• The Parkway. This narrow corridor of greenery forms a pleasant parkway which runs south/north between the Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Natural Science, intersected by the main Taizhonggang Rd. You can spend minutes or hours walking along it, or just relax in one of the parks. The southern end is home to the Art Museum with Modern and Traditional exhibits, a cafe on the third floor and a garden area which is particularly popular with families at the weekend. Linked to the Art Museum is the Taichung City Cultural Affairs Bureau, with a large reading room among other facilities. At the north end of the Parkway behind the Science Museum is a botanical garden home to interesting plants and trees (with a few dinosaurs hiding in them). You can climb to the top of the little hill and listen to the birds singing. Some Taichung residents do Tai Chi and other exercises outside the Museum, early in the morning. Beyond the botanical garden, is a cycle track and path where the greenery continues through a more residential area. The gardens here are carefully tended by locals. The roses create beautiful perfumes in the evening. Shops on either side include cafe's, restaurants and a 24 hour optician. If you continue walking along this path, it takes you West, past the university hospital to another nice place - Zhongsheng Park. Here there is an open-air swimming pool, old style benches and a foot massage path. From Zhongzheng Park, North and across the river is the Baojiue Temple. South of the park is the Yizhong Street area, Confucius Temple, Martyrs Shrine, Chungyo department store, Taichung Gym and Taichung Park.  edit
• Taichung Tubbies Football Team, [4]. Expat soccer team based in Taichung. Play friendly games of football in Taichung, and compete in tournaments island-wide.

• Fong Jia Night Market (逢甲夜市), A large night market in Taichung. It's popular with teenagers and there's lots to buy, including restaurants and vendors selling many popular Taiwanese dishes. Beware on Fridays and weekends however--it can be very crowded.

• KaoMay Marsh (高美溼地), At the west side of Taichung, nice sunset, and you can catch wild little crab there.

• Taichung Metropolitan Park (台中都會公園), It's on the west side of the mountain. Great place for the weekend. Good Night View.

• Jin Ming First Street (精明一街), Great place for tea break.

• Taiwan Banana New Paradise (香蕉新樂園), It's a restaurant. With the atmosphere of 1940's of Taichung City.

• The Moon God of Love (月下老人), A good place for asking dating fate. Close to Taichung Metropolitan Park.

• Lavender Forest (薰衣草森林), A nice place for weekend. At north side of Taichung.

• Dah-Ken Forest Park (大坑森林公園), A great place for hiking. At north side of Taichung.

• Gu-Guan Hot Spring (谷關溫泉), A nice Hot Spring at north side of Taichung.

Temples

Temples can be found all over the city of Taichung. While many of them are of recent construction, others are considered historic and are indicative of the changing currents through Taichung’s history.

• Confucius Temple
• Martyr’s Shrine, Adjacent to the temple is the Martyr’s Shrine, dedicated to the hero’s of the Republic of China.
• Pao Hueh Temple, This is a Buddhist temple which features the “Big Budda.” The gold, seven-floor Buddha is dedicated to Maitreya. The temple grounds also include a Japanese Shinto shrine.
• Cheng Huang Temple, This temple was established during the Qing Dynasty, and has since been renovated numerous times. Its main festival is the 15th day of the sixth lunar month.
• Wan Chun Temple, Established during the height of the Qing Dynasty more than two hundred years ago, it is home to a couplet written by Emperor Kuangshu. It is also noted for its life-like carvings.
• Li Ancestral Shrine
• Wen Chang Temple, Built around 1825, this temple is dedicated to the “Scholar God.” Students frequently come to pray prior to exams to get good scores.
• Le Cheng Temple Over two hundred years old, the Le Cheng temple is dedicated to the goddess Mazu, and is known locally as the “Hanxi Mazu.” It includes an ancient cauldron and other artifacts.
• Wan He Temple, This temple was built during the Qing Dynasty in thanks to the goddess Mazu. It is noted for exquisitely-designed carvings.

• National Museum of Natural Science,[3] This is a very large and elaborate science themed museum, actually composed of seven museums in one. Its Science Center features a huge assortment of "hands-on" exhibits that demonstrate scientific principles. The separate Life Sciences section is also very large. There's also a botanical garden, an earthquake museum, greenhouse, global cultures and global environment museums, as well as theaters. Can easily spend more than a day here, especially with kids. 1 Guanchien Road. Tel:+886 4 2322-6940 - Open:9AM-5PM (closed Mondays)

• National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, 2 Wu Quan West Road, Sec.1 Tel:+886 4 2372-3552 - Open:9AM~5PM. Closed on Mondays. The Fine Arts museum is a very large and elaborate modern arts museum, featuring rotating visual exhibits. The museum also has a very elaborate children's section, featuring hands-on art exhibits and creative playthings. There's also a children's reading room in the basement with Chinese and English books. Bring your children. Admission is free.

• Municipal Cultural Center, The Municipal Cultural Center is located on Yingcai Road on property adjacent to the National Art Museum.

• Taichung Folklore Park, This park is dedicated to presenting a more traditional Taiwanese way of life. It includes a combination of authentic and recreated buildings and streets in an attempt to recreate a more rustic Taiwan.

• Taichung Winery, Dating back to the Japanese-era, this still- operational winery also includes a Wine Museum, which has displays on wine-making and the history of the winery.

• Stock 20, This converted railroad warehouse provides exhibition space for regular displays of modern art. Adjacent warehouses have been converted to provide studio space for local and foreign artists, and are frequently open to the public.

• Wenying Hall, A frequent venue for local art exhibitions and events. It includes an art display area along with a folk art museum and Zhongzheng Hall.

• The Guggenheim Museum Taichung(Underconstruction)

• Taichung Metropolitan Opera House, A world classed opera house designed by famous architect, Toyo Ito. This opera house would be finished in the summer of 2009.

• Taichung Tower, located in the Shui Nan Financial District is the tallest building in Taichung with a unique shape of a bamboo.

• Taichung City Hall, located in the most devloped district of the city is build by world classed architect, Weber+Hofer AG Architects. This is not only a city hall but offers a big plaza with water, trees, birds, and flowers.

By bus

Bus is the most convenient and least expensive option. From Taipei Train Station, go to bus terminal, take Tong-Lien Bus (統聯客運), Guo-Gung Bus (國光客運). Tickets cost from NT$100-300, depending on the number of passengers. Buses depart several times an hour from the early morning through evenings and the entire ride is about two hours long.

By train

All Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) trains between Taipei and Kaohsiung stop at Taichung. The High Speed Rail station is located on the outskirts of Taichung. You can take a regular train between the two stations in about six minutes, in addition, a free bus is available to take HSR passengers downtown, to the universities, etc.

In addition, Taichung is a major stop along the Western Line with all north and south bound trains a making a stop here. Midrange ticket prices (Jukuang class) typically run around NT$300 from Taipei or NT$350 from Kaohsiung. The entire trip takes about three hours from both Taipei and Kaohsiung. The Western Line station is located in central Taichung.

By car

You can rent small car for about US$80 per day. Due to traffic and parking issues, driving yourself is NOT recommended for typical travel within Taichung.

By plane

Taichung airport operates mostly as domestic hub, though it does also offer a limited international service to neighboring counties. A flight to Taipei takes 40 minutes, although air service to Taipei has been cut back lately as the High Speed Rail is generally a faster and more convenient way to get there.

A international terminal is being built currently in Taichung and is going to be the largest airport in Taiwan and the terminal's floor area is more than 800,000 square meters. This airport is normally compared to the Beijing Capital International Airport T3, The Changi International Airport T3 in Singapore, and other big airports around the world. This new airport will offer at least 80 airlines and more than 70 restaurants. This airport would be finished by the end of 2009.

Taichung has a convenient and efficient bus service. For those with a Taiwanese driver's license, renting a used 125 cc scooter is also an option worth considering. Otherwise, you will need to take taxis. Taxis are convenient, and fares start at NT$85 at flagfall. The downtown area is sufficiently compact to make it easy to get around on foot, although many shop owners will utilize the sidewalk in front of their business. This can make walking something of an ordeal, dodging traffic as you are forced to walk on the street.

The city government is currently constructing MRT lines in the city. The future Taichung MRT will have stations at the Science Park, New Taichung City Hall, Taichung Convention Center, Shui-Nan Financial District, High Speed Rail Staion, Taichung International Airport, and more.

Taichung has many department stores which can be accessed by bus.

• Sogo Department Store
• Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store
• Chungyo Department Store

Taichung is also well known for its Chinese bakeries. Pastries that are worth a try include sun cakes(太陽餅) and pineapple tarts(鳯梨酥)

• Sun Patisserie(太陽堂老店), 25 Freedom Road sect. 2. Tel: +886-4-22200012. Famous for being the first bakery to sell sun cakes, a favourite among locals.

With a proliferation of noodle shops and street vendors peddling anything from the exotic to common household dishes, there is no lack of choice for enjoying local delicacies. Walking through streets of taichung one can locate exotic cuisines like Indian, Japanese, Indonesia, continental et al., . Fortunately, the Taiwanese are quite accustomed to non-Chinese speakers, so using gestures will get you what you want (with a perhaps a little surprise!)

Budget

• Salut Pizza, De Ye Road (Soho Street).

Mid range

Splurge

• 89K Pub, 89 Chung Ming S. Road. Tel:+886 4 2320-701. Great live music on the weekends. Fantastic Blues band, Boogie Chillin plays there the 2nd Friday of every month. Large screen projector for the big games and music videos. Old school bar with a great atmosphere. Great mix of people. If you want to see some great live bands as well as get your party on... this is the pub. An excellent place to spend an evening. Big bikers welcome! Hot chicks here!

• FuBar, 25-9 Da Ye Road (Soho Street - a small pedestrian street near down town). Tel:886 4 2310-9401. A sports pub catering mostly to foreigners. All kinds of sports, including hockey, rugby, basketball, american football, and more. TV feeds from Japanese and North American Satellite, and Taiwan cable to watch local games. With simple pub fare and cold beer, as well as outdoor seating, it's a great place to watch the game on the big screen, or just hang out and meet new people.