Elephant Garden, Taipei 象園親子餐廳

small playground inside

Location: google map, inside CITYLINK Nangang. MRT blue line Nangang Station
Pros: N/A
Cons: N/A

We walked past this restaurant once and I just wanted to share of its existence. My boys are too old to play at a playground like this, but if you have little ones under age 5 this might be fun. It was lunch time on a Saturday and it didn't seem terribly busy.

Zhongyan Park, Taipei 中研公園

Location: google map

Pros: swing, skating rink, climbing bars

Cons: there's not much around the park. no shade. no easy access with public transportation. 

It's the first park I've been to with artificial grass! it has a small playground that's suitable for preschoolers, and a wheel turning thing that my boys loved to walk on. It's a decent park you happen to be in the area, but I would not cab/drive here specifically for the park itself!

Taipei, Fun In Enterprise 方尹文創

ball pit

lego building space

a giant net

Location: it's inside Songshan Station, 3F. MRT green line to Songshan Station.

Pros: it's not too crowded, many food options inside the building. clean, bathroom nearby. 

Cons: nothing!

Price: $399 (1kid+1adult)

          $299 (kid only)

(unlimited play during the week, 2 hrs on weekends)

It's got everything! all of my boys (4, 6, 8) all had a blast here. We first had lunch right next door at the "Fun Relax Restaurant" (average, service is a tad slow, but its convenient if you want to sit here and have coffee while your kids play next door), and then came here to play. This whole floor is part of "Fun In Enterprise," and it also has other arts and crafts you can pay to do.

Taipei, Elephant Mountain 象山

playground by the mountain

entrance

great view

Location: google map, take MRT red line to Xiangshan Station. The start of the trail is still a little ways from the MRT Station. (5~10 min walk)

Pros: Easy to get to, beautiful view
Cons: mostly all steps! If you can do steps, don't come here!

My 1st and 2nd grader had no problem walking this, but my 4 yr old started complaining within 5 minutes. I ended up waiting at the mid level with him on the bench while grandpa took the other two up more. lol!! There are lots of steep steps, so I would caution older folks to think twice about walking this trail! Other than that, it's definitely worth going up there to get a great view of Taipei.

Taipei, Rao He Night Market 饒河夜市

3 games for $100

more games

Location: google map, MRT station green line to Songshan

Pros: great food, games

Cons: it's a night market, cleanliness and restrooms are not readily available.

We actually don't like to take our boys to the night market because it's usually pretty crowded and nasty. But once in a blue moon we would still want them to have the quintessential taiwanese experience of just walking and eating on repeat. So we take them to Rao He Jie - when they get tired of walking and being squished by the crowd, we bribe them with games!!! 

Taipei, MaoKong Gondola 貓空纜車

Entrance

"Crystal Cabin"

Transportation: take MRT brown line to Taipei Zoo station, follow signs for MaoKong Gondola (about 5 min walk).

Parking: there's a parking garage next to the zoo here.
Pros: great scenery. fun for kids. food at MaoKong available.
Cons: there is nothing to "play", no playgrounds. you can find restrooms easily. will not be easy to travel with a stroller (but doable?)

gondola route (4 stops: Taipei Zoo, Taipei Zoo South, Zhinan Temple, and MaoKong)

There are two types of cabins: regular and crystal. Both cost the same, and usually the crystal (clear bottom) one has a longer wait. We went on a Saturday morning around 9:30am, and the wait was not too bad. The only difference is the max occupancy for the crystal cabin is 5, and the regular is 8.

We first took the gondola to Zhinan Temple. It's beautiful and there are many parts to it.  It does take some walking to get from one palace to another. Even if you just stay at one palace by the station, I think it's worth checking it out.

you can even donate money with your ATM card!! lol

beautiful view from the temple

I guess you can hike it from the bottom as well....

The last station MaoKong: Honestly there is not much to do up there (with kids). But we timed it where we could visit the temple first, and then head up to MaoKong for lunch. It was surprisingly NOT busy on a Saturday, and we did not have to wait for a table at a restaurant. There are food stalls (nothing special) along the alleys also. The restaurant we visited was Yuan Xu Yuan Teahouse, which was decent but nothing spectacular. The only unique would be the tea-flavored soft-serve at this tea house. Other than lunch and ice cream, we spent less than 10 mins up here.

there are better pictures of this area, but this one shows the food stands down the alley

Our little trip: around 9:30am~1pm.  (we took awhile at the temple, then had lunch at MaoKong)

Taipei, Zhonghua Park 中華公園

Location: google map location (closest MRT station: Taipei Arena Station)

Pros: monkey bars, big open space, lots of benches, 7-11 & coffee shops near by

Cons: no restrooms on site

We discovered this park while heading to a restaurant in this neighborhood. It is bigger than your usual neighborhood parks in Taipei, and it has monkey bars! It also has a big open space next to the playground for riding bikes/tag/running around. One side of the park is open toward a busy road (Jiangkang Rd.), but not so close where you need to worry the kids might accidentally kick a ball over. The rest is relatively fenced in. The park is great if you need to watch multiple kids at one time. There are also two good restaurants near by: Dian Shui Lou 點水樓 and Zhen Fu Ji 真福記 - I would recommend spending some time at this park before getting some yummy food!! 

Taipei, Guang Fu Elementary 光復國小

Location: google map location (right next to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall)
Pros: lots of climbing structures, close to 7-11/restaurants
Cons: There should be bathrooms around, but we couldn't find any....

If your little ones have more energy to burn after visiting the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, you can jump right next door to this elementary school! My boys never get tired of climbing, so this was especially fun for them. There is also a normal playground structure further inside of the elementary (nothing special but will still be fun for preschoolers).

Taipei, Daan Forest Park 大安森林公園

Location:google map location

Pros: sand pit, metal cube climbers, swings, skating rink, large playground structure

Cons: not easy for parents to watch multiple children

It's a beautiful park, and east to get to by MRT (red line, Daan Park station) and bus. It is always busy on the weekends. If you have only one child to watch, this is a great park to explore. If you are like me with THREE......make sure you are not going there solo with all your kids. Even with my hubby and the grandparents around, I still get nervous at this park because it is so big, and there are so many people around. It is easy to lose sight of your kids. And if you have multiple children..you would know....they NEVER go the same direction.

Taipei, LanYu #1 Park 蘭與一號公園

Location: google map location, intersection of Zhongshan N. Rd & Shidong Rd.
Closest MRT station: Red line Zhishan Station (5-10min walk)
Pros: it looks cool - space themed.
Cons: no bathrooms on site

We have not yet actually played on this structure, but we walked by after brunch one day and the boys wants to come back when it's not raining. Being in the TAS neighborhood, there are a lot of American restaurants here that you can go before or after coming to this park.

*a short side review for the american brunch restaurant we tried called Jake's: great pancakes. they have some mexican food! I would say....if IHOP was a 10, this would be a...7. Will not hit the spot but you will feel like they've given decent effort into making their food American. is that good? bad? no comment.

Taipei, Mingshui Park 明水公園

Location:google map location, Bei-an Street Lane 538, Taipei city.

Transportation: by MRT brown line to Dazhi Station, take exit 3. 

Pros: beautiful trees, surrounded by not so busy streets, interesting play structures

Cons: no restrooms on site (but MRT station is close enough if someone REALLY needs to go potty ;))

I loved this park because it's in a quite neighborhood, not crowded, and right next to a MRT station. The wooden walkway surrounding the big tree with two slides is really cool. And my boys always LOVE those metal cubed climbers. As you can see in the picture, the climber and the stone slide do not have shade. So keep in mind that it is probably not a good idea to visit here in the middle of summer! We visited here on a Sunday morning in October when it was about 80 degrees - it was not too bad.

Taipei, Museum of Drinking Water 自來水園區

Location: google map location (No. 1, Siyuan Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei)

Website: 自來水園區中文版

Pros: inexpensive, parking lot available, clean, FUN!

Cons: can be crowded on weekends

Open year round, 9am - 6pm (8pm in the summer), admission is $50/Adult, $25/child ($80/$40 in the summer). Water fun can't get any cheaper in Taipei! We first visited on a Saturday in the middle of August, arrived a little past 9am, and by 10:30am it was packed with school groups. They also offer Dipping Dots and other light snacks at the concession. Would definitely recommend going!

*Closed on Mondays

*swim caps are not mandatory

*no water guns allowed

Taipei, Daan Park 大安公園

Location: google map location (Andong street #52, Taipei)
Pros: proximity to the mall, MRT, restaurants
Cons: small playground, no restrooms on site

Not to be confused with Daan Forest Park (on google map the forest park is called Daan Park. yes, it is confusing) - Daan Park is located right across from Sogo Fuxing off of Zhong Xiao E Rd. Nothing fancy, but may be a good option to let the kids get their wiggles out after doing some shopping at Sogo.

Taipei, Recycle Park 兒童志氣公園 (damaged by Typhoon Megi)

Updated 10.07.16: Structures removed due to damages by Typhoon Megi

Location:google map location (Zhongxiao E. Rd sec.3 #140)

Pros: shaded at 10am in the summer. good for little kids

Cons: structure are not stable enough for big kids climbing, no bathroom on site

We call this the "Recycle Park" because this is one of the projects by Re-create Taipei, which is an organization that uses recycle items to create unique parks in the city. I really like the idea of turning something old to something new and useful, but this park really is not for kids 4 and up. It's a neat little space for toddlers to walk around. The structures which are made out from old water towers, are kind of flimsy and hard to play "on." They are probably not meant to be climbed on, but thats what BOYS do - they climb on everything. If you live close by, might be worth checking out though!

Taipei, Qingcheng Park 慶城公園

Location: No. 29 Qingcheng Street
Transportation: MRT Nanjing Fuxing Station, exit 7
Pros: zip line, close to restaurants/shops, picnic tables
Cons: No restroom on site

It's a great little park with a zip line, swings, and a metal ladder thingy. It's away from busy streets and close to where all the restaurants/coffee shops are on Qingcheng Street.

Taipei, Fu Ming Park 富民生態公園

Location: Minsheng E Rd Sec. 5 & Sanmin Rd. （民生東路五段 & 三民路）
Transportation: Bus 262 新東街口 (Xindong St)
Pros: big trees with shade, unique play structure, close to coffee shops
Cons: No restrooms on site

We came here last weekend - It's the MIDDLE of summer and we were at a park!!! I have been trying to figure out where I can take the kids OUTSIDE in the summer other than the beach. Luckily we decided to try this park and it turned out to be quite shady (at 9:30am in the morning). It was my first time visiting Minsheng neighborhood and I really enjoyed it. There are quite a few other parks in this area all within walking distance to each other. In this heat, the kids walked 2 blocks with me to a nearby coffee shop with the promise of getting them a treat in the end. ;)