Grab a Ubike (or Youbike) in Taipei! They are extremely easy to use and a wonderful way to explore the city. Taipei has many bike routes along the rivers that offer picturesque views. I love feeling the wind in my hair and the carefree feeling as I leisurely ride the bike along the river. All my stress goes away and it’s a freedom that cannot compare.
As we’re approaching spring and summer, now is the perfect time to take advantage of the great weather and go on bike rides. Below are some of my favorite Ubike routes in Taipei.
Riverside Ubike Routes in Taipei
There are four main rivers in Taipei: Keelung River, Tamsui River, Xindian River, and Jingmei River. All four of these rivers have established bike lanes along the riverside. I prefer riding along the riverside because it’s more comfortable and safer than riding in the streets with all the cars, buses, and scooters.
1. Keelung River
This is the easiest and by far my favorite Ubike route in Taipei. It starts at Songshan MRT Station and ends at Yuanshan MRT Station. I think the bike ride would take about an hour? I always stop along the way so I don’t know the exact time and distance. There’s no incline so it’s a very easy bike ride.
How To Get There
You can rent Ubikes behind exit 3 at Songshan MRT Station. After you get your Ubikes, go towards Raohe Night Market and the temple. There’s a 7-Eleven on the right side of the temple. I recommend picking up a water bottle here or snacks if you want to bring to sit and chill by the riverside.
Continue back behind the temple and turn left. Keep going for a little bit and you’ll see the entrance to the riverside parks on your right.
What You’ll See
The views are amazing! Songshan district is very pretty and almost every time I ride my bike through there, I can catch an airplane landing or taking off from Songshan Airport which is nearby. There’s a lot of recreation fields, like baseball fields, skating rinks, tennis courts, and even mini golf. The riverside is a great place to get some fresh air and move your body.
About halfway through the Ubike ride, you’ll also see a dog park. It’s two fenced enclosures (one for small dogs, one for big dogs) and I will admit I am totally guilty of going to the dog park (even though I don’t have a dog) just to play with other people’s dogs.
After
You can return the Ubike near Yuanshan MRT Station. You can grab a bite to eat at Maji Square or visit one of the museums in the area. My favorite is the Lin An Tai Historical House and Museum. You can also hop on the MRT and take it one stop to Shilin Night Market.
Alternatively, you can also visit the museum first and then bike from Yuanshan MRT Station to Songshan MRT Station and visit Raohe Night Market.
For more things to do in Taipei, check out my Taipei Travel Guide.
2. Tamsui River
I like this riverside because of the area where it ends in Bali District. The views are different throughout the route. Sometimes there’s not much to look at, and then as you get closer to Bali District, there’s beautiful trees and such. This one is much longer (maybe 2 or 3 hours) and there are parts where there’s an incline going up.
How To Get There
I recommend starting this bike ride from Ximen MRT Station. You can set your destination to Dadaocheng Pier Plaza. This will get you to the riverside bike path. After that, you can set your destination to Bali Old Street. Essentially, you want to follow the river north, but you want to be on the left side to get to Bali, so you’ll need to cross a bridge. I recommend crossing sooner rather than later. There are only two bridges before you have to take a slight detour along Keelung River and get back to Tamsui River.
What You’ll See
Dadaocheng Pier has really pretty views of the city and the river. Similar to Keelung River, you’ll pass by a lot of recreation fields, all free to use for the public, but you have to bring your own equipment. When you get further north in Bali, you’ll be able to see the mountains in Yamingshan and Tamsui District from across the river.
After
When we got to Bali Old Street, we temporarily locked our bikes and walked around the food stands eating snacks. They were so good! When you’ve got your fill of yummy food, take your Ubike on the ferry to Tamsui. From there you can ride the Ubike to Tamsui Station and return the Ubikes there. There’s not really a convenient place to return the Ubikes in Bali District, but even if you did, there’s no metro, which means you’d have to take the bus. Returning the Ubikes in Tamsui and taking the MRT home from there was more comfortable for us.
3. Xindian River
The third Ubike route in Taipei I recommend is Xindian Riverside. I’ve never actually completed it from start to finish, but I remember a coworker and I did a little bit of it near Taipower Building MRT. This is where I recommend starting and ending at Xindian MRT Station. If you want a longer bike ride, you can even start the bike route at Ximen MRT Station. Instead of going north towards Tamsui, you’ll be heading south towards Xindian.
After the bike ride, you can walk around Bitan. Bitan is next to Xindian MRT Station and it’s got a great view of the river. In April, they have this annual fountain light show that is pretty cool to check out. We were lucky to score seats with a view of the water show. You can also take a swan boat out on the river.
4. Jingmei River
This is the one riverside bike route I haven’t done yet, but if it’s like all the others, I’m sure it’s great. Comment below if you have biked along Jingmei River. I would love to know your thoughts!
Ubiking in Taipei City
Lately, I’ve also been really into biking everywhere I go instead of taking the metro. You kind of get to see more and move your body at the same time, but you also have to have the time. I often bike from Zhongshan MRT Station to my Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall and that takes about 35 min.
BE CAREFUL biking in the city though. In Taipei, there are cars, large buses, scooters, and pedestrians to watch out for. Lots of times people are looking where they are going, so just watch out for your surroundings. Some bike-friendly streets are Nanjing Road (Green MRT line), Xinyi Road (Red MRT line), and Renai Road. All three of these roads run through the city from east to west. Renai Road is the main road between the Red MRT line and Blue MRT line. I DO NOT recommend biking along Zhongxiao Road (Blue MRT line). They don’t have a bike lane on that road. For north to south, Dunhua Road is a good road that has bike lanes.
Hope this post was helpful and I hope you guys have a great time biking in the city! Thanks again for reading! Be safe, be healthy, be happy! Love you guys!
xx Tina
