Tainan travel guide: What to do on a weekend in one of Taiwan’s oldest cities

I plunged my gloved hands into a large ceramic jar of cobalt-coloured liquid, holding a piece of cloth bound with rubber bands. Every few minutes, I wrung it out, then lowered the bundle back into the murky depths to repeat the process.

The liquid was natural indigo dye, made from organically grown plants, and I was dyeing my own drawstring bag at Zhuo Ye Indigo Dyeing. Patterns emerged from the rubber bands tied around the cloth in different permutations. The indigo comes from the workshop’s farm in Miaoli County, where more than 50 varieties of dye plants are grown and harvested.

The workshop is located within Blueprint Cultural and Creative Park, along Tainan’s Ximen Road. One of Taiwan’s many cultural parks adapted from old structures, it comprises wooden houses from the Japanese colonial period (1895 to 1945) and concrete blocks that once housed prison staff in the 1960s – now home to chic cafes, quaint retail shops, and craft studios for pottery, jewellery and indigo-dyed goods. In Tainan, this is how the city reveals itself – through places that look like remnants of the past, but are quietly busy making something new.

OLD BONES, NEW BEAT

It was my first time in Tainan, and I quickly discovered that this city has a charm all its own. A potted history: The Dutch East India Company arrived in 1624, built Fort Zeelandia in Anping, and controlled parts of the island. In 1662, Ming loyalist Koxinga drove them out. Tainan – its name often understood as “south” (“nan” meaning south in Mandarin) – served as Taiwan’s capital under the Qing dynasty until 1887, when the provincial capital moved to Taipei. That layered history is not tucked away in museums – it lives in the streets, in the alleyways, and in the buildings that have learned to adapt.

With four centuries of history behind it, Tainan has an eclectic urban fabric – historic temples, Japanese-era architecture (Taiwan was under Japanese rule from 1895 to 1945), and shophouses nestled along winding alleyways. Old buildings are plentiful, and many are dilapidated or dated. Yet just as many have been thoughtfully adapted for modern use.

Both top-down and bottom-up preservation efforts have played a role. The Foundation for Historic City Conservation and Regeneration (FHCCR), established in 2001 by a group of architecture and history professors, helped spark interest in saving and reviving old buildings. In 2006, it launched the New Uses for Old Buildings Awards, which further fuelled momentum.

In 2016, the Tainan City Council passed a law aimed at preserving and reviving historic sections of the city more than 300 years old. Another initiative is the Tainan City Cultural Heritage Architectural Materials Vault (HAMV). Opened in 2017 and located within Soulangh Cultural Park, repurposed from the former Soulangh Sugar Refinery, it collects, preserves and recycles old building materials from demolished or renovated structures for use in restoration projects – a fine example of circular-economy thinking. And you see the results not only in restored landmarks, but in the everyday pleasures that move into them – coffee counters, chocolate studios, small workshops where craft becomes a souvenir.

COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE BONBONS

Blueprint Cultural and Creative Park is one such gem, where old architecture sits alongside everyday life. While waiting for my dyed bag to dry, I walked across the courtyard to Chocolate R Cafe. It belongs to the artisanal chocolate studio of the same name, which specialises in handmade chocolate bonbons. Caffeine-inflected coffee and alcoholic drinks are also on the menu.

I had a chat with the owner, Blue Lan, who was manning the cafe and greeting patrons in the cosy shop with equal ease. He founded the brand in 2009. “While many coffee shops offer mocha coffee, our version is unique because we are chocolate specialists. We use premium French estate-grade chocolate, melted and blended to create a much richer, deeper, and more sophisticated chocolate profile that you won’t find anywhere else,” said Lan.

A seasoned photographer, Lan also has poetic black-and-white images of Paris adorning the cafe. He shoots all the brand’s photographs – including a poster of assorted bonbons on the wall, paired with the tagline: “Since 2009, No Coco No Life.”

For anyone with a sweet tooth, Chocolate R Cafe’s menu will prove irresistible – think hazelnut chocolate cake with cognac cream and a rum-laced Basque burnt cheesecake. For a comprehensive introduction, try Sweet Escape: A Chocolate Journey, comprising a slice of Valrhona classic chocolate cake, a seasonal bonbon, a chocolate-dipped orange peel and a glass of wine.

The chocolate bonbons were memorable too. I tried Guava, with a mildly sweet, chewy fruit centre, Longan with a spiced hint of wood-roasted cinnamon, and Rum Truffle – a no-nonsense hit of Jamaican gold rum and Dominican dark chocolate. I could not leave without bringing a small box home.

STREETSIDE BURGERS AND PIQUANT SURPRISES

Tainan’s reinvention is not always dressed up as design – sometimes it arrives on a griddle at 6pm, or behind a picture window in an old shophouse. I did not expect to try such delicious chocolate bonbons here – nor did I think I would find one of the best burgers.

I was staying at Provintia Hotel in the city’s North District, and just before 6pm every day, a food stall at No 1 Changbei Street with the beckoning name Eat Up Burger would flip open its doors. Drawn by the hearty aroma, I vowed to return.

The steady stream of delivery scooters from opening time until 2am attested to Eat Up Burger’s popularity – and no wonder, as I later discovered. Everything is fresh and handmade, from the browned, grilled buns to the US prime-grade beef patty and tomato slices. I added truffle fries, crisp on the outside and meltingly soft within. The chicken bites, dusted with five-spice, were equally addictive. Two nights out of four, I ordered Eat Up Burger as takeout.

Looking for a nightcap after my second burger meal, I wandered the nearby alleyways and ended up at Swallow Tainan. Located at 27 Chongan Street in a century-old shophouse with a Shanghai plaster facade, its picture window revealed a convivial bar scene under dim lighting.

Swallow Tainan was opened by married mixologists Mei Chiu and Dan Zhang, who had worked in Singapore’s top bars before returning home – like the bar’s namesake bird – to open in 2022. “I was at Jigger & Pony and Dan was at Live Twice. Until this day, we still consider Singapore our second home. The inspiration for the bar is from all the travels and life overseas before we settled in Tainan,” said Chiu.

A COCKTAIL JOURNEY

Alleyways such as this one, which Swallow Tainan is tucked into, are “packed with surprises” – one reason the couple decided to set up camp here. Chiu added, “The bar is close to some of the oldest temples in Tainan; it was the centre of religion and daily life in the old days. Tainan Station is nearby, making it a perfect spot for travellers to begin their exploration in the city.”

I discovered that Taiwan has plenty of day-to-night F&B concepts, and this was one of them. Swallow Tainan opens from 11am to 1am, “thriving to become the meeting spots for people from all walks of life, bonding over great coffee and cocktails,” said Chiu. 

The cocktail flavours fall into four taste profiles – light, sweet/bitter, spirit-forward, and dry/sour – as illustrated on the menu. For example, the Espresso, which introduces the local taste of black sesame, veers towards the latter two profiles, while Guava – a concoction of tequila blanco, clarified guava juice and sea salt – is light, sweet and mildly bitter.

I had the Shiso, which mixed the Japanese herb with white wine vinegar and citrus, alongside Aperol and other spirits. It arrived with a curl of orange peel wrapped around the ice. “Herbal and clean, with the tropical whisper of just-cut fruit on a breeze” was the perfect description on the menu for this drink.

Apart from small bites like wasabi cheese terrine, there are caffeinated options such as espresso with kombucha and cold drip coffee made with beans from Rufous Roasters in Taipei.

SHOPPING AND HERITAGE

For souvenir hunting, head to Hayashi Department Store. Japanese businessman Hayashi Houichi built the five-storey building in 1932, during the Japanese colonial period. One of Taiwan’s oldest department stores, it is a time capsule – with antique lamps and period details that evoke an era when electricity, telephones and automobiles felt thrillingly modern, and Western influences like jazz music were going mainstream.

When it opened, it was one of only two buildings in Taiwan with an elevator. Capacity is limited due to its age, but it is just as fun to take the historic, mosaic-floored staircases. After World War II, the building took on a second life as the office of the Taiwan Salt Corporation. Following a government-led restoration, the city monument reopened in 2013 as a centre for promoting Taiwanese culture and creativity.

Craft items, clothing, regional teas and finely packaged local snacks make for great gifts. Before you go, pause for coffee or a meal at the cafe and restaurant on the fifth storey, then head to the rooftop at dusk, when fairy lights begin to glimmer as the sun fades.

If Hayashi is the city’s heritage showpiece, StableNice BLDG feels like its creative undercurrent – intimate, quietly experimental and less touristy. This creative enclave on Nanning Street, comprising two detached houses, was once home to former media professional Chang Yu-chi’s grandmother and her extended family for more than 50 years. He decided to bring the buildings back to life, while reinventing his family’s 30-year-old printing factory as a new brand, IMIN, which creates design objects with a distinctly Taiwanese identity.

At StableNice BLDG, old elements such as decorative floor tiles remain. On the ground storey, a sheltered corridor connects a cafe on one side and IMIN Art Lab on the other, where a small printing workshop displays a 100-year-old German letterpress and UV laser printing presses. Upstairs, there are spaces for talks and exhibitions.

GLOBAL-STANDARD MUSEUM

From design objects to design on an urban scale, Tainan’s contemporary side is also visible in its newer institutions. Just a 20-minute stroll from StableNice BLDG is an entirely new building offering global-standard art and architecture. Tainan Art Museum Building 2, designed by Japanese Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban in collaboration with Taiwanese architect Joe Shih, opened in 2019.

Ban designed the museum as a vertical park, to soften its presence among the city’s older, smaller-scaled buildings. The ziggurat-like structure is easily recognisable – blocks, terraces and staircases stacked upwards towards a geometric metal roof that casts fractal shade like a tree canopy, inspired by Tainan’s official tree, the royal poinciana.

Inside, galleries are staggered around an atrium. On the top floor, Umber restaurant offers a good vantage point for people watching. Pair the museum with nearby Tainan Art Museum Building 1, a 1930 Art Deco landmark, for a taste of the city’s old-meets-new. Japanese architect Sutejiro Umezawa, who also designed Hayashi Department Store, gave the building – formerly Tainan Police Department headquarters – its distinct yellow-tiled facade.

For an afternoon caffeine fix, Near Coffee on Minsheng Road is a good stop. The congenial owner-barista, who goes by A-Cai, worked in an Italian restaurant before opening his own cafe in January 2025. He brewed a smooth flat white, which I enjoyed in the intimate space, clad in timber and lit by washi paper lamps.

Outdoor seats along the five-foot way offer a casual perch for soaking up the city’s sounds and sights. Tip: Order the garlic butter bread – a thick, soft loaf with a generous spread. For early birds, the cafe opens at 8am.

HOTELS WITH HISTORY

In Tainan, staying in a hotel with history adds to the experience. Provintia Hotel - it began life as Tianxia Hotel, also known as La Plaza - was established in 1985 and known for hosting dignitaries. Its second chapter channels Kinfolk vibes, with spacious rooms.

Another option is Waynam Mansion, which opened in mid-2025. The 1959 building was the childhood home of the owners’ grandparents, who raised four children here. Back in the day, children – and later, grandchildren – ran around the courtyard during holidays and festivals. Today, it feels quietly tranquil, overlooked by a front block once used for the family business supplying automobile parts, and rear buildings that held the living quarters.

The home sat empty after the grandmother passed on, until the grandchildren “rediscovered its beauty” when they returned to clean the house one day. “The sunlight that struck the weathered walls, the preserved patterns of the old floor tiles – these traces of time did not fade; they became even more compelling. It was then that we knew we wanted others to see it too,” said one of the grandchildren, who declined to be named.

Waynam Mansion embodies Tainan’s spirit. “Unlike modern cities, Tainan has a slower pace, warmer people, and a deep connection to culture and the everyday,” he said. “This area around Minsheng Green Park that is right next to our hotel is one of the oldest parts of Tainan. It was the political and cultural centre during the Japanese colonial period, and still shows a blend of traditional Taiwanese and Japanese influences; many historic buildings, old streets, and everyday local life are preserved here.”

The eight guestrooms are organised into three categories, reflecting the property’s three buildings. Names like Hinoki and Ume capture the essence of each design. Layouts vary with the old architecture, and come with distinctive details – for example, Hinoki has a private spiral staircase leading to a contemplative space with a soaking tub. Thoughtful comforts like Dyson hairdryers, Marshall music players and Le Labo amenities elevate the stay.

In a city where the past is not precious but practical, even a family home can become a doorway into Tainan – one that invites you to slow down and stay awhile.