Routes · Asia
Paris to northern Taiwan: Jiufen and Yilan
Paris → Jiufen → Yilan
A hillside gold town & hot springs Best season (general guide): Oct–Apr
North-east of Taipei, old mining towns cling to green mountains above the Pacific, and beyond them lies the rice plain of Yilan. This route spends three nights in Jiufen and three in Yilan. From Paris you'll fly to Taipei, then take the bus. Jiufen grew rich from gold mining and faded when the mines closed. Its steep lanes and tea houses with red lanterns were revived after the town appeared in the film A City of Sadness.
How to pace it: Spend days one to three in Jiufen: day one, bus from Taipei; day two, Old Street and tea houses; day three, Jinguashi and Shifen. Then spend days four to six in Yilan: day four, train to Yilan; day five, Jiaoxi hot springs; day six, Traditional Arts centre.
Nearby Jinguashi has a Gold Museum in the former mining settlement. In Shifen, on a small railway line, visitors release paper sky lanterns over the tracks. Yilan County, beyond the mountains, is known for Jiaoxi hot springs, with public foot baths and hotels with spring water. The National Center for Traditional Arts shows Taiwanese crafts and performances.
October to April is the drier, cooler season on this coast; summer brings heat and typhoons. Gold was found near Jiufen in the 1890s, and the town boomed under Japanese rule. Mining ended in the 1970s, and the town's population fell until tourism revived it. The Gold Museum in Jinguashi has a gold bar weighing over 200 kilograms that visitors can touch.
The Pingxi line is a branch railway built to carry coal, and it now carries visitors to the lantern towns. Jiaoxi is one of the few hot springs in Taiwan on a plain, and its water is clear and odourless. Guishan Island, off the Yilan coast, is an active volcanic island shaped like a turtle.
Taro balls, chewy sweets in soup or shaved ice, are Jiufen's speciality. Yilan County's Lanyang Museum is built to look like a tilted rock on the coast. Jiufen's old street winds down the slope of Keelung Mountain.
Safety: Canada's advice for Taiwan is to exercise normal security precautions (updated 14 Aug 2026), and the US rates Taiwan Level 1 (25 Nov 2025).
Suggested outline
Paris
Jiufen
A former gold-mining town on a mountainside.
Yilan
A coastal plain with hot springs.
"Jiaoxi Hot Spring stele at Jiaoxi Hot Spring Square 20130217 night.jpg" by Jason, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
Day by day
- Day 1 · Jiufen — Arrive; bus from Taipei· Paris → Taipei (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day, then Taipei → Jiufen (by road)
- Day 2 · Jiufen — Old Street and tea houses
- Day 3 · Jiufen — Jinguashi and Shifen
- Day 4 · Yilan — Train to Yilan· Jiufen → Yilan (by train)
- Day 5 · Yilan — Jiaoxi hot springs
- Day 6 · Yilan — Traditional Arts centre
- Day 7 · Yilan — Travel home from Yilan· Yilan → Taipei (by train), then Taipei → Paris (by air)
A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.
Flights, leg by leg
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- Paris → Jiufen (PAR → TPE) · Check today's price Search fares PAR → TPE · 3 Dec ↗
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Jiufen
Nearest airport: Taipei Search fares · Taipei ↗
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