Bopiliao to Ximending, Taipei: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour from Bopiliao to Ximending in Taipei: 4 stops, about 2.1 km, about 30 minutes of walking plus about 25 minutes of listening. Start in Bopiliao, a street of red-brick shops from around the 1760s that a 1941 school plan saved from rebuilding. Around the corner, Lungshan Temple has honored Guanyin since 1738, beside Taoist gods, in halls rebuilt from 1919 by masters from Quanzhou. Walk on to the Red House, opened in 1908 as the first public market built by the government in Taiwan, and end in Ximending, the first pedestrian zone in Taipei.
- Stops:
- 4
- Distance:
- about 2.1 km
- Walking:
- about 30 min
- Listening:
- about 25 min
Two ways to do this walk
Taipei with Mappu
Walk Mode, in the free Mappu app
It knows where you are, tells you about everything you pass between the stops, answers your questions and keeps you on the route. Your phone stays in your pocket.
A 2-hour live walk, €4.99.
50 credits from the Starter pack. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Self-guided audio walk. No guide accompanies you. Not affiliated with the sites.
Free: the audio guides
Listen to each stop’s audio guide in your browser and find your own way between the stops.
Walking directions in Google MapsBopiliao to Ximending, Taipei: how long does the walk take?
About 55 minutes in all: about 30 minutes on foot over about 2.1 km, plus about 25 minutes of audio at the 4 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Bopiliao to Ximending, Taipei: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Bopiliao Historic Block, Lungshan Temple, Red House, and Ximending. The longest stretch between two stops is about 1.5 km, about 20 min on foot.
Route and map
Indicative route. While you walk, watch where you're going, mind the traffic and follow local signs and rules. The map is an aid, not a safety guide. Terms
Follow Mappu’s map: the route runs along the streets from stop to stop, and the stories keep playing as you walk.
To get to the first stop, or if you’re far from the route, Google Maps has walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
A preserved Qing-era street of red-brick shops from around the 1760s, with Qing buildings to the north and Japanese-era fronts to the south, registered as a historic site in 2010.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Lungshan Temple · about 0.4 km, about 5 min on foot
Stop 2
The heart of old Bangka, founded in 1738 by settlers from Quanzhou for Guanyin, rebuilt from 1919 by Quanzhou masters, with bronze dragon pillars cast in 1918.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Red House · about 1.5 km, about 20 min on foot
Stop 3
Taiwan’s first government-built public market, opened in 1908, where an octagonal entrance hall joins a cross-shaped building; later a cinema and theater, now a cultural hub.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Ximending · about 0.3 km, about 3 min on foot
Stop 4
Once swampy ground outside the west gate, named in the Japanese era, now the first pedestrian zone in Taipei and the largest in Taiwan, reinvented after three booms and slumps.
about 6 min of audio
The stop stories are AI-generated audio guides and can contain mistakes. Check opening hours and tickets on the official sites.
Planning a trip to Taipei?
Get your plan
Mappu sketches your days free in the chat, no account needed. Then take the full plan with you:
- Weekend trip, €9.99: Your day-by-day plan plus 2 live walks
- Save your trip’s free guides on your phone in the Mappu app: they play with no signal
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
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Plan more days in Taipei
These day-by-day Mappu itineraries include Taipei. The day links open the days that visit stops on this walk.
Useful for your visit
Tickets, tours and practical extras for this trip, from Mappu's partners.
Partner links (Airalo, Amazon, Booking.com, GetYourGuide, Klook, Tiqets, Trip.com, Viator, Welcome Pickups): if you book or buy through them, Mappu may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Route checked by Mappu on October 31, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.