Bitan is one of our favorite places in New Taipei. Here the river makes a curve leaving the city on one side, and high limestone rock walls with exuberant vegetation on the other. For a moment you may think that you are in Thailand or the Philippines instead of being in a crowded city. You can easily get there by metro (Xindian, last stop on the green MRT line).
Leaving the metro station, walking towards the river and on the right, you will find the bicycle rental station (FunBikebitanzixingchezujie Station). There they have all kinds of bicycles, from adults to children and with baby seats. For around NT $ 50 an hour you can rent one.
Keep pedaling north. In summer, you can make a stop at the Greater XinDian swimming pool, which is quite nice and they have slides and ball pools for children.
Continuing north, you will find the best of this area, a bike park with bumps and curves where children can stick around for hours. It's great on a bike, but also on roller skates or scooters. The circuit is just under a bridge, so even in summer it is well in the shade and almost always with a breeze.
From here, you can go back the same way. But if the children can do more bike, then go on and cross the river by the Sunshine Bridge, and come back on the other side of the river (from the bike park to the bridge there are 1km, about 10min by bike).
To return to the other side of the river, you have to cross the Bitan Suspension Bridge. In total they are about 5km one way and 5km back.
Back in Bitan, you can eat a good slice of pizza at The Shack Pizza. The place has a very nice terrace and you can order pizza by slices. They are really good. If you prefer something a little more formal and with better views, then it is better to continue down that street to the south. You will see that it is a street full of restaurants with incredible views of the river. Even if you are not going to eat here, it is worth the walk, because the views are great and they have very curious decorations for children and things for taking selfies.
Very close to the suspension bridge, you have the Swan Boat Rental (those pedal boats shaped like a swan). The price of the normal ones depends on the number of people. It starts at 300 NTD an hour for two people, and you have to add 100 NTD for each additional person. The truth is that with the river current, we do not recommend taking these, but the electric ones, whose price starts at 400 NTD for half an hour, and then you have to add 100 NTD per person. The river walls are so impressive that you feel a bit in Thailand or the Philippines. It is very worth it. They also have a canoe in this place that you can rent if you have practice.
In case you don't want to spend so much, go further south. Where the river makes the bend, you will find the Xindian Ferry Pier, where you can cross the river in the traditional boat that has been used since the Qing Dynasty. It is only 5 minutes to cross and the cost is 30 NTD per person. You can get here by bicycle.
If you hold out until the night, this area becomes very beautiful with all the lighting. So we recommend you dine in one of the restaurants on the pedestrian street.
