There’s no place like Taipei 101, the skyscraper that dominates Taipei’s skyline, to get acquainted with the city’s sights. From the skyscraper’s upper floors, you can see the entire city laid out beneath you. Even the city’s other skyscrapers are far below.
But while, as the name suggests, the skyscraper is made up of 101 above-ground floors, most visitors can go up no further than the 89th floor. Access to the real top has been reserved for a glamorous and important few—until now.
Taipei 101 has opened up its exclusive top floor to ordinary visitors. Though space and time constraints mean that numbers will be limited, those who do make it up here will get a bird’s-eye view of Taipei from more than a dozen stories above the observatory that’s open to the public.
The trip up to this 101st floor, once the reserve of presidents and a wealthy few others, is set to be made available on a regular basis for visitors starting next year. The price tag for this visit will be steep though, so Taiwanese citizens especially will want to try and visit this luxurious space during the trial run during December, when entry fees for them will be waived.
The free visit covers the indoor 101st floor lounge alone, but for around US$30, hardcore fans of heights can also go out onto the dizzying platform that surrounds the lounge for a guided tour of the city skyline from above.