10 Best Things To Do In Tainan (3 Day Tainan Itinerary)

Tainan was the 2nd city we visited in Taiwan and I liked it even more than Kaohsiung. Tainan is Taiwan’s oldest and the former capital (from 1683 until 1887).

That's why there are many interesting things to see and lots of historic sites to explore. Most of the things to do in Tainan are located in the very walkable city center.

Or, do as we did and cycle your way around town!

10 best things to do in Tainan

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3 day Tainan itinerary: map and highlights

We traveled to Tainan from Kenting National Park and spent 3 days in this lovely city.

Tainan was a particularly interesting city for us to visit, because of the Dutch history. I'm Dutch myself, so it's always interesting to visit places with a bit of Dutch history, though sadly, our history isn't always something to be proud of…

The city of Tainan is also famous for its many ancient temples, but there are many other worthwhile places to visit as well in this relatively small city. Check out the map below to see what to do in Tainan.

Click here for the interactive map.

3 days in Tainan: summary

• Tainan day 1: visit the City God Temple, Koxinga's shrine, the great South gate, and the Tainan Confucious temple.
• Tainan day 2: visit the Hayashi Department Store, the Land Bank of Taiwan, the Grand Mazu Temple and Chihkan Tower, Anping Old Fort, and the (Anping) Grand Mazu Temple.
• Tainan day 3: visit the National Museum of Taiwan.

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What to do in Tainan: itinerary day 1

After our excellent biking experience in Kaohsiung, we decided to continue our explorations by bike in Tainan as well (read more about the bike rental system in Tainan in the transport section below).

City God Temple

We cycled past the colorful City God Temple but didn't go inside as it was very busy with local people. I never want to intrude too much when people are worshiping, whichever religion it may be.

Koxinga's Shrine

Up next was Koxinga's Shrine, I particularly liked the beautiful garden.

An interesting piece of history: Koxinga conquered the Dutch who had established several outposts in Taiwan and subsequently founded his own dynasty (the Kingdom of Tungning).

Great South Gate

We continued to the Great South Gate. While the gate itself was quite nice, I loved the tree (pictured on the right) which is slowly but surely taking over the wall!

Confucius Temple

Our last stop of the day was the Confucius Temple, we strolled around the gardens and admired the beautifully decorated buildings, don't you love those doors!

The complex was built in 1665 and it's impressive how well-preserved the buildings and intricate carvings are.

Things to see in Tainan: itinerary day 2

Hayashi Department Store

Tainan has a reasonably walkable historical centre so we started our second day on foot. It was just a short walk from our hotel to the famous Hayashi Department Store, built during the Japanese rule of Taiwan.

When the store had just opened, people used to queue up to ride the elevator, a novelty for that time (1932)!

Land Bank

Across Hayashi Department Store is the Land Bank, an impressive-looking building that's modeled after a Greek temple.

Grand Mazu Temple

From the Land Bank, we walked to the Grand Matsu Temple (also known as Datianhou or Grand Mazu Temple).

This beautiful and colorful temple was built in 1684 for Mazu, Goddess of the Sea. The Mazu Temple is a very popular attraction in Tainan and a national monument.

Chikan Tower

Across the temple is the Chikan Tower, another interesting tourist attraction and rumored to have a secret tunnel leading all the way to Fort Zeelandia…

Next to the Chikan tower was a bike rental station and we hopped on a bike and cycled to the Anping area, the other district in Tainan you can't miss!

We cycled along the channel which offered some great city views.

It's around 5 kilometers from the Chikan Towers to Fort Zeelandia, you could walk as well but we preferred our bikes.

Fort Zeelandia (also known as Anping Fort)

For me, Fort Zeelandia was the highlight of our Tainan itinerary because I find it fascinating to imagine how people explored the world centuries ago.

Long before the arrival of planes, TV, and social media… Sailing into the unknown, not knowing if you would ever return to your home country…

It takes real courage and an adventurous spirit to sign up for such a journey!

Anyway, I digress. Fort Zeelandia was built by the V.O.C. (Dutch East India Company) on the shores of Southwest Taiwan in the early 17th century.

The fort was used as a trading outpost for several years, but eventually the Dutch were defeated and left Taiwan.

The fort was our final stop of the day, from the Anping district we cycled back to our hotel.

If you plan to visit multiple historical sites in Tainan, such as Anping Old Fort, Anping Tree House, Chihkan Tower, and the Eternal Golden Castle, you can save money with the Tainan Historic Sites Pass.

Places to visit in Tainan: itinerary day 3

National Museum of Taiwan History

On our third day in Tainan, we visited the National Museum of Taiwan History. We cycled there (about 8 kilometers) in the early morning and spent the majority of the day learning about the history of Taiwan.

Did you know this little island has been occupied by the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Chinese, and the Japanese?! I did not, I learned that and much more in the museum, a day well spent.

Get the excellent audio guide! We bought a combination ticket for 2 people including entrance fee and 2 audio guides for just 250NT.

The best time to visit Tainan

We visited Tainan in mid-May and had nice weather. It was quite humid and hot, but we didn't have any rain.

Monsoon season starts at the end of May and continues until September. During monsoon season it's very humid and rainy so these months are not the best for a trip to Tainan.

Keep in mind that the winter months (December – February) can get relatively cold (around 10 degrees Celsius).

Altogether, the best months to visit Tainan are March/April and October/November. During these months temperatures are comfortable (around 25 degrees) and the chances of rain are the lowest.

Tainan travel budget

As you can see in the itinerary above, we did a lot of sightseeing in Tainan. However, this doesn't mean a visit to Tainan will break the bank.

In fact, it's very easy to visit Tainan on a budget, during our 3 days in Tainan we spent approximately €50 per day (for us as a couple, so just €25 per person!).

We ate delicious local food, drank bubble tea, and tried stinky tofu (not my favorite). Below you can find more information about our accommodation and how to get around Tainan city.

Where to stay in Tainan – Tie Dao Hotel

We felt Tie Dao Hotel was excellent value for money: we only paid €17 per night for a small, but newly renovated, room.

The location of the hotel is great, across Tainan train station and next to a T-bike station (Tainan's public bike rental).

We stayed in a spotless room with a comfortable bed. The bathroom was modern and the shower had good water pressure and a constant temperature.

Towels and toiletries were provided, and there were hot and cold water dispensers in the hallway. WiFi wasn't great but overall it was much more than we expected for the price we paid.

Important note: we first got room 1319 on the 13th floor, which was being renovated at the time of our stay. However, I asked for a different room because the room smelled strongly of cigarette smoke.

We got a renovated room on the 2nd floor (219) instead, which was very clean and didn't smell at all.

How to get around Tainan: transportation

Cycling is very popular in Taiwan, there are great public bike rental systems in place in Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung, and, to our delight, in Tainan as well.

Since we're from the Netherlands, we're used to cycling everywhere.

So for us, this was the perfect way to explore these Taiwanese cities while getting some (much-needed) exercise in the process (because of all the delicious food we ate in Taiwan).

In Tainan the public bike rental service is called T-Bike, you can find more information on this website. There is an app available (in Chinese) that you can use to locate a bike rental station.

You can use an EasyCard to register (read more about the EasyCard here and in my Kaohsiung post) or pay with a credit card.

In order to register your EasyCard at a T-bike station, you'll need a Taiwanese number.

Unfortunately, you can only register one EasyCard per Taiwanese phone number in Tainan. We wanted to rent two bikes, so we used one EasyCard to rent a bike and our credit card for the second one.

Tainan things to do: in conclusion

That’s everything about our 3-day trip to Tainan, the old capital! It ended up being one of our favorite places in Taiwan and I hope this article has given you an idea of which places to visit in Tainan.

If you've got more time to spend in Tainan, here are some other popular places to add to your itinerary:

• Anping Treehouse: this is a former warehouse that's been covered by a huge banyan tree.
• Tainan Park: this is a lovely green park and a very pleasant space to relax or have a picnic.
• Tainan Art Museum: situated in the West Central District, this interesting museum features local artwork.

You can download the list of all the Tainan attractions mentioned in the post below.

Do you want to read more about traveling in Taiwan? Also check out these posts:

• 10 amazing beaches in Taiwan
• 15 great Taipei day trips
• Taiwan travel budget
• Taiwan travel itinerary
• Things to do in Hualien
• Things to do in Kenting
• Things to do in Taitung
• Where to stay in Taiwan on a budget

This post was updated in February 2023.