Banqiao Station Layover, New Taipei
Part of the full Taipei 101 and Longshan on a TPE Layover
Banqiao Station in New Taipei stacks high-speed rail, the conventional railway and two metro lines into one building, with a Qing-era garden finished in 1893 fifteen minutes away on foot and a free lookout on the 32nd floor of the city hall beside it.
The 1893 Lin family garden on Ximen Street
Merchants rather than officials built this one, which is part of why so much of it survived: the Lin family of Banqiao made their money in rice and salt, and between 1888 and 1893 they laid out a garden of pavilions, covered walkways, ponds and artificial rockwork behind their residential compound. It is now the most completely preserved garden of its period anywhere in Taiwan, and NT$80 covers both the garden and the family houses.
It opens 09:00 to 17:00 at No. 9 Ximen Street, about fifteen minutes on foot from the station, and it closes on the first Monday of the month rather than every Monday, which is the detail most people get wrong. An hour covers it at a walking pace; a ticket booked ahead and a guided slot gets you into rooms in the residence that are otherwise roped off.
The free 32nd-floor lookout at New Taipei City Hall
Municipal buildings are not usually worth a detour, but this one has an observation floor near the top that anyone can walk into, no ticket and no booking, from eight in the morning until eleven at night. The view runs west over the Tamsui River basin and east towards Taipei, and at that height on a clear evening the tower on the far side of the river is easy to pick out.
It sits a few minutes from the station on the opposite side from the garden, which makes the two of them a neat two-hour loop: one thing that costs NT$80 and takes an hour, one thing that costs nothing and takes fifteen minutes.
Changing between Banqiao’s rail systems can cost twelve minutes
High-speed rail, the conventional railway and the blue metro line share the underground concourse on B1, but the Circular line came later and sits apart, so that transfer runs through passages or over a footbridge and has been clocked at twelve minutes and up with a suitcase in tow.
Banqiao is five stops short of the airport line
The Airport MRT does not call here. The blue line covers Banqiao to Taipei Main Station in five stops, and the airport line then leaves from its own building about 250 metres west of the railway concourse, joined by a 115-metre underground walkway; the purple express runs every 15 minutes, roughly 35 minutes to Terminal 1 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and 38 to Terminal 2, NT$160, last departure 23:15.
That is the shape of the day if you arrive here on a high-speed train from Taichung or Kaohsiung with hours to spare before a flight. If you have longer than four, the full Taipei itinerary starts from the other end of that blue-line ride, and the old railway offices beside Taipei Main Station are the first thing you reach once you are there, which is also where the suitcase is easiest to leave for the afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near Banqiao Station in New Taipei?
Two hours is the right size for this one. The Lin Family Mansion and Garden, a Qing-era merchant family's compound finished in 1893 and the most completely preserved garden of its kind in Taiwan, is about fifteen minutes on foot from the station and costs NT$80. The observation floor on the 32nd storey of New Taipei City Hall, a few minutes the other way, is free and stays open until eleven at night. If the gap is longer than four hours, Taipei Main Station is five stops east and the rest of the city opens up from there.
Why does changing trains at Banqiao take so long?
Because four rail systems meet here and they were not all built at once. High-speed rail, the conventional railway and the Taipei Metro's blue line share the underground concourse on B1, but the New Taipei Metro's Circular line arrived later and sits apart from them, so the transfer runs through underground passages or over a footbridge and has been measured at twelve minutes or more. A new entrance is under construction to shorten it. Between the other three, the change is quick and entirely indoors.
Which days is the Lin family garden closed?
The first Monday of each month, rather than every Monday, which catches people who have learned the usual Taiwanese museum rhythm. Otherwise it opens 09:00 to 17:00 daily at No. 9 Ximen Street in Banqiao, and NT$80 covers both the garden and the family's residential compound next to it. An hour inside is enough unless you take a guided tour, which gets into rooms that are otherwise roped off.
Is Banqiao a sensible place to break the journey to the airport?
Only if you are already passing through it. Banqiao is west of central Taipei, and the airport line does not stop here: the route is five stops east on the blue line to Taipei Main Station, then the Airport MRT from its own building 250 metres west of the railway concourse, where the purple express runs every 15 minutes and takes about 35 minutes to Terminal 1 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for NT$160. Coming off a high-speed train from Taichung or Kaohsiung, that is a reasonable way to spend a couple of spare hours. Flying in and coming out here on purpose is not.