Ximending at night is one of Taipei’s best neighbourhoods for evening entertainment – from late night bites to bars, Korean photo booths to karaoke, Ximending welcomes tourists and locals from dusk ‘till dawn.
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Ximending at night has something to suit all tastes, from the geek chic of gashapon toys and claw machines to the LGBTQ+ bars of The Red House – and you can even get a permanent reminder of Ximending inked on you at Tattoo Street!
Here is our guide to the best things to do in Ximending at night + photos.
You might also like – 30+ things to do in Taipei at night >
How to get to Ximending in Taipei
Ximending is located in Taipei’s Wanhua District – it has its own MRT Station located on the blue Bannian Line and the Green Songshan Xindian Line.
Once you get to Ximen MRT station, take exit 6 for the main Ximending entertainment district and walking street or exit 1 to head towards The Red House – please note the last trains from Ximen MRT usually depart just after midnight.
From Taipei Main Station to Ximen MRT, it is only a 2 minute journey on the Metro.
Alternatively, take the bus to Ximen Market Station – bus number 18, 1503, 221, 232, 235, 257, 513, 621. 635, 637, 640, 663, 783, 799 and 835 (note many of these buses stop at night).
Also check Google Maps or the official Go! Taipei Metro app to see which is the quickest and best route for you.
Taiwanderers Tip
Grab a Taiwan EasyCard as a convenient way to use buses and public transport in Taipei and across Taiwan. They can be easily topped up at stations and convenience stores.
Read more about how to use a Taiwan EasyCard, including how to top up >
Ximending accommodation
We would highly recommend basing yourself in the Ximending district during your stay in Taipei. Here are some highly rated accommodation suggestions for all types of budget in Ximending!
BUDGET ($)
Meander Taipei Hostel
Highly rated hostel that offers a number of tours and fun events. Check out prices and availability on booking.com and agoda.com
MID-RANGE ($$)
Green World Hotel
Clean and comfortable hotel in a great location. Check out prices and availability on booking.com and agoda.com
MID-RANGE ($$)
Midtown Richardson Ximending
This is generally the most recommended hotel by members of our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group when any questions about Ximending hotels get asked (mainly based on price and location). It is a 3* hotel but it is all about its proximity to the main Ximending evening attractions like The Red House. Check out prices and availability on booking.com and agoda.com
LUXURY ($$$)
WESTGATE Hotel
Contemporary rooms and a 1-minute walk from Ximen MRT Station. Check out prices and availability on booking.com and agoda.com
Read more in our detailed guide to the best hotels in Ximending >
Ximending at night activities
1. The Red House LGBTQ+ Bars
One of the main bar areas at night, many of Taipei’s best known LGBTQ+ bars and pubs can be found beside the Red House, a beautiful red brick building that has served many purposes over the years since it opened in 1908.
An old theater, as the Red House gift shops and visitor center close, the bevy of bars at the rear open up until the early hours.
The bars around the Red House in Ximending are known as Taipei’s main gay area – Ximending is also where Taipei Pride (‘the Color Taipei’) is held every October.
All of the bars around Red House have very late opening hours, (very) Happy Hour drinks prices plus themed outdoor terraces and tropical gardens with neon signs. They are a great place to meet people, people watching and alfresco drinks.
Some of the most popular LGBTQ+ Red House bars in this part of Ximending include The Secret Garden, Paradise and Café Dalida (all open until 2am).
You might like – Our 1 day best of Taipei itinerary or Taipei 3 day itinerary
2 Late Night Fashion Shopping
Ximending is a shopping heaven after dusk! Although these shops are open in the daytime, sometimes it is nice to browse and buy at night after a busy day of sightseeing.
Some of the big brands you might recognise like NET (fashion shop), Uniqlo, Nike, Adidas and ABC Mart – many of these stores (including NET and UNIQLO stay open until 10pm / 10.30pm every night of the week).
You might like – 20+ best Taipei shopping malls and shopping districts >
3. Gachapons galore / Claw machines and amusements
Taiwan (and Taipei in particular) love their amusement machines and arcades. Their current favourite craze is the claw machines, where you can win both practical (iPhones) and novelty gifts.
Many of these arcades also allow you to win tickets that you can exchange for prizes like blind boxes or even soap detergent!
In most cases, these arcades in Ximending are open 24 hours a day, and many are unstaffed hence why they can always stay open.
You might like – Things to do in Taipei with kids >
4. Craft Beer Bars in Ximending
There are lots of craft beer bars dotted around Ximen like Ximen Beer Bar, Geography Bar and Beercycle.
One of our favourite Taipei craft beer bars in Ximending is the tiki vibes of Driftwood Bar.
Located on Kunming Street next to the Papa Whale hotel, Driftwood is brought to you by Taihu Brewing. It has several wooden tiki huts inside and is a great place to quaff some good quality beers from Taiwan’s largest craft beer brewer.
If you can’t decide what to drink, go for one of their tasting flights or just work your way through the menu. ‘Ganbei’ / cheers!
Read more about the best craft beer bars in Taipei >
5. Korean photo booths
Ximending at night is famous as Taipei’s epicenter of crazy Korean photo booths – time to take a super cute selfie as a keepsake souvenir.
In recent years, these photo booth stores have popped up in lots of vacant Ximending buildings that closed down during the COVID pandemic.
On our last count, there were around 20 or so Korean photo booth shops in Ximending including Cut Cut, Snapshot and Kr4cut.
We tried Taiwan’s very first subway style photo booth located at Plan B Studio in Ximending (open every night until 12.30am). It has several themed photo areas including a laundry, tunnel and elevator sets.
We opted for the subway Korean photo booth as it seemed the most fun; four images cost us NT$300.
You might like – Our guide to the Taiwan best souvenirs and where to buy them in Taipei
6. Ximending evening entertainers
Taipei has over 60 official areas for street performers to entertain, but the busiest we saw by far was the one right in the centre of Ximending at night, where the four main pedestrianised areas congregate.
We were enthralled most nights by the local street performers who queue up one after another to entertain in the heart of Ximending.
From tight-rope walkers to knife throwers (plus a lot of singers), you can see a dazzling array of talent every week (all free but donations into a hat are expected). This is definitely one of the best things to do in Ximending.
You might like – Our first timers guide to Taipei and Taiwan >
7. Grab some beef noodles
Taiwan’s famous dish is widely available around Ximending – possibly the best beef noodles in Ximending can be found at Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodles, open until 9.30pm, 7 nights a week in the basement of the Wan Nian building (although last orders will likely be a bit before).
This 70 year old handmade noodle restaurant has Michelin recognition and a bowl of beef noodle soup costs just $220 NTD – or ‘go large’ for just $20 NTD. Please note the restaurant is cash only.
Taiwanderers Tip – Our favourite beef noodle place is still the nearby Liu Shandong Beef Noodles >
8. Late Night Karaoke at PARTYWORLD ZhongHua
Time to let off a little steam after traipsing around the streets of Taipei all day – PARTYWORLD KTV is the go-to place in Ximen for karaoke. With dozens of private booths, sing to your heart’s content without fear of anyone hearing you (unless you are a pretty good singer).
Private booths are charged on an hourly rate (prices vary depending on the time of day) and they sometimes do special tourist discounts at PARTYWORLD if you show your overseas ID or passport.
There is an extensive food and drink menu (note there is a minimum spend on food and drink on top of the karaoke booth hire). English and Japanese songs are available as part of the karaoke song selection.
Partyworld Zhonghua is a 24 hour karaoke bar in Ximending at the weekends whilst it closes during the week for a few hours a day.
You might like – Our guide to Ximending’s Modern Toilet restaurant (yes, try some chocolate ‘poo’) >
9. Street painters / street art
During most night-time Ximending visits, we’ve seen a street painter surrounded by a large crow who creates incredible spray-paints works of art in an instant.
A huge crowd gathers as he creates a colourful canvas (only stopping occasionally to dab the ash away from his cigarette).
Also check out American Street at night for some cool Ximending street art and gorgeous graffiti, dimly lit by street-lights (be careful of the mopeds too)
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10. Ximending Night Market
OK, let’s start with a caveat – the night market food stalls in Ximending are quite limited and so-so; there is a good reason why we DON’T include it our Taipei best night markets guide – please do not go expecting the scale of Raohe Night Market or the food quality of Gongguan Night Market.
Ximending Night Market is squarely aimed at tourists so the food quality is a bit hit and miss plus the prices are steep – but if you after a quick late night bite, you’ll be fine!
Night time street vendors pop up around various streets, and there is a small dedicated area of about 20 stalls on Lane 50 near ABC Mart. If nothing takes your fancy, there are lots of nearby restaurants open until late.
Try these Taipei night market tours on Klook >
11. Don Don Donki Ximending
Japan’s most joyful discount store is open 24/7 in Ximending – so time for some late-night souvenir shopping.
Originally known as Don Quijote in Japan where it has dozens of stores all over the country, Don Don Donki (as it is branded in Taiwan) opened their first Taiwan store in Ximending in 2021.
It sells lots of cute, Kawaii gifts, Japanese toiletries plus cheap umbrellas and rain-macs, if you are visiting Ximending on a rainy day.
Located over several stories including a big fresh food area (with lots of Japanese food like takoyaki and sashimi / sushi), DON DON DONKI Ximen Store is a great place for late night shopping in Taipei.
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12. Ximending Movie Cinema Street (Wuchang Street)
You (probably) didn’t come to Ximending at night to watch movies but if you want a relaxing night after an epic day of sightseeing, you could always catch the latest movie release.
Most Taipei cinemas show western movies in their original English format (with Mandarin subtitles) plus many cinemas also serve beer and popcorn – cheers!
There are several Ximending cinemas but the biggest concentration can be found here along Ximending movie theater street (Wuchang Street).
Some cinemas (like LUX CINEMA) show movies into the small hours with blockbuster movies often shown throughout the night.
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13. Themed 7-Eleven stores
We talked about the famous themed Taipei 7-Elevens in great detail here – there are over 100 themed 7-Elevens in Taiwan featuring characters like Snoopy, Mofusand and Pokémon.
Ximending is home to the famous Hello Kitty 7-Eleven stores plus the Lay’s Potato Chips themed 7-Eleven.
These are both open 24 hours a day plus stock lots of wet weather ponchos and umbrellas – they also have seating areas should you want to sit down and escape the rain.
You might like our guide to 7-Eleven bars in Taiwan or 15+ reasons why 7-Elevens in Taiwan are the best in the world.
14. Ximending’s Tattoo Street
If you want a more lasting souvenir from Taiwan, you could always head to Ximending’s Tattoo Street at night.
There are several tattoo shops located in one covered lane, all of which have tattoo ‘menu boards’ outside. Apparently Kevin Tattoo shop is famous in Taiwan and has featured on Taiwanese TV programmes.
On our last visit to Ximending in the evening, one tattoo shop was proving particularly popular as it had a rather cool cat out front drawing attention from passers by.
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15. Late night chain restaurants
Most of the famous food places in Ximending (like Ay-Chung Flour Rice Noodle) are mainly takeaway restaurants but you might want an evening eat-in meal.
Two of the largest restaurant chains in Ximending that have ample indoor seating are Sushiro and Saizeriya.
Sushiro is open until 10.30pm and is a famous Japanese conveyor belt restaurant known for its inexpensive sushi, sashimi and fish fishes. Plates on the conveyor belt start from as little as NT$40. Be prepared to queue during busy periods as it is very popular with families in Ximending.
Another option popular with the local Taiwanese youth is Saizeriya located between UNIQLO and Pop Mart. Originally hailing from Japan and open until 11pm, Saizeriya Ximending serves very cheap Italian food like pizzas for NT$130 and pasta dishes for around $120 upwards.
You might like – A guide to popular Taiwan chain restaurants including Formosa Chang >
16. Fried Chicken
Whilst the famous Hotstar chicken may now have left Ximen (you can find one at Shilin Night Market though), our two favourite late night Taiwanese Fried Chicken joints in Ximending are Monga and TKK Chicken.
Taiwan’s local version of KFC, TKK Chicken 頂呱呱 in Taiwan has been serving up fine fried fare since the 1970s; the Ximending branch is open until 10pm every night.
TKK Chicken dishes up a dozen or so chicken combos (chicken wings, chicken burgers, roasted chicken etc) plus are served up with sweet potato fries.
Another Ximending fried chicken place that is clucking good is MONGA open until 10.30pm – for our money (and tastes), this is much better than TKK Chicken.
Monga serves up delicious juicy fried chicken, including boneless chicken nuggets which we rave about – place your order, grab a ticket and your chicken is cooked fresh to order.
Incidentally, McDonalds in Ximending is open 23 hours a day (it closes between 3am and 4am) if you need a really late night fried chicken fix.
You might like – Our Taiwan food & drink guides including night markets and Taiwanese snacks >
17. Rainbow Six Crossing at night
At the main intersection near to the Red Brick House, one of Ximending’s most popular photo spots day and night is the Six Crossing (named as it is next to exit No.6 of Ximen MRT Station).
Close to the LGBQT+ bars and main gay area of Taipei, the Ximending rainbow crossing was unveiled in late 2019 to celebrate that Taiwan had became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage earlier that year.
The area around Rainbow Six Crossing next to Ximen MRT station is the epicenter of Ximending at night, with bright lights and huge billboards.
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18. Pop Mart Ximending
Open until 10pm on weeknights and 10:30pm on weekends, Pop Mart in Ximen is Taiwan’s flagship blind box store.
One of Ximending’s newest attractions for 2024 and a cool collectible toy shop in Taipei, Pop Mart Ximen spans four floors and even has an exhibition space, VIP lounge and recording studio (not to mention thousands of blind boxes and collectibles).
Head upstairs to see the magnificent MEGA SPACE MOLLY showcase but please note you often need to queue outside to get in (although the line is less so in the evening).
Check out Taipei Pop Mart Ximending guide >
19. Carrefour Ximending / Carrefour Guilin Store
A trip to Carrefour in Ximending at night might not be high on everyone’s to-do list, but it is a good place for cheap food and drink plus tasty Taiwan souvenirs like pineapple cake and Taiwanese tea.
We first discovered people’s love for Taiwan Carrefour from various posts in our Taiwan Travel Tips (TTT) Facebook group – it is also open 24 hours meaning it is perfect for midnight munchies and carries everything from luggage to loofahs!
Check out our Taiwan Carrefour guide including what you can buy >
Our final thing to do in Ximending at night
20. Capybara Drinks at Ximending More Beer
It had to happen eventually, one of the backstreet bars in Ximending now serves capybara themed drinks whereby steam escapes through capybara cup nostrils – NT$290 for soft drinks or NT390 for alcoholic capybara drinks.
It has gone viral on social media and is just a 20 second walk from the famous Ximending Rainbow Six crossing. You can purchase a discounted drink voucher in advance on Klook >
You might like – our guide to Taiwan’s Capybara Rock or Taipei’s Capybara cafe
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