Tamsui is a town filled with history. As you walk the streets of the town you will see many old buildings, in the Western, southern Fujian, and Japanese styles. A casual stroll is a good way to appreciate the history of the town, with the ancient flavors of the old streets and the special characteristics of buildings from different periods best manifested along Zhongjeng Road, Zhenli Street, Chongjian Street, Sanmin Street, and Qingshui Street. Visitors traveling to Tamsui have the option of taking a ferry from Bali (just across the river) or Dadaocheng (in Taipei City) and enjoying scenes of the Tamsui River along the way.

In addition to enjoying the old buildings and ancient temples, and savoring the taste of the local delicacies, you can also enrich your mind with an ecological tour in Tamsui. The best places for observing the natural ecology are the Guandu Nature Park and the Mangrove Nature Preserve. Every winter, birds from the north of mainland China, Siberia, Korea, and Japan migrate southward, and Taiwan serves as a way station where they rest and rebuild their strength. Migratory birds that pass through the Guandu Nature Park at this time include ducks and geese, jacanas, and shrikes; they join such resident foul as herons, rails, and kingfishers, forming an unforgettable avian panorama that is a powerful attraction for bird lovers.

If you get off the MRT train at the Hongshulin station, you will find yourself at the site of one of the world's largest mangrove swamps. Here you will see fiddler crabs, mudskippers, and other animals flitting among the mangrove roots; from mid-September to March they are joined by egrets, snipes, and other birds.