Jiufen

Covered lane of taro balls, fish-ball soup and peanut ice rolls. Shops start shutting around 18:00, so arrive mid-afternoon.

The red-lantern building everyone photographs. Opens 10:00 and queues hard by afternoon; go early for a window seat and oolong.

The stone staircase threading past the tea houses. Lanterns come on at dusk and burn until about 21:00. The shot worth waiting for.

Ten minutes on by bus. Japanese-era mining settlement with a walk-in tunnel and a 220kg gold bar you are allowed to touch.

Taiwan's oldest surviving cinema, built 1934 and free to enter. Original projectors and painted posters, off Qingbian Street.

Direct from MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing Exit 1 to Jiufen Old Street in about 80 minutes. Pay by EasyCard; it fills up at weekends.

TRA from Taipei Main to Ruifang takes 40 to 50 minutes, then bus 788 or 1062, or a 15-minute taxi up the hill.

Most operators pair Jiufen with the Shifen sky lanterns and Yehliu. Easiest way to see the coast and Pingxi in one day.

March to May and October to November: clear air, mild evenings, fewer coaches.

Any weekday. Midweek guesthouse rates are far below weekend prices.

Weekends, Lunar New Year and the February Lantern Festival period.

Arrive by 09:30, before the coaches. Walk up Shuqi Road while the steps are still empty and quiet.

Tea and a mountain view at A-Mei, or the calmer Jiufen Teahouse, before the afternoon queues build.

Graze the Old Street: taro balls, braised pork rice, fish balls and a peanut-and-coriander ice cream roll.

Bus to Jinguashi for the Gold Museum and, if your legs hold, the one to two hour Teapot Mountain climb.

Back for sunset over the Pacific, then lanterns from about 18:30. Stay the night and you get it to yourself.

Old railway line where you write a wish on a paper lantern and release it over the tracks. Shifen Waterfall is a short walk on.

Wind-carved sandstone headland on the north coast, home to the Queen's Head rock. About an hour west by bus or car.