Explore by rail
City guides with a journey to follow
Museum visits, garden walks and neighborhood outings in Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul. Read a guide, then open its rail journey on the map.
Taipei
An old Taipei walk: Longshan and Bopiliao
Temple carvings and preserved streets give Wanhua a different rhythm from the city’s skyline.
Open the journey mapTaipei
Two hours at Taipei 101: a view from the tower or a closer look from the street?
Do you want Taipei 101 in your photograph, or do you want to stand above the city and see how its streets meet the mountains? Those are different outings. This two-hour route focuses on the regular observation deck: a brief look at the tower from street level, followed by time on the 89th floor. Leave Elephant Mountain, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and department-store shopping for another trip so that check-in, security and elevator queues have room in the schedule.
Open the journey mapHong Kong
Tsim Sha Tsui: art with a harbour backdrop
Combine the Museum of Art area with a waterfront pause on the Kowloon side.
Open the journey mapHong Kong
Central’s creative corners: Tai Kwun and PMQ
Explore reused heritage spaces, courtyards and local design around Central.
Open the journey mapSingapore
Two hours at Singapore Botanic Gardens: from lakeside silhouettes to the shape of a leaf
You do not need to time a visit to the flowering season to enjoy a garden. Look at the way a tree spreads its crown beside a lake, then move closer to study the outline of a leaf: the same landscape opens up at two different scales. This two-hour visit stays in the northern part of Singapore Botanic Gardens. Start outside Botanic Gardens MRT station, enter from the Bukit Timah side, spend the first part around Eco-Lake and Eco Garden, then take a break before making Foliage Garden your second focus. Finish outside the same station.
Open the journey mapSingapore
Chinatown: temple details and street life
Use the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple as an anchor for a focused neighborhood walk.
Open the journey mapSeoul
DDP: a different side of Seoul’s architecture
Follow the curves of Dongdaemun Design Plaza, then choose an exhibition to explore.
Open the journey mapSeoul
Two hours in Seoul Forest: a closer look at the Insect and Plant Garden and the paths outside
You do not need to see all of Seoul Forest in one visit. If you want a change of pace from shopping, this walk keeps things small: the Insect and Plant Garden and the nearby park paths. Start with the shapes of plants indoors, then look for differences in leaves, bark and sunlight outside. It suits anyone happy to crouch down for a closer look or stop to read a label. If Seongsu cafés or pop-up shops are your main interest, give that neighbourhood a separate half-day rather than squeezing its queues into these two hours.
Open the journey mapTaipei
Two hours in Beitou: from a historic bathhouse to Thermal Valley
Start Beitou’s hot-spring story in a building where nobody bathes anymore. At the Hot Spring Museum, the large pool, arches and stained glass show how people once used the springs. A walk to Thermal Valley then brings the water and landscape into view. This route includes neither a soak nor an extra visit inside the library.
Open the journey mapHong Kong
A Kowloon rail outing: Wong Tai Sin and Nan Lian Garden
Pair a temple visit with a garden walk using Wong Tai Sin and Diamond Hill stations on the Kwun Tong Line.
Open the journey mapSingapore
Museum first, gardens later: Dhoby Ghaut to Bayfront
Combine the National Museum of Singapore with Gardens by the Bay, keeping the museum walk and Bayfront arrival easy to follow.
Open the journey mapSeoul
Gyeongbokgung and the National Museum of Korea: a day for looking closely
For a history-focused day in Seoul, I would pair Gyeongbokgung with the National Museum of Korea and give each a different job. At the palace, look at how buildings shape a space. At the museum, bring your attention down to the shape of an object. The pleasure is in that change of scale, with enough room in the day to notice it.
Open the journey map