Best Time to Visit New Taipei City

Winter: cool, grey and drizzly

From December to February, New Taipei is mild but damp. Highs sit around 18 to 19°C, and it rains on about 16 days a month. You'll get a lot of low cloud and very little sun. That's not a bad thing if you plan for it. Hot springs in Beitou and Wulai feel great on a drizzly evening, and the old mining towns of Jiufen and Jinguashi are moody and atmospheric in mist.

Lunar New Year usually lands in late January or February. Many small shops close for a few days, but temples fill up and the streets get festive. In Pingxi, the Lantern Festival brings sky lanterns, which are paper lanterns that float up on hot air. Trains there get very crowded.

Spring and autumn: the sweet spots

November is the best-rated month here. Highs reach 23°C, and the muggy heat has gone. It's still cloudy, but it's good weather for walking Tamsui's riverfront at sunset or hiking the Yangmingshan hills nearby. March is similar, a little warmer and a little wetter.

April starts to feel sticky. By May the rain really sets in, with 22 wet days. If you want a trip that mixes city time with easy walks, aim for November or March.

Summer: hot, wet and typhoon-prone

June is the wettest month at 289 mm, and August is close behind at 273 mm. July is the odd one out. It's drier and sunnier than its neighbours, with about 5.7 hours of sun a day. It's also hot at 31°C, the same as August, and the air feels heavy. Afternoons are for indoor stops like the Ceramics Museum in Yingge or a long lunch in Banqiao.

Typhoon season runs through summer and into early autumn. Storms can shut ferries, trains and mountain trails for a day or two, so keep your plans loose. Taiwanese school holidays run from July through August, so family spots like Bali and Tamsui get busier then. In June, the Dragon Boat Festival brings races to rivers around the city.

If you hate crowds and sweat, skip July and August. September and October are still warm and sometimes stormy, but they ease toward the better months.