Keelung travel blog — The fullest Keelung travel guide for first-timers

If you are planning a trip to Taiwan, you should not miss the most beautiful port city in Taiwan, Keelung. If you have visited all the attractions in Taipei, want to watch the sunset over the sea or just want to find a new destination for the next journey, you should pocket the impressive tourist attractions in Keelung.

So, is Keelung worth visiting, how to visit Keelung, what to do in Keelung Taiwan and how to plan a budget trip to Keelung for the first-time perfectly? Let’s check out our Keelung travel blog (Keelung blog) with the fullest Keelung travel guide from how to get to Keelung, best places to visit, best time to come, what to eat as well as top things to do in Keelung to help you maximize your trip as follows!

Overview of Keelung (#keelung travel blog)

Referring to Taiwan, the first names that come to mind are always Taipei, Taichung or Kaohsiung. However, few people know that there is another hidden paradise named Keelung. Keelung is a provincial city of Taiwan, located in the northeast of the island bordering Taipei County, is the second largest port city after Kaohsiung. In addition, Keelung is also known as The Rainy Port Keelung.

For some reason, Keelung is still missing a lot on the check-in map of tourists, even though the seascape here just needs to be glimpsed through the bus window, you have to hold your breath to watch. A peaceful, ancient small city but with a lot of beautiful views. Handing up the camera to take a photo also gives you a poetic photo right away.

With three sides facing the mountain and one side facing the Keelung Sea, it is like a strong fortress for ships to anchor and since then this place has become a bustling port city. As a port city that blends many cultures together through the introduction of countries that have come to this land before such as Spain, the Netherlands and especially Japan, more than a third of the population here is Japanese people, so somewhere in Keelung you will come across important images of the country of the rising sun and the clearest town is Keelung Miaokou Night Market with the entrance of countless lanterns hanging overhead.

How to get to Keelung? (#keelung blog)

Keelung has a lot of good places of interest for you to consider adding to your itinerary. Just spend a day on your itinerary to go to Taipei Main Station, choose bus number 1813 or 1550 with the destination of Keelung and sit back on the bus for about 40 minutes and you will arrive at the beautiful coastal city. The price for 1 way from Taipei Main Station to Keelung Station is very cheap, only about $6.06.

From here, you can freely go to the scenic park, go to the harbour, or visit the Agenna Shipyard Relics with rows of beautiful European-like colorful houses… Not only the sea view, temples but also the night market is also a place that attracts many tourists to visit because it still retains its inherent indigenous characteristics.

After exiting from Keelung bus station, you can walk along the coastline to the center of the port, where many large maritime ships and cruise ships, yachts are anchored, standing here will feel like you very small in front of the majestic scenery of the ships, along with the flocks of seagulls flying across the sky.

What to do and where to go in Keelung?

Chaojing Park (Environmental protection and restoration park) (#keelung travel blog)

Address: Lane 369, Beining Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: Open 24 hours

Coming here, you will be surprised to learn that this place was once a large landfill of the city, people have tried to restore the landscape of this area, forming a destination not only for sightseeing but also educates people about the harmful effects of climate change.

If you look at it from above you will see that the whole area is a ridge of land that juts out into the sea and it has the shape of a bird’s head, the symbol here is also a seagull looking at the sea that is made of scrap.

The most beautiful time is to come here at sunset, you will see the panoramic view of the vast sky embracing the sea with many seagulls flying in the sky.

Maritime Square

Keelung is the second largest port city after Kaohsiung, so the pace of life in this city is extremely vibrant and rich, few people know that this is an old port, also the first place to visit. Indigenous people live here.

Maritime Plaza is a suitable place to watch yachts, walk and enjoy the night view of the city because three sides of the harbor are the sea, so the harbor is deep inward, so this place is considered the center of the city.

In addition to watching the sea, this place also annually organizes art, decoration and display activities that attract a lot of tourists and people to come here to have fun.

Agenna Shipyard Relics & Masahama colored houses by the water (#keelung blog)

Address: No. 75號, Lane 116, Zhengbin Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202

One of the most famous check-in places in Keelung should definitely belong to the Agenna Shipyard Relics with a row of bold European-colored houses located on the luxurious yacht bay.

Shooting location: Front landscape background, No. 58~88, Zhengbin Road, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City

How to get there

• Parking: Find a parking space in the direction of Agenna Shipyard Relics (Alley 116, Zhengbin Road, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City).
• Bus: 101, 102, 109, 205, 802, T99 (Taiwan Good Travel “T99 Dragon Palace Treasure Hunt East Coast Line”), get off at “Heping Qiaotou Station”.

Masahama Colored House consists of 16 brightly painted houses located in Zhengbin Fishing Port in the south of Heping Island, an old fishing port, established by the Japanese as early as 1934. During the Japanese occupation, this is the largest port of Taiwan. Although it is now degraded, it still retains its simple style, thanks to the lively rows of houses that have revived this old fishing port.

Badouzi Seaside Park (#keelung travel guide)

Address: No. 21, Beining Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: Open 24 hours

The park with the most beautiful sea view, the most worth going to Keelung is Badouzi Seaside – a spacious park of thousands of hectares where visitors can hike along the valleys and low hills and then have a panoramic view of the immense sea.

Huanbao Repopulation Park

Address: Lane 369, Beining Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: Open 24 hours

Famous as one of the beautiful coral diving spots of Keelung, Huanbao Repolulation Park is also a park that is checked-in by Taiwanese youth a lot by “art works” such as giant spiders, giant flying brooms, silver fish nets… Make super eye-catching instagram pictures.

Zhongzheng Park

Address: Shoushan Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: Open 24 hours

As a park located right in the center of Keelung city, ZhongZheng Park has both a sea view, a harbor view and also a “three-branch” temple with super flattering architecture, especially when it’s passed through your hands who love photography.

Keelung Night Market (Miaokou) (#keelung travel guide)

Like many night markets in Taiwan, Keelung night market springs up around a temple called Dianji Temple. The temple has long been centers of religious events and community gatherings. So restaurants sprang up to serve everyone and gradually more and more vendors began to line up along the streets leading to the temple and the night market was born.

Keelung Night Market is also known as Miaokou Night Market, also means “the entrance to the temple”.

Keelung Night Market (also known as Miaokou Night Market) is one of the most popular and famous night markets in Taiwan and is by far the most popular attraction of Keelung city by night. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain also ate here when he visited Taiwan in 2013.

It is a small and beautiful port city, but not because of that, Keelung is so peaceful and boring. Famous for its bustling night market and hundreds of fresh and cheap seafood dishes, this place is considered one of the busiest night markets in Taiwan.

If you have been to Keelung night market, in addition to enjoying dishes from fresh seafood, fresh fruit or fried chicken… don’t forget to stop by a handmade ice cream shop to buy a cup of ice cream to cool down, which is a specialty here. Even Chinese stars when visiting Keelung cannot refuse this delicious and cheap ice cream (only about $5.51).

Zhongshan Pedestrian Bridge

Zhongshan Bridge is a pedestrian bridge connecting Keelung Station and districts, giving people a more convenient way to cross the station. The bridge with a unique design with striking yellow color and long depth is to make it more magical. The bridge became famous overnight because this is where Shu Qi acted in the movie Millennium Mambo (2001), after this movie was released, many people flocked here to check-in and since then it became famous with many tourists.

Dawulun Beach

This is the only bathing beach in Keelung. With golden sand and clear blue water, is a place where visitors can have fun in the water, enjoy the beautiful sea view and enjoy relaxing and comfortable moments.

Heping Island Park

Address: No. 360號, Pingyi Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: May to October: Monday to Sunday 8am to 7pm/November to April: Monday to Sunday 9am to 6pm

Heping Island located to the east of Keelung port has a beautiful landscape with sea-eroded rocks in special shapes such as tofu rock, mushroom rock, lion’s head rock, etc. The park minimizes the use of man-made facilities to reduce damage to nature in order to protect this beautiful natural treasure. So, visitors can view these strange rocks in their most pristine state.

Tianxian Temple

This temple is located on a slope on Heping Island offering great views. This famous Taoist temple in Keelung dedicated to the god WuXian Ling Guan Emperor. On both sides of the road leading from the square in front of the temple to the archway, there are more than 200 stone statues with different postures all creating a majestic landscape.

Sheliao East Fort

Address: 202, Taiwan, Keelung City, Zhongzheng District
Hours: Open 24 hours

It was an important military stronghold guarding the 17th-century port of Keelung and is one of the 10 main fortresses of Keelung. Views from the top of the fortress can be seen to Cape Yehliu to the west, Cape Bitou to the east and Heping Island. Especially can see where the junction between the two colors of the sea light and dark.

Keelung City Indigenous Culture Hall

Address: No. 75號, Lane 116, Zhengbin Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: 9 AM–5 PM/Monday: Closed

This cultural museum has a collection of over 200 Indigenous cultural relics and traditional everyday items including clothing, hunting equipment, rattan textiles, wood carvings, bead jewelry, musical instruments and pottery… Help visitors understand more deeply about the culture of the indigenous people of Taiwan.

National Museum of Marine Science and Technology

Address: No. 367號, Beining Rd, Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202
Hours: 9 AM–5 PM/Monday: Closed

The museum was mentioned by the New York Times in 2014 as one of the outstanding attractions in Taiwan. The museum has themed rooms such as: Marine Environment Gallery, Marine Science Gallery, Marine Architecture Gallery, Fisheries Science Gallery, Fisherman’s and Sea Exhibition, Theater Deep Sea, Deep Sea Wonders Gallery, Children’s Discovery Zone and Special Exhibition. Provides a lot of information related to the ocean.

Badouzi Railway Station

Badouzi station is located next to the mountainside and by the sea, providing a beautiful scenery. This is considered the most beautiful train station in northern Taiwan.

Wangyou Valley

Address: Zhongzheng District, Keelung City, Taiwan 202

The valley is located in Badouzi, stretching from Badouzi Coastal Park to Wangyou Valley. This is a wooden trail up to the mountain, from here you can enjoy the beautiful blue sea view and enjoy the fresh air of the blue sky and is a great place to relax on weekends or holidays.

How to go to tourist attractions in Keelung?

Take the train to Keelung or Ruifang Station and transfer to Keelung bus number 862 or use the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle – Dragon Palace Treasure Hunt Route – West Coast to get to places of interest.

– From Keelung station take Keelung bus number 509 to Lover’s Lake.

– Take Keelung city bus number 101 to Heping Island.

– To get to Badouzi and the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, from Keelung Station take Keelung bus number 102, Keelung bus number 1051, 791 or 788; or from Qidu station take Keelung bus number 66; or from Taipei Main Station take Kuo Kuang bus number 1811 or 1812.

Day trips from Keelung

From Keelung, you can conveniently visit tourist attractions such as

• Jiufen Ancient Village
• Yehliu Geopark
• Shifen Waterfall
• Shenao Elephant Trunk Rock (in Ruifang)

What to eat at the Keelung night market?

Night market is one of the must-visit places of Taiwan that every time you come to a new destination, you still have to search for good restaurants, then going to the night market is a must-do.

Fried young ribs, stall 21 (魯排骨): A famous eatery of the local people with the main dish being fried young ribs or chicken wings, the restaurant from the local restaurant thanks to the special taste and cooking method that many people have passed on mouth and become famous, the special feature here is that the ribs are cut into pieces, marinated in spices and then fried. The shop also serves shrimp soup and braised meat rice.

A6263 Noodle Shop (吳姳麵館): Famous local restaurant, although it is small, it is always crowded because it is famous for squid noodles and oyster rice, which are two must-try dishes when coming here. Here, fresh and fatty oysters eaten with rice can feel the natural sweetness and characteristic aroma of hot sauce and rice.

Chicken rolls: This stall sells a variety of items, including deep-fried fish, fish ball soup, and braised pork rice (滷肉飯 or luroufan), the main specialty here is chicken rolls (雞捲). These are deep-fried chicken and vegetable rolls, so the skin is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A portion of NT 60 is cut into slices and served on small plates with sweet and savory sauces.

Pig’s Knuckles (基隆廟口22號蝦仁羹 豬腳): Taiwanese can’t miss the pork knuckles (豬腳), which is sold at this famous stall on the left. If you’ve never eaten pork knuckles, the meat is tender and the skin is chewy, which is something Taiwanese love (unlike German knuckles, which are often grilled to get a crispy outside).

Ding bian cuo (鼎邊趖): Literally “pot side paste”, is a specialty of Keelung originating from Fuzhou in China’s Fujian province. It is made by pouring rice flour over the sides of a pan, then scraping it off to form thick noodles, which are served in a fragrant broth. This is one of the most famous ding bian cuo stalls in Keelung. Fish soup with golden lilies (金針), shrimp and meatballs, cabbage, mushrooms and diced celery leaves for garnish.

Tips for you to visit Keelung

Transportation: You can choose to take a bus or Uber to get to Keelung. Taiwan’s transportation is very developed, so where you want to go, just use Google Maps and it will display all detailed information from time, means, price with many options for you to choose from. If you go in a large group, you can travel by Uber, the share price is not too expensive. In Taiwan, it is very rare to catch Uber 7 seats, so be aware of the number of people when booking a car.

Things to prepare: Taiwan’s weather in the summer is often hot and humid, so it is easy to sweat a lot. Remember to bring cool clothes, sweat-absorbent materials and don’t forget to apply sunscreen, wear sunglasses and a hat to avoid sunburn. You can also prepare a mini fan to keep the fan cool and also remember to always bring spring water with you to avoid dehydration.

Combine visiting Jiufen: Because it’s not too far from Jiufen, you can schedule a day in Keelung and around 4pm take bus 788 from here to Jiufen old village (takes about 1 hour and a half) to catch the light up scene in Jiufen. But note that if you choose to go both in one day, you will not be able to go to Keelung night market anymore.

Spirit: The last thing is to prepare yourself for a trip full of virtual life because surely Keelung will not let you down. Form a team and bet right away!

For me, Keelung is the most impressive destination when coming to Taiwan, although it is only a port city, it has a lot of impressive attractions worth a visit, hope that the above will help you a little bit.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Keelung you can refer to

• Keelung Islet Island Landing, Around the Island, Going to the Lighthouse, and Going Around the Elephant Trunk Rock Experience
• Taipei Private Sightseeing Car Charter Shore Excursion (Full-Day Custom Trip) from Keelung
• Keelung Half-Day Walking Tour
• Keelung Mountain Hiking & Juifen Old Street Day Tour from Taipei
• Yehliu Geopark and Keelung Harbor Guided Tour from Taipei
• Keelung: Summer Night Yachting Novice Sea Fishing Experience & Fisherman’s Cuisine (Exclusive Free Waterproof Cooler Bag)
• Keelung Midnight Kanziding Fish Market Adventure
• National Museum of Marine Science and Technology Ticket in Keelung
• Heping Island and Zhengbin Fishing Port Walking Tour in Keelung
• Keelung Cruise Group: Taipei City / Yangmingshan Day Tour
• Private Chartered For Keelung – Departure from Keelung or Taipei
• Yehliu, Shifen, and Jiufen Day Tour with Korean and English Speaking Guides
• [10% Off + 1 Extra Free Day] 4G SIM Card (TW Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan from Chunghwa Telecom
• 4G SIM Card (TPE Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan from Far EasTone Telecom
• 4G WiFi (TW Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan
• 4G Portable WiFi for Taiwan from Uroaming (Unlimited Data)
• 4G Portable WiFi for Taiwan from WiFiBB (Unlimited Data)
• 4G LTE WiFi (TW Airport Pick Up) for Japan
• [Sale – Taiwan Food Promo] Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Discounted Ticket from Taipei
• Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Consecutive Unlimited Pass (2 or 3 Days)
• Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Discounted Ticket from Taoyuan
• THSR Exclusive Discount One Way Ticket from Taoyuan (Two Tickets for the Price of One)

Are you finding more top things to do in Taipei: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Taipei travel blog — The fullest Taipei city guide for a wonderful trip to Taipei for the first-timers. Read more Taiwan guide here.