Da’an District Guide: Cafes, Parks & Food Streets (2026).

Ask 10 long-term Taipei residents which neighborhood they’d recommend a visiting friend stay in, and at least 7 will say Da’an. The central-southern district is Taipei’s foodie and café heart — anchored by the famous Yongkang Street (named by Time Out in 2022 as the 4th coolest street in the world), the city’s largest urban green space at Daan Forest Park, and one of Asia’s deepest concentrations of third-wave coffee shops. The food scene runs from world-class Michelin-starred dining (Logy, ZEA) to the original Din Tai Fung to neighborhood beef noodle shops where the broth has been simmering since 1963. Locals describe Da’an as Taipei’s “real” neighborhood — less hectic than Ximending, less expensive than Xinyi, with a quieter sophistication that reveals itself slowly.

For travelers, Da’an District is one of Taipei’s best neighborhood choices for a full-trip base. The MRT is excellent (Daan, Da’an Park, Dongmen, Xinyi Anhe stations all serve the district). The food scene is the deepest in the city. The cafe culture is rich and ongoing. And the residential streets give a “real Taipei” feel that the more touristy districts can’t match.

This guide covers Da’an District for 2026: what to do, where to eat, where to stay, the famous Yongkang Street, and how to make the most of one of Taipei’s most-loved neighborhoods.

Da’an District at a Glance

• Location: Central-southern Taipei
• Get there: MRT Tamsui-Xinyi (Red) Line to Daan, Da’an Park, or Dongmen Stations
• Best for: Foodies, slow travelers, repeat visitors, foreign residents, café people
• Hotels: NT$2,500–8,000/night, with strong mid-range boutique options
• Time needed: Full day for the district; multiple visits for the food scene
• Iconic spot: Yongkang Street (Time Out’s 4th coolest street in the world)
• Daan Forest Park: The city’s largest urban green space (64 acres)
• MRT lines: Red, Brown, Blue, Orange and Green all touch the district
• Daily budget: NT$1,800–3,500 per person excluding accommodation

What Is Da’an District?

The Da’an District (大安區) is one of Taipei’s 12 administrative districts, covering 11.36 square kilometers of central-southern Taipei. It’s the most densely populated district in Taipei, with over 300,000 residents. Major boundaries include Civic Boulevard to the north, Roosevelt Road to the west, and the Xinyi District to the east.

Da’an’s modern identity emerged in the 1980s–2000s as Taipei developed wealthier urban neighborhoods, café culture, and Michelin-starred dining. The district contains multiple universities (National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, and others), which gives it strong residential energy and a younger demographic than Xinyi or Zhongshan.

The texture matters more than the statistics. Da’an is a grid of wide arterials — Xinyi, Renai, Heping, Fuxing, Dunhua — with quiet residential lanes (巷) and alleys (弄) threaded between them. The arterials carry the traffic; the lanes carry the cafés, the ceramic studios, the six-table noodle shops and the surviving Japanese-era wooden houses. It is also Taipei’s expat and long-stay heartland, thanks to the language schools and serviced apartments clustered here, which means more English menus and more all-day cafés with power sockets than in the older western districts.

Today, Da’an is Taipei’s most-recommended residential and travel neighborhood — quieter than Ximending, more interesting than Xinyi for many travelers, with a uniquely accessible mix of high-end dining, traditional Taiwanese food, design culture, and green space.

How to Get to Da’an District

Da’an is the only Taipei district touched by five MRT lines. Fares run roughly NT$20–65 a trip; an EasyCard gives a small discount plus free bus transfers within an hour. Timetables and station accessibility details come from Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation.

Which station to use, and what each is good for

• Dongmen (Red + Orange), Exit 5: Yongkang Street. Exit 4 for the southern end.
• Da’an Park (Red), Exits 3–6: Daan Forest Park. Exit 5 surfaces inside the park, a gift with a stroller.
• Daan (Red + Brown): The main interchange, and the best base station for Fuxing South Road hotels.
• Xinyi Anhe (Red): The Anhe Road cocktail cluster, and 6–8 minutes on foot to Tonghua Night Market.
• Zhongxiao Fuxing (Blue + Brown): SOGO stores, the East Metro Mall passage, and the fastest link to Songshan Airport.
• Zhongxiao Dunhua (Blue): The East District (東區) boutique grid.
• Technology Building (Brown): Heping East Road and quiet neighborhood cafés.
• Liuzhangli (Brown): Residential southeast Da’an, and the quieter approach to the Elephant Mountain ridge.
• Guting / Taipower Building (Orange / Green): The western edge, closest to Shida.

From Taipei Main Station: 5–10 minutes to most Da’an stations. From Taoyuan International Airport, allow 75–90 minutes door to door. Our Taipei MRT guide covers fares and transfers. The district is flat and walkable between stations — Dongmen to the park is about 10 minutes — with YouBike docks outside nearly every exit and metered taxis at NT$100–200 for hops inside Da’an.

Top Things to Do in Da’an District

1. Yongkang Street (永康街)

The single most-visited Da’an attraction. Named by Time Out the 4th coolest street in the world, Yongkang is the city’s most famous food street — a half-kilometer of restaurants, dessert shops, cafés, and indie boutiques anchored by:

• Din Tai Fung Original Branch: The first Din Tai Fung, opened on Xinyi Road in 1972. The original storefront now operates mainly as a takeaway counter; the large multi-floor dine-in branch is a short walk away near Xinsheng South Road, so check which door you are queuing at.
• Yong Kang Beef Noodle: The legendary 1963 shop. Expect around NT$200 for the spicy braised beef noodles, a little more for the large bowl.
• Smoothie House: Famous mango shaved ice, around NT$200 for a shareable bowl.
• Tian Jin Scallion Pancake: The street’s most famous casual snack, with a permanent queue that moves fast.
• Kao Chi (高記): The long-running neighbour competing on dumplings and Shanghainese classics, usually with a shorter wait.
• Dozens of cafés, boutiques, and small restaurants in the side lanes, especially toward Lishui Street.

Best at lunch and afternoon. Get there via Dongmen MRT.

2. Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園)

Taipei’s “Central Park” — 64 acres of trees, ponds, walking paths, an eco-pond with hundreds of birds, exercise areas, and an amphitheater. Open 24 hours; free. Facilities and access are listed on the official Taipei City page for Daan Park.

• Best time: Early morning for tai chi and birdwatching; late afternoon for picnic and family scenes.
• Free events: Outdoor concerts (especially in summer); cultural performances.
• Stroller-friendly: Excellent paths and family facilities.
• Wildlife: The eco-pond island is a night heron and egret colony — bring binoculars if you care about birds.

3. The Café Scene

Da’an has Taipei’s best third-wave coffee scene. Notable spots:

• Simple Kaffa: Award-winning specialty coffee.
• Fika Fika Café: Polished modern specialty roaster.
• Café Kuroshio: Cozy local favorite.
• Caffè Libero: Italian-style espresso.
• Roaster Family Coffee: Single-origin focused.
• Saturn Landing Turkish Coffee: Authentic Turkish coffee.
• Youmoutoohana: Garden café with extensive lawns.
• Yaboo: Quiet neighborhood favorite.
• Ecole Cafe: On Qingtian Street near the Shida campus.

Coffee prices NT$150–300 per cup. Many Da’an cafés set a minimum order and a two-hour limit at peak times, and a few ban laptops at weekends — the door sign will say so. See our roundup of the best cafes in Taipei.

4. Tonghua (Linjiang) Night Market

The local-favorite night market in southern Da’an, officially Linjiang Street Night Market and universally called Tonghua. Compact, genuinely local, rarely tourist-heavy, and typically running from around 6 PM to midnight. See our dedicated Tonghua Night Market guide. NT$300–500 for a full grazing-style dinner.

5. Jian Guo Flower Market

Taipei’s most famous flower market, held under the Jianguo elevated expressway a short walk northeast of Daan Forest Park. About 8,000 square meters of plant and flower stalls — open Saturday and Sunday, typically 9 AM – 6 PM, though some stalls pack up mid-afternoon. Free to wander; beautiful photography. The Jianguo Jade Market runs under the same expressway just to the north on the same days.

6. Fine Dining

Da’an has Taipei’s deepest fine-dining scene:

• Logy: Contemporary Asian, the Taipei sister restaurant of Tokyo’s Florilège.
• ZEA: Taiwan’s first South American–focused fine dining.
• Raw: André Chiang’s restaurant, on the district’s northern edge.
• Tairroir: Modern French with Taiwanese ingredients.
• Mume: Contemporary, and one of the rooms that started the modern Taipei scene.
• Various others: Many Bib Gourmand–listed casual restaurants at a fraction of the price.

Star counts move each year, so check the current list before booking. Reservations usually open one to three months ahead and fill within days; our guide to Michelin restaurants in Taipei explains the booking systems. Tasting menus generally start around NT$3,000–4,000 per person before drinks and the 10% service charge.

7. Boutique Shopping

The lanes off Yongkang Street, around Daan MRT, and through the Qingtian and Lishui neighborhoods are dense with indie boutiques — Taiwanese designer brands, vintage stores, ceramic shops, and small design studios. North of Zhongxiao East Road, the East District grid between Fuxing and Dunhua is the older fashion quarter — past its 2000s peak, but still the best hunting ground for mid-price local labels.

8. Daan East District (Anhe Road area)

The eastern half of Da’an is also Taipei’s craft cocktail and craft beer hub. Multiple speakeasy-style bars and craft beer taprooms sit within walking distance of Xinyi Anhe Station, several of them regulars on Asia’s bar rankings. Cocktails run roughly NT$400–600; most rooms open around 7–8 PM and stay quiet until 10.

9. Mucha Tianhou Temple

A smaller Mazu temple in southern Da’an. Worth a quick stop for the architecture.

10. The Universities and Gongguan

NTU campus and NTNU campus are both partially in Da’an, both open to the public and free at any hour. NTU has the architectural and historical interest — the palm-lined Royal Palm Boulevard running from the main gate is one of the most photographed campus views in Taiwan.

Immediately west, straddling the Da’an–Zhongzheng boundary, is Gongguan (公館), the student quarter on the Green Line. Its night market is small, cheap and genuinely local, with two long-standing Bib Gourmand names in Lan Jia Gua Bao (藍家割包) and Hsiung Chi scallion pancakes; expect NT$50–80 per item.

11. The Shida Quarter

The blocks around National Taiwan Normal University hold Da’an’s student-priced eating. Shida Night Market (師大夜市) shrank sharply after residential noise complaints in the 2010s and is now smaller and more restaurant-led than stall-led — worth knowing before you make a special trip. What remains is good value at NT$40–120 a dish.

What to Eat in Da’an

The Yongkang Street Loop

• Din Tai Fung: Xiao long bao. NT$700–1,000 for two.
• Yong Kang Beef Noodle: Red-braised beef noodle since 1963. Around NT$200.
• Smoothie House: Mango shaved ice in season. Around NT$200.
• Tian Jin Scallion Pancake: Crispy scallion pancake. Under NT$50.
• Lao Sun Beef Noodle (老孫牛肉麵): A quieter beef noodle option.
• Kao Chi (高記): Shanghainese dumplings and pan-fried buns, NT$400–700 a head.

Beef Noodle Specialists Beyond Yongkang

• Liu Shan Dong Beef Noodle (劉山東): Cited by locals as one of Taipei’s best.
• Halal Chinese Beef Noodle: Quieter alternative, and the reliable choice for Muslim travellers.
• Lao Wang Ji (老王記): Old-school Da’an favorite.

Bowls run NT$180–300 across the district, in clear-broth (清燉) or red-braised (紅燒) style. Our guide to the best beef noodle soup in Taipei ranks the citywide contenders.

Cafes and Brunch

• Simple Kaffa, Fika Fika, Youmoutoohana for specialty coffee
• Brunch spots on Roosevelt Road, plus a dense cluster along Anhe and Fuxing South Roads
• Traditional breakfast shops: soy milk, egg crepes and fan tuan, NT$60–100, generally 6–11 AM only

Casual Lunch

• Set-meal Taiwanese diners (定食): NT$120–180 for a complete lunch.
• Japanese ramen shops: Several quality specialists, NT$250–380 a bowl.
• Vegetarian shops: Da’an has Taipei’s deepest vegetarian scene, including Buddhist buffet-by-weight canteens at around NT$100–150 a plate.

Dinner Options

• Yongkang Street restaurants
• Tonghua Night Market (southern Da’an)
• Michelin-starred fine dining (RAW, Logy, ZEA, etc.)
• Craft beer taprooms with food (Taihu, 23 Public, Jim & Dad’s)

Late Night

• Cocktail bars in the Anhe area
• Late-night noodle shops
• Bubble tea late-night stops

Photo: David Baron, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Where to Stay in Da’an

Da’an splits into four lodging pockets, and picking the right one matters more than picking the right hotel. Bands below are indicative shoulder-season rates for a standard double; expect 30–60% more around Lunar New Year and Double Ten.

• Dongmen / Yongkang (NT$2,500–5,000): Small boutique hotels and guesthouses on two MRT lines, three minutes from the food street. Best for couples and foodies.
• Daan Forest Park / Xinsheng South Road (NT$3,000–6,000): The quietest pocket, widest pavements. Best for families and light sleepers.
• Zhongxiao Fuxing / East District (NT$3,500–8,000): Bigger four-star hotels, two crossing lines, 10 minutes to Songshan Airport. Best for shoppers.
• Xinyi Anhe / southern Da’an (NT$3,000–7,000): Bars and restaurants, one stop from Taipei 101. Best for nightlife without a nightlife address.

Mid-Range (NT$2,500–5,000/night)

• Hotel Resonance Taipei: Boutique design hotel.
• Amba Da’an: Design-forward boutique.
• Eclat Hotel Taipei: Art-focused boutique.
• Park Taipei Hotel: Near Daan Forest Park.
• Just Sleep Hotel: Mid-budget reliable chain.
• Dandy Hotel: Long-running option overlooking the park.

Upper Mid-Range (NT$5,000–9,000/night)

• S Hotel: Design-forward boutique.
• Imperial Hotel Taipei: Established mid-luxury.
• The Tango Hotel Da’an: Design chain.

Boutique Options

Many small boutique hotels and serviced apartments throughout Da’an, especially around Yongkang Street and Daan Forest Park. Serviced apartments are the district’s quiet strength, and the main reason long-stay visitors gravitate here.

Budget

• Star Hostel Da’an: Modern design hostel.
• Dongmen 3 Hostel: Small hostel a short walk from Yongkang Street.
• Various budget chains: Typically NT$1,500–2,500 for a private double.

Da’an consistently ranks as one of Taipei’s best mid-range hotel neighborhoods. One caution: unlicensed short-term apartment rentals are not legal in Taiwan and listings do get removed, so book registered accommodation.

A Da’an Day Plan

A walking route rather than a checklist — roughly 6 km, all of it flat.

• 9:00 AM: Breakfast at a Da’an café or a traditional soy milk shop.
• 10:00 AM: Walk through Daan Forest Park from the north gate to the eco-pond.
• 11:00 AM: Yongkang Street via Dongmen Station. Browse the side-lane boutiques first, while the restaurants fill up.
• 12:30 PM: Lunch at Yong Kang Beef Noodles, Kao Chi or Din Tai Fung.
• 2:00 PM: Coffee at Youmoutoohana or Yaboo café.
• 3:30 PM: Walk the Lishui / Qingtian neighborhood (preserved Japanese-era houses).
• 5:00 PM: Tonghua Night Market for early dinner, via Xinyi Anhe Station.
• 7:30 PM: Cocktail bar in the Anhe Road area.
• 9:30 PM: Optional: live music at a small local venue, or one stop east for the Taipei 101 night view.

Half-day version: Dongmen Station, Yongkang Street, lunch, café, Daan Forest Park — four hours.

Da’an vs. Other Taipei Neighborhoods

Da’an vs. Ximending: Da’an is calmer, more residential, more food-focused. Ximending is louder, more youth-focused, more touristy, and roughly 20–30% cheaper for a comparable room.

Da’an vs. Xinyi: Da’an is less expensive and less corporate. Xinyi is shinier and more business-oriented, with the malls and the observatory — but it empties out around the office blocks at night and has fewer cheap places to eat.

Da’an vs. Zhongshan: Both are stylish. Zhongshan is design-rich, hotel-dense and closer to Taipei Main Station; Da’an is greener and more residential. If you want to walk to a park, choose Da’an. If you want to walk to a train, choose Zhongshan.

Da’an vs. Zhongzheng: Zhongzheng holds Taipei Main Station — unbeatable for day trips and airport runs, but impersonal after dark.

Stay in Da’an if you are here four nights or more, you care about food, or you are travelling with young children. Do not stay in Da’an if you have two nights and a tight sightseeing list, if you want nightlife on your doorstep until 4 AM, or if your budget caps out below NT$1,500 a night.

What Da’an Costs

• Budget day: NT$900–1,400. Breakfast shop, night market dinner, MRT, one coffee.
• Comfortable day: NT$1,800–3,500. Café breakfast, sit-down lunch, dinner and a drink.
• Splurge day: NT$6,000+. A tasting menu gets you there on its own.
• Coffee NT$150–300 · taproom beer NT$250–350 · cocktail NT$400–600 · MRT NT$100–150 a day.

Practical Information for Visitors

Safety. Da’an is very safe, including for solo women walking home late. The real risks are traffic — scooters turning across crossings — and slippery tiled pavements in the rain. Emergency numbers are 110 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance.

Accessibility. Every MRT station in the district has lift access and tactile paving, and Daan Forest Park is flat and step-free. The older lanes are less kind: narrow pavements, kerbs between shopfronts, and many small restaurants with a step at the door and no accessible toilet.

With kids. The easiest central district for families. The park has playgrounds, sand pits and baby-change facilities, the MRT has lifts everywhere, and convenience stores stock formula, nappies and hot water.

Rainy days. Taipei gets rain in every month, and the plum rains of May and June plus the July–September typhoon window can wash out an afternoon at short notice; the Central Weather Administration publishes the official forecasts and warnings. The dry-feet plan: SOGO and Breeze at Zhongxiao Fuxing, the East Metro Mall underground passage, or a long café afternoon. Our list of rainy day activities in Taipei has more.

How long to spend. Half a day covers Yongkang Street and the park; a full day adds the cafés and a night market. As a base, two to four nights is the sweet spot.

Tips for Visiting Da’an

Stay multiple nights. Da’an rewards slow exploration. Single-day visits miss the depth.

Eat at lunch. Yongkang Street is calmer at lunch than dinner. Din Tai Fung is calmest 11 AM – noon.

Reserve fine dining weeks ahead. Michelin restaurants book out.

Drop into cafes. Da’an’s café culture rewards drop-in exploration.

Walk the residential streets. The preserved Japanese-era houses, small temples, and indie boutiques on Da’an’s quieter streets are worth wandering.

Use Daan Forest Park as a base. Central to all major Da’an attractions.

Visit Tonghua Night Market for dinner. Local-favorite alternative to bigger markets.

Combine with Xinyi for a full day. Da’an is a 5-minute MRT to Xinyi District.

Carry cash. Night market stalls, small noodle shops and the flower market are cash-first.

Da’an is one ring of a city that grew outward from the river. If you enjoy its lanes, the older districts to the west — Wanhua around Longshan Temple and Dadaocheng along Dihua Street — show you what Taipei looked like a century or two earlier, and they are a short MRT ride away. Our guide to Taipei neighbourhoods puts all twelve districts in context, with walking routes between them.

At the southern edge of the district, the NTU campus runs down to Gongguan, the student quarter around the university’s main gate, with its night-market lanes, second-hand bookshops, Treasure Hill Artist Village and the riverside beyond. Our guide to Gongguan has the details.

Yongkang Street deserves a morning of its own. Our Yongkang Street guide goes stall by stall with what to order and what to skip, and follows the lanes south past Yongkang Park to the Japanese-era houses of Qingtian Street, Wisteria Tea House and the morning market across Xinyi Road.

Related Taipei guides

• Best Luxury Hotels in Taipei: 12 Top Picks
• Best Hostels in Taipei for Backpackers
• Airbnb in Taipei: Is It Legal and Where to Book
• Best Taipei Hotels Near MRT Stations
• Taipei Travel Guide : The Complete Planning Resource
• Taipei Transportation Guide: Getting Around Taipei

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Da’an District in Taipei?

Da’an is one of Taipei’s 12 districts, in central-southern Taipei. It’s the city’s foodie and café neighborhood — home to Yongkang Street, Daan Forest Park and the deepest concentration of third-wave cafés in Taiwan.

Is Da’an a good place to stay in Taipei?

Yes — particularly for mid-range travelers, foodies, and longer trips. Less touristy than Ximending, less expensive than Xinyi, with excellent MRT access and the best café scene in Taipei. It is the strongest choice for stays of four nights or more.

Which MRT stations are in Da’an District?

Dongmen, Da’an Park, Daan, Xinyi Anhe, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Zhongxiao Dunhua, Technology Building and Liuzhangli sit inside the district, with Guting and Taipower Building on its western edge. Use Dongmen for Yongkang Street, Da’an Park for the park, Zhongxiao Fuxing for shopping and Xinyi Anhe for the bars.

What’s the best food in Da’an?

Yongkang Street is the food heart — Din Tai Fung, Yong Kang Beef Noodle, Tian Jin Scallion Pancake, Smoothie House mango shaved ice. Plus several Michelin-starred restaurants (Logy, ZEA, RAW, Tairroir, Mume) and dozens of casual options.

How big is Daan Forest Park?

64 acres, or roughly 26 hectares. It is the largest urban green space in Taipei, it is free, and it is open 24 hours.

How do I get to Yongkang Street?

Take the Taipei MRT Red Line to Dongmen Station, Exit 5 (or Exit 4 for the south side of the street). 7 minutes from Taipei Main Station.

Can you still eat at the original Din Tai Fung?

The original 1972 shopfront on Xinyi Road still trades, but it now functions largely as a takeaway counter. Dine-in moved to a much larger multi-floor branch a short walk away. Both are within five minutes of Dongmen Station, so check the signage before joining a queue.

Are there cafes in Da’an?

Yes — Taipei’s best café scene. Simple Kaffa, Fika Fika, Café Kuroshio, Caffè Libero, Roaster Family Coffee, Youmoutoohana, Yaboo, and many more. NT$150–300 per coffee.

Is Da’an expensive?

Mid-range. Hotels NT$2,500–8,000/night. Food: NT$150 for casual; NT$500–1,500 for sit-down; NT$2,500+ for Michelin. Cheaper than Xinyi for hotels; similar food prices to other central districts.

Is Da’an good for families with kids?

It is the best central district for families. Daan Forest Park has playgrounds, shaded paths and baby-change facilities, every MRT station has lift access, and the district is quiet enough for early bedtimes.

Is Da’an safe at night?

Yes. Taipei has very low rates of street crime and Da’an is among its quietest central districts, with well-lit main roads and people out until late. Traffic, particularly scooters, is the main hazard rather than crime.

What time does Da’an come alive?

Daytime — Yongkang Street is busiest at lunch (11:30 AM – 2 PM). Cafés peak in afternoon. Tonghua Night Market 7:00–10:00 PM. Cocktail bars 9 PM – 1 AM.

Is Da’an walkable in the rain?

Partly. The main roads have covered arcades in stretches and the East Metro Mall runs underground between Zhongxiao Fuxing and Zhongxiao Dunhua, but Yongkang Street and the residential lanes are open to the sky. Convenience stores sell umbrellas for around NT$150.

The Bottom Line

Da’an District is the most-recommended Taipei neighborhood for mid-range travelers, foodies, and anyone wanting a “real” Taipei base. The food scene is the city’s deepest, from NT$50 scallion pancakes to tasting menus that book out months ahead. The cafés are some of Asia’s best, and Daan Forest Park is the reason families keep choosing this district. Visit for at least a half-day; if you have four nights or more in Taipei, base yourself here and let the rest of the city come to you on the MRT.