Travel Guide in Tainan(for 3 days)

This is an attribution to all those countless kind strangers and passersby who helped me throughout my journey. To Marta, Adriana, and Ana.

My hometown is Tainan, it’s not a well-known place if you go on the internet and search for “tourism in Taiwan,” but it’s perhaps my favorite in Taiwan, aside from Taitung. On the travel guide “Lonely Planet”, it says, “if you go to Taiwan and never visit Tainan, then you’ve never been to Taiwan.”

This is a sharing list for about 3-days stay, that includes the cafes, temples, bookstores, museums, districts for simply walking around. For food — — whichever restaurant is great.

Because people stay here and are mostly local residents, so there’s actually not much touristic places, but only very slow-paced style.

Most of the places I am familiar with are around the Central-West District, the circle below. Because it’s where my kindergarten, elementary school, and high school locate.

Museums

1. Tainan Art Museum Building 1 &2 (for modern arts and classic arts)
2. National Museum of Taiwan Literature
3. Chimei Museum

Bookstores

1. UBUNTU: the book store locates nearby the river, has terrasse and cafe, and the book selection is great. Unfortunately, the books are all in Mandarin.

2. Mingtang Books: the bookstore situates in the weavering little lane. It’s amazing, it collects the antique books about Taiwan, and the unique ambiance brings your back to somewhere back a long long time ago. It’s a bookstore exploring about the identities of being Taiwanese. The collection has all kinds of languages. The bookshop owner is a photographer, film maker, and a visual designer.

3. Of course, there is always eslite bookstore. But it’s in a mall. So I skip it.

Temples

1. My favorite temple: it’s my favorite because I knew it from little. I was kind of “registered” before I was born in the goddess’ list, because my mom went there to pray that I would be born safely.
2. Tiantan temple: the temple is in the city center, but you still have to pass through mysterious lanes. So I like it. :)

Cafes

1. 最初的地方：it’s a little bit japanese. And very cute. City centered.
2. 二子：not city-centered. But close to where I live. So I list it here.

3. Geheimer Kaffee 咖啡秘辛: a caffee that runs until 12 or 1 am. Beautiful.

Foods

1. The Sober Foodie 食上主義餐酒館: if you want something with alcohol and dinner, this is the place. But a bit costy. City centered.
2. Traditional Market永樂市場: traditional markets that you’d find local foods already cooked.
3. Traditional Market: for buying raw materials, like vegetables and meat…
4. Any restaurant is good. No particular recommendation.

5. 畢氏酒精 Pista Alcohol: if you want something alcoholic with ice cream, this is it!

Walking Around Areas

1. Tainan Wu Garden:city center garden, hidden in the lane, again. :)
2. Chikan Tower : a heritage place surrounded by heritages and food stands and trees.

3. God Of War Temple: it’s close to Chikan Tower ( the place above). And it’s so intereting just wandering around in the lanes, finding unexpected connections.

4. Tainan Confucius Temple: the area is surround by elementary schools. So you can walk around safely, this is not where CNN says “the traffic dangerous zone.”

Cinema

1. 台南真善美劇院: if you want to see a movie so badly, just like me when I was in Denmark, it has independent films and blockbusters. City centered.