Hall Bus Station to Keelung City in about 30 minutes.

Bus 2088 goes from Taipei City Hall Bus Station in Xinyi to Keelung’s Taiwan Power Station 電力公司站 (a short walk from Miaokou Night Market) in 25 minutes. It also goes to Badouzi and stops at the NMMST which is useful if you plan to head to Badouzi first.

Map of Keelung

Here’s a map of all the things to do in Keelung in this post. I’ve divided it up into areas that you can explore nearby.

Where to stay in Keelung

Most of my visits to Keelung have been day trips from Taipei since it’s so easy to get to, but if you want to spend a night in Keelung to better enjoy this port town, these are some of my picks from booking.com [affiliate links below]:

• Drizzle Inn – lovely modern accommodation also centrally located in downtown Keelung, private rooms and shared dormitories are both available [Drizzle Inn on booking.com]
• Light Inn – excellent location near Miaokou Night Market and the Train/Bus Stations, there are private rooms and shared dormitories here [Light Inn on booking.com]
• Spangle Inn – very close to the colourful houses at Zhengbin Port, it’s a bit more out of the way but perfect for those who like a quieter place [Spangle Inn on booking.com]
• Forever Sunny B&B – located along the coast in Badouzi, this cute B&B has good facilities and a sea view [Forever Sunny B&B on booking.com]

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Things to do around Keelung Port 基隆港

This area around the Keelung Harbour is where most people will first experience Keelung! If you’re short on time or just lazy to travel further, these things are all within walking distance of the Keelung Train and Bus Station

Keelung Landmark Park 基隆地標公園

It’s hard to miss the giant KEELUNG letters along the hillside overlooking the port area, reminiscent of the famous Hollywood sign on the hill. Most people admire the view from around the harbour, but did you know it’s actually quite easy to get up to the letters?

Officially called the Keelung Landmark Observatory, this observation deck is located in a park along the Huzishan trail 虎仔山步道 and offers a nice view of the Keelung port below. It’s a popular hangout spot in the evenings when the letters are lit up and you can enjoy Keelung’s night lights from above.

I popped by in the afternoon on a really hot day in summer – sun protection is vital as there’s not a lot of shade up here! I think it took me about 20 minutes to walk up there. The view was amazing~

What’s nearby

• I didn’t see this when I visited previously, but there’s a cool bookstore built in a former school compound called Bleu&Book at TPES 太平青鳥 – looks like a nice place to rest in after the climb up! [Google maps]

Keelung Harbour and Maritime Plaza 基隆港 海洋廣場

Keelung Maritime Plaza 海洋廣場 is a lovely wooden promenade by Keelung’s Harbour and a nice place to just sit down and chill out by the water. Great view of the Keelung letters, lots of benches to rest your feet and wide open space where you can admiring the ships and cranes in view. It does remind me a little bit of Singapore’s skyline but with more mountains!

How to get to Keelung Maritime Plaza: Keelung Maritime Plaza is along Zhongyi Road 忠一路, just a short walk from Keelung Station. [Location on Google Maps]

1915 Yangming Oceanic Culture & Art Museum 1915陽明海洋文化藝術館

Around the Keelung Harbour area is a small museum where you can learn about Keelung’s maritime history. Run by Yang Ming Shipping Company, the Keelung 1915 Yangming Oceanic Culture and Art Museum (yup it’s a mouthful) has 2 floors of interactive modern exhibits that showcase Keelung’s history as a shipping port.

The exhibits are modern, fun and interactive so I think kids would enjoy looking around. I happened to be there at 11am when the guided tour for the 2nd level was starting, so I joined it for a bit. It was conducted by a man who worked for the company for a very long time and started guiding after retirement. The tour was conducted in Chinese and was pretty informative as the guide pointed out the various exhibits and shared some of his own stories, but it was supposed to be 1.5 hours long so I decided to walk around on my own after a bit.

The 4th floor of this museum is also the top floor with the gift shop, cafe and where there is roof access for a panoramic view of the surrounding area!

The museum is centrally located and does give a quick overview of Keelung’s history if you don’t know anything about this place. In the event you get rained out, it’s a good place to just hang out for a bit and stay dry as well as it’s not expensive to visit.

Miaokou Night Market 廟口夜市

Also known as Keelung Night Market, this is perhaps one of my favourites out of all the night markets that I have visited in Taiwan – which is saying something because I have been to a lot of Taiwan night markets especially in Taipei! It’s open in the afternoon and at night, is relatively small but packed full of good food, and easy to locate and navigate.

Dianji Temple 奠濟宮

Miaokou translates to ‘Temple entrance’, that’s because the market stalls first set up shop here at the entrance of Dianji Temple, a small shrine that you can still find along the street today that is over 100 years old.

What to eat at Miaokou Night Market

The stalls at Miaokou Night Market are very neat – 2 rows on either side of the street with metal signage on top and individually numbered. The stall names are in English, Chinese and Japanese, which makes it easy for visitors to find specific stalls.

I’ve visited Miaokou Night Market several times and most recently with a tour guide who’s a Keelung local, there are lots of food options but here’s a collection of some of the food I consider must-eats in Keelung.

Fish paste tempura 天婦羅 (Tianbula): I’ve had tianbula in other parts of Taiwan and never really liked it because of the textures and the overly saccharine sauce, but this one in Miaokou Night Market is pretty good! Freshly fried and doused with a bit of sweet sauce in a served in a little bowl with bits of cucumber, I recommend trying the tianbula here.

Nutritious Sandwich 營養三明治 (yingyang sanmingzhi) : this is a pretty weird sandwich that’s somehow become a Keelung specialty – deep fried bread with sausage, tomatoes, cucumbers, egg and slathered with mayonnaise. I think it’s a really odd combination and not my kinda food, but just know that it’s a local delicacy and try it for yourself! Also I’m not sure it’s actually nutritious given all that deep fried bread…

Crab thick soup 螃蟹羹 (pang xie geng) and glutinous rice 油飯 (youfan): This is a pretty classic Taiwanese xiaochi staple but somehow something I always eat when I’m here in Keelung. A small bowl of thick starchy soup with shredded crab meat, mushrooms and fungus paired with savoury sticky glutinous rice. My favourite thing to eat at Miaokou!

Shaved ice 泡泡冰 (paopao bing): A sweet way to end your eating adventure in Miaokou is to wash it all down with some shaved ice or paopao bing! I personally always get peanut flavour but there are plenty of different flavours available. The portion is pretty generous so leave a little room for dessert!

How to get there: Miaokou Night Market is a 10 minute walk eastwards from Keelung Train Station located along Rensan Road 仁三路 between Aisan Road 愛三路 and Aisi Road 愛四路 [Google Maps]

Quanjiafu Yuanxiao 全家福元宵

A special shoutout to this particular store that isn’t in the main Miaokou Night Market stretch but had some of the fluffiest and yummiest yuanxiao 元宵 (similar to tangyuan which are sweet soup dumplings) that I’ve ever eaten. The shop usually only start selling cooked yuanxiao from 430pm onwards, but during the day you can pop by the store and buy boxes of uncooked yuanxiao to take home and prepare for yourself.

On my trip to Keelung with Taiwan Tourism, our guide managed to get the shop to open up their kitchen shutters in the afternoon and show us how they painstakingly make these yuanxiao. You might be thinking that they make balls of dough, poke a hole in them and put in the sesame filling and call it a day, but the reason the texture of these yuanxiao are so good is because they start out with balls of sesame filling and slowly coat them with multiple layers of glutinous rice flour by shaking them by hand in a large rattan tray.

It’s backbreaking work, but the balls are soft yet springy and so delicious!

The shop also specially prepared some bowls for us to try – black sesame yuanxiao in bowls of warm osmanthus soup. SO GOOD. I’m not even usually a fan of black sesame but I liked these a lot! Also, it did happen to be yuanxiao (15th day of the Lunar New Year) when we visited so it was really nice to be eating these then!

How to get there: Quanjiafu yuanxiao 全家福元宵 is located a short walk away from the Miaokou Night Market along Aisi Road. No. 50-1 Aisi Road 愛四路50-1號 [Google Maps]

Ren’ai Market 仁愛市場

Miaokou night market is by far the most popular night market in Keelung, but if you are looking for a wet market that sells fresh produce, head to Ren’ai market 仁愛市場 instead.

Lots of locals frequent this indoor market, there are some sundry and food stalls around the edges of the market and more stalls if you pop up to the second level – it’s practically a local department store, but the bulk of the central portion on the ground floor is a wet market selling fresh food. I think I have to come back and slowly take my time exploring this market!

How to get there: Ren’ai Market is about a block away from Miaokou Night Market along Aisan Road. No. 21 Aisan Rd 愛三路21號 [Google maps]. Open 8am – 7pm daily.

Keelung market tours

If you want some local knowledge to show you the best of what Keelung’s markets have to offer, consider joining a group tour. I’ve not tried this before, but Keelung for a Walk has some interesting tours available, including a Midnight Fish Market Adventure Tour of nearby Kanziding Fish Market 崁仔頂漁市 which is most bustling in the wee hours when the catch of the day is delivered!

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Things to do in Zhongzheng Park 中正公園

Located about 15 minutes walk from the east side of Keelung Harbour, Zhongzheng Park on Shoushan Hill is home to a number of interesting temples in Keelung and more lovely views if you’re willing to do a little stair climbing. The base arch is about 5 mins walk from Miaokou Night Market, so you can work off all that night market food with a walk up this hill!

Zhupu Altar 主普壇

One thing I learned was that Keelung is especially festive during the 7th Lunar Month (around July or August based on our calendar), which is unusual because that is usually considered an inauspicious month when the spirits are believed to roam the earth and Chinese try to avoid holding festive celebrations during this period. However here in Keelung, the Ghost Festival (Zhongyuan Ji 中元祭) is a really big thing and they are famous for their Ghost Festival festivities so if you’re planning to visit, know that it might be extra crowded during this period.

Zhupu Altar 主普壇 or the Main Altar is one of the key places that these festivities are held, specifically on the 12th day of the 7th Lunar Month where the building is completely decked out and lit up – check out these articles on Taiwan Scene and Coco in Taiwan for more.

When it’s not celebrating the Ghost Festival, Zhupu Altar is usually a museum that showcases artefacts about the Ghost Festival 中元祭祀文物館, but unfortunately for me it seemed to be undergoing some sort of renovation and was closed. It was still lovely to admire the view from below though.

You can drive or take a taxi up here if you rather not climb the hill, but while admiring the view, I noticed that there was a viewing platform that seemed to be attached to the hillside. There was a private event happening so I couldn’t go back there to investigate for myself, but it looks to be the Keelung Tower viewing platform!

Did a bit of googling and found this video by Building Surfer (Chinese but English subs are available) which has these really cool drone shots of the Tower and talks about its history and design. Keelung Tower is meant to resembles the many cranes in the port town and is one of the many revitalisation projects happening in Zhongzheng Park and Keelung! I definitely want to come back here again and take this lift up (instead of climbing the hill…).

How to get there: There is a staircase that leads from the Zhongzheng Park Arch along Xin’er Road diectly to the altar, but it’s currently closed. Zhupu Altar is located in Zhongzheng Park. No. 280, Xin’er Road 信二路280號 [Google maps]

Big Buddha Temple 大佛禪寺

Another highlight of Zhongzheng Park is the Big Buddha Temple right on top of the hill. You can’t miss this giant 22.5m high statue of Avalokitesvara Buddha aka Guanyin even from afar. And here’s why you should do your research because you can apparently climb up 5 storeys to see the view from inside the statue?? I did not know that, ah well more things to come back and check out in future!

What I did notice was that there were lots of little game stalls set up around the park and it was like a mini family funfair happening. Might have been a weekend thing, but it’s nice for families with your kids to just hang out and play here while admiring the lovely view.

How to get there: you can drive up Shoushan Road or walk up the slope from Zhupu Altar [Google Maps]

Things to do around Heping Island 和平島

If you’re looking for lovely coastlines around Keelung, Peace Island or Heping Island is a popular place to visit. Formerly known as Sheliao island 社寮島, it was one of the first places that Westerners and the Han Chinese first set foot on in Taiwan. It used to be separate from the mainland until they build Heping Bridge.

Hop on a public bus or take a taxi ride about 10-15 minutes east from Keelung Station along the coastline.

Zhengbin Fishing Port Colourful Houses 正濱漁港彩屋

Paint anything in rainbow colours and the tourists will come – Zhengbin port was historically important as one of the largest fishing ports in northern Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era and for exporting copper from the mines of nearby Jinguashi. It gradually became a lot quieter as the fishing boats moved to neighbouring Badouzi, though the rainbow houses have brought any visitors and tourists back.

According to this article by Commonwealth Magazine, the rainbow colours were added around 2018-2019 and involved both community consultation and input from colour experts – it wasn’t just a spur of the moment decision – and part of larger plans to revitalise this particular neighbourhood.

Most people stop by here today en route to Heping Island which is right across the Heping Island bridge, and one of the better spots to snap a photo of the houses from.

How to get there: Zhengbin Fishing Harbour is a 10-15 min drive or about 20 mins by bus from Keelung Train Station. Buses drop at the Zhongzheng Road-Zhengbin Road intersection stop and walk a few minutes, or at the Heping Bridge stop [Google Maps]

What’s nearby

• If you are into old ruins, the abandoned structures of Argenna Shipyard 阿根納造船廠遺構 are on the other side of Heping Bridge

Heping Island Park 和平島地質公園

Heping Island Park 和平島地質公園 is the main reason most people visit this island. It’s located on the northern end and takes about 20 minutes walk from the bridge.

Heping Island Geopark is similar to Yehliu in Wanli with lots of interesting coastal formations, but one of the things that makes this park special are the seawater pools that they have along the coast. The waves here are pretty strong, but breakwaters and special pools have been built so that people, children and even pets can swim safely in the seawater! The pools were closed because of some event when I visited, but I imagine this would be super popular especially in the hot summer time.

Besides the sea pools, there are also some easy trails to walk where you can admire the weirdly shaped rocks and Keelung Islet 基隆嶼 in the distance. Generally it’s quite accessible and an easy one-stop shop to enjoy the North Coast. I see why it’s so popular and it’s suitable for families too.

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Things to do in Badouzi 八斗子

Badouzi 八斗子 was the largest fishing village in Northern Taiwan and the site of a major power plant during the Japanese reign. It was also a separate island and later joined to the mainland via land reclamation. It’s definitely a little quieter out here, so a good place to get away from the crowds for a bit.

National Museum of Marine Science and Technology 國立海洋科技博物館

A former steam power station built during the Japanese Colonial era, the buidings are now home to the very modern looking National Museum of Marine Science and Technology (NMMST) 國立海洋科技博物館 which is a very large museum with exhibits revolving around marine life, the fishing industry and the Ocean. Technically all the parks around here are also part of their grounds.

I will admit that I haven’t had time to actually go into the Museum, though I have walked through its grounds and more of its outdoor areas as below, but it’s somewhere I do want to visit. Lots of interactive and fun exhibits including an Ocean Theatre and iOcean which looks like those 4D experiences. Again it’s another good option for families and a way to while away rainy Keelung days.

Badouzi Shoulang Cloth Dyeing Workshop 八斗子薯榔染布

One of the more unusual activities you can do in Badouzi is a dyeing workshop conducted by the Badouzi Tourism Association 八斗子產業觀光促進會. Other parts of Taiwan are famous for Indigo dyeing, but here they use something called a shoulang 薯榔 (Dioscorea rhipogonoides) – there doesn’t seem to be a common name to it, but it’s a weird root that’s kinda like a huge potato/nut hybrid which can be found growing abundantly in the hillside. It can’t be eaten but locals have found that it creates a deep red/brownish dye which fishermen used to dye fishing nets and rope because it helps to prevent mould.

The principles of tie-dyeing anything are pretty straightforward, no matter the dye. The instructor showed us a few simple patterns we could do – I liked the snake-skin like texture which involves creating a scrunchie like shape with raffia.

This next step is a little unusual – since we had about half an hour or so for the dye to set in, our hosts took us on a mini village tour of Badouzi, introducing some fun facts and interesting spots within the village itself. It’s very quiet overall and such a lovely peaceful place.

Daping Shore 大坪海岸

The mini walking tour also took us towards Badouzi Fishing Harbour 八斗子觀光漁港 where we could see all the fishing boats in the bay and finally to Daping Shore 大坪海岸, a little spot on the coast with some amazing coastal rock views. It was kinda rainy and wet – definitely need good hiking shoes for this as the rocks are all sorts of slippery but the view was so nice.

But the point of coming to Daping Shore was to dip our shoulang-dyed cloth into sea water! Apparently the saltwater makes the dye more reddish! So that was quite fun to see. Currently my cloth’s colour seems to have gone back into a more brownish colour, but apparently if you use salt water it should become red again! You can see our workshop photos on FB.

Badouzi Seaside Park 八斗子海濱公園

Badouzi Seaside Park is a less well known option compared to Heping Island, but has lovely coastal scenery that you can visit for free and located right behind NMMST.

Wangyou Valley 望幽谷

The key sight to see in Badouzi is the Wangyou Valley 望幽谷 – Wangyou 望幽 loosely translates into ‘looking at peace’ but sounds similar to 忘忧 or ‘forgetting worries’, so this is the perfect spot to kick back and relax a little. Take a walk through the picturesque green valley and admire the coastline features – you can see Keelung Islet in the distance.

There are several paved footpaths and viewpoints in Badouzi – 65 Highland is the most crowded viewpoint where you take that green valley shot. But just 5 minutes walk up a slope and you’ll find practically nobody at 80 Highland which offers more amazing sea views and a covered pavilion. Another short climb takes you to the highest 101 Highland where there are two abandoned military posts that you can climb up on to and get an amazing 360º view of the surrounding area, but note that there’s no shade up here.

How to get there: If you are driving, there is parking located at the 65 Highland area where you can climb up to 101 Highland from there. There is a road that goes directly up to 101 but there’s a gantry.

Chaojing Park 潮境公園

From 101 Highland, there is a path that leads you to the eastern side where Chaojing Park 潮境公園 is located. This park was formerly a dumping ground but today has been turned into a cute little coastal park with several interesting art installations – most noteworthy are the nautilus shell slide that children love and the cluster of giant brooms. Lots of people just go there to hang out or take walks – when I was there, there was a gathering of fancy bird owners where I saw 3 colourful macaws, some smaller parrots and even a tamed falcon of some sorts flying around the park.

How to get there: No. 61, Lane 369, Beining Rd 北寧路369巷61號 [Google maps] Chaojing Park is located on the eastern side of the Badouzi peninsula.

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Things I Missed

It looks like I’ve seen a lot of Keelung but that’s actually not true!

• Badouzi actually has a bunch of other cool things I want to see. The seaside Badouzi Railway Station 八斗子火車站 is supposed to be very photogenic.
• Located right next to Badouzi Station is the Shen’ao Railbike which makes use of the old railway tracks that were formerly used to transport coal. It stretches along the coastline from Badouzi to Shen’ao
• There is a Badouzi Weekend Night Market to check out near the Fishing Harbour
• I also really want to take a boat to Keelung Islet one day!
• I also want to head west of Huzishan trail and Keelung City – Zhongshan District has some lookout points like Qiuzishan Lighthouse and Baimiweng Fort
• Going even further west to Anle District before you hit Wanli are some nice beaches – Waimushan and Dawulun, and there is also Lover’s Lake and Dawulun Fort

Other northern Taiwan spots to visit

Have you checked out my Taiwan page yet? Most of my Taiwan posts are there nicely categorised by location.

I’ve seen a fair bit of the Taiwan North Coast – check out nearby areas like Wanli and Jinshan when you visit Keelung.

Lots of people also head to Ruifang which is home to Jiufen with its Spirited Away vibe in the mountains and Shifen with the lanterns and waterfall. For something more offbeat, head to Sandiaoling to see 3 different waterfalls instead.

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Looking for more to do along Taiwan’s North Coast? Check out these posts or see all my Taiwan posts for more.