Taipei Guest House

Taipei Guest House is only open to the public one day a month, so I’m glad we were able to visit while we were in Taiwan. There is no cost to enter, and you don’t even have to show any ID or go through security like at the Presidential Office Building. There is literature and the descriptions and videos are in Chinese, English, and Japanese. Please be aware that there is a long and steep flight of stairs up to the 2nd floor, and they don’t want you holding onto the banisters because they are antique. But there is also a modern elevator hidden behind a wooden door that you can take if you have difficulty navigating stairs. The architecture is an ornate European style from the era of Japanese occupation. All the staff and volunteers are very friendly, and one of them made a little origami bird for my toddler. There are black swans in the garden grounds. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area to see a piece of Taiwanese history. This building is still used today when foreign dignitaries visit.

Surrounding area is so vibrant to see how Taiwanese are so passion about preservation and promotion of democracy. The only exception will be on the 26th of April 2025 that you may see a lot of 426 aka riots damaging world peace and democracy

Didn't wait for the guided tour. I was instructed to visit from second flour which was where the primary items and rooms to see. It was not allowed to free roam the open area, you need to follow the route and no backtrack. 2F to 1F to garden. The flower bed by the main gate was shaped specifically. The garden and the pond were really nice, but they were largely fenced off, you can only enjoy from distance.

Came here for an event. What a magnificent historic building! It showcases Japanese architects' rendition of Renaissance architecture during the Japanese colonial period. This building used to serve as the Japanese governor's official residence. Highly recommend a visit if you like historic buildings.

Open to public only once a month, with guided tours available. It has been around for almost 120 years with lots of history. Personally, I was more interested in its architecture and the garden. Great place to spend a few hours!

Built 100 years ago! Mixed Japanese western style, have collected very authentic tiles from England and stylish fire places! Don’t miss the Japanese zen garden!

Really interesting place, it is good for sketching, drawing. The European vibe is all around the place. It is said to be the first European garden with pond shaped as (心) in Taiwan. You can take pictures, but with no blitz. There is historian movie shown every 30 minutes. The place is one way, so if you want to see the movie, do not ever to come out from the building before finishing the movie. There are black swans in the pond.

Taipei Guest House is a national landmark which only opens 12 days per year (once every month) remember to check their website before planning your trip! The Guest House is a historical and a beautiful estate with a lovely garden~ very nice to spend a weekend afternoon there. There are some volunteers from the ministry of foreign affairs introducing the premises, they are friendly and very detailed. Feel free to join their tour (not sure if they offer it in English tho :))

Taipei Guest House is a pretty building to see and interesting int he greater context of Taiwanese history. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend anyone make a special trip here. I planned a walking tour through the more historical part of the city, with some friends. We passed by Taipei Guest House as part of the walking tour. It was cool to see and interesting to discuss relative to the other buildings and historical sites we'd passed by that day. Taipei Guest House offered accommodation to guests of political significance. So when dignitaries or diplomats visited the city, they were allowed to stay here. The structure was completed in 1901, so the architecture reveals a lot of the design of that time. The interior decor is quite luxurious. We visited and were allowed inside because Taipei Guest House is open to visitors at certain times of the year - but you need to check ahead of time.