Answer three questions and the route picks itself.
How much time? Two hours, Banqiao. Four hours, Bitan. A whole evening, Tamsui.
Budget? Banqiao highest, Bitan lowest.
Which way home? Banqiao has all three rail lines; Tamsui’s last train is around midnight and missing it is expensive; Bitan is the Green Line to the end.
Route one: Banqiao, high floors and massage
For two people on a weeknight with only two or three hours.
Out of MRT Fuzhong, 閣樓餐酒館ABV Bar & Kitchen 板橋府中店 on the 12th floor of No. 67 Fuzhong Road has over 6,500 reviews, looks down on Banqiao’s lights, and pours at NT$350 to NT$500 a glass. If crowds are not the point, 安靜小酒館 at No. 2-3, Alley 7, Lane 202 Minquan Road holds a full five stars over three hundred reviews — the name means “quiet little tavern”, which is the whole position; 葵 Aoi Bistro at No. 88 Zhongshan Road Section 1 has 360 reviews on the bistro line. Book for Friday and Saturday, walk in on weekdays — details in the Banqiao bistro booking guide.
Massage to finish. 熊本木足體養生會館 at No. 45 Minquan Road carries over 16,000 reviews, the ceiling for any massage house in New Taipei, and seats two side by side for forty minutes of foot work; to upgrade, 東森REGAL CLUB & SPA 板橋希爾頓店 on the 17th floor of No. 88 Minquan Road runs the hotel-spa line. Lists in Banqiao massage and spa and Banqiao’s izakayas and bars.
The bill: NT$2,000 to NT$3,500 for two. Home via Banqiao station’s three rail lines, fifteen minutes to Taipei; the district is in the Banqiao guide.
Route two: Tamsui, sunset is the main course
For two people with a weekend and a whole evening to spend.
The time is fixed: reach MRT Tamsui station before 5:30 in summer, 4:30 in winter. Go first to Fisherman’s Wharf for sunset, forty minutes on the boardwalk; once Lover’s Bridge lights up, return to the Old Street, where the crowd thins after nine and the street finally walks well.
For a drink, back to Zhongzheng Road. 微醺吉他tipsy guitar音樂酒吧 at No. 7, 2F, has 850-plus reviews and live music that a date can settle into; 樹下餐酒 in Lane 182 Beixin Road has 1,100-plus reviews, the local word on Tamsui bistros, about ten minutes on foot from the station. Waterfront restaurants run NT$500 to NT$800 a head while Old Street snacks cost coins — mixing the two is the best value.
The bill: NT$1,500 to NT$2,500 for two. Last MRT around midnight, board by 11:30; miss it and only taxis remain, and they are not cheap. Beyond the sunset, see a Tamsui night view with a drink and the Tamsui guide.
Route three: Bitan, walking and water
For a first date, or two people who would rather not talk about budget.
Out of MRT Xindian station is the waterfront. The suspension bridge lights up at dusk, ten minutes from east bank to west, the west quiet and the east lively; a full loop is thirty to forty minutes and costs nothing. In summer go after seven, when the river wind arrives.
Dinner at 渣男Taiwan Bistro, No. 7 Beiyi Road Section 1, eight hundred-plus reviews, stir-fry with cocktails, walkable from Bitan, few seats so book on weekends; bistros around Dapinglin run NT$600 to NT$900 a head. To finish, 逗Doll Spa 新北新店店 at No. 116 Zhongzheng Road, 2F, has over a thousand reviews at 4.9 stars, Xindian’s reputation spa; for quiet all the way down, 三方莊園 Aqua Spa Massage in Lane 11 Ershizhang Road holds a full five stars over nearly seven hundred reviews.
The bill: NT$1,200 to NT$2,000 for two. Green Line to the end and back, last train around midnight. The walking route is detailed in the Bitan night, the district in the Xindian guide.
One rule for all three
Every route has alcohol in it.
If you drank, take a cab or a designated driver — Banqiao, Tamsui and Xindian stations all have taxis outside through the night. Getting the other person home safely is the last real job of a date night.