TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei is ranked as the second-best city to travel to in the world by Lonely Planet for 2022 thanks to its ability to contain COVID, history, eccentricities, cuisine, and livability,
On Nov. 1, the Lonely Planet released its Best in Travel 2022 list including the top 10 countries, regions, and cities to travel to in 2022. The travel guide wrote that amid the ongoing pandemic, it sought to balance travel with safety and a "sense of caution alongside our endless sense of wanderlust."
Given the current "complex travel landscape," the authors of the list conceded the tally is "as much a bucket list for the future as it is a to-visit list for right now."
In the guide's Top Cities list, Taipei came in second only to Auckland, New Zealand, which has consistently been a rival with Taiwan for its ability to contain local COVID outbreaks, albeit with a much smaller population and isolated location. The only other city from an East Asian country on the top 10 list was South Korea's Gyeongju in 10th place.
In third place was Freiburg, Germany, followed by Atlanta, U.S.; Lagos, Nigeria; Nicosia/Lefkosia, Cyprus; Dublin, Ireland; Merida, Mexico; and Florence, Italy.
On its page for Taipei, Lonely Planet points out that with a history of 300 years, the city is "like a living museum," with Taoist temples, Japanese-era mansions, and the National Palace Museum's nearly 700,000 artifacts. It lauded Taipei for its "oddness" and an eclectic mix of Japanese kawaii (cutesy) culture and its "home-grown humor," embodied by the defunct Modern Toilet Restaurant.
The review noted that foodies will have plenty to enjoy from savoring snacks at Taipei's many night markets or gabbing with the locals at a rechao (熱炒, stir-fried) eatery. As for the livability of the city, the authors lauded Taipei's "fast, reliable, and cheap" mass transit network, numerous public parks, the MRT's courtesy umbrellas, and many clean and free public toilets.