Grand Hotel Taipei

The Grand Hotel was built in stages from 1952 and reached its present form in 1973: fourteen storeys in the manner of a Chinese palace, with a sweeping red and gold roof, on the hillside where a Shinto shrine had stood. Under the hill run two air-raid tunnels, each 180 m long and leading out to nearby parks, with exits hidden for decades; the western one has a slide beside its spiral stairs, and the tunnels are now shown on booked tours. The lobby with its coffered ceiling is open to anyone.

What to look for

• The palace exterior - fourteen storeys under a sweeping red and gold roof.
• The secret tunnels - two 180 m air-raid passages under the hill, shown on tours.
• The lobby - a coffered and painted ceiling above the main hall.
• The hillside setting - the building visible across much of northern Taipei.

When to go

Year round; the lobby is open through the day and tunnel tours run to a booked schedule. Evenings when the building is floodlit are the best exterior view. Weekends book out for tours.

Good to know

The tunnel tour must be booked in advance and places are limited. The building is a working hotel and access beyond the public areas is restricted. Getting there without a taxi is awkward.

Nearby

The Shilin night market is north, and Songshan is southeast.

Key facts