The area around Tainan Station (臺南車站) is the practical part of the city center: the regular train arrives here, the buses leave from here, and the hotels cluster here. It is more workaday than pretty, but it has one of the finest buildings in Tainan, the 1936 station itself, and in October 2026 it changed for good, when the trains moved underground. The old town starts a 15 to 20 minute walk to the west.
The fast version
- What: the main railway station, the bus hub, hotels, and a few Japanese-era buildings within a short walk.
- Where: the eastern edge of the old city, where West Central meets the East and North districts.
- Why stay: easy arrivals and departures, and the widest choice of chain and budget hotels in the city.
- How far: 15 to 20 minutes on foot to the Chihkan Tower and Confucius Temple core, or a few minutes by bus or Uber.
The 1936 station and the new underground one
The two-storey station building dates from 1936, and the Ministry of Culture calls it the only two-storey Japanese-era station left in Taiwan. Upstairs there was once a railway hotel and restaurant; the restaurant closed in 1986. The building is a national monument.
On 17 October 2026, after years of work, the line through the city moved underground and a new Tainan Station opened beside the old one. The new station was built low and set back so the historic building stays the landmark, linked to it by a sunken plaza. You can still enter through the old station: Exit 1 is beside it on Beimen Road. From there you walk along the old platform 1 and over a footbridge across the old tracks, then through the sunken plaza down to the ticket hall, so allow a few extra minutes. The old building still awaits restoration, so for now you see the hotel floor from outside only.
On the east side, Exit 2, at Daxue Road and Qianfeng Road, leads into the south end of the ticket hall, where the ticket office and service desk are. Exit 3, near Xiaodong Road and Qianfeng Road, has escalators and a lift straight down to the north end of the hall, with a ticket office there too. Tickets are checked in the hall (B1), and the platforms are one floor down: northbound trains use platform 2, southbound trains platform 1. The bus stops and taxi rank on the Beimen Road side have not moved.
Expect some building work for a while yet. The plaza in front of the station is due to be redesigned by the end of 2027, and two more underground stations on the line, Linsen and South Tainan, are scheduled for 2029 and 2030.
Arriving and moving on
- From the high speed rail: the Shalun line local train runs from the HSR station to Tainan Station in about 22 minutes, NT$25. A free shuttle bus also runs into the city with a same-day HSR ticket.
- City buses: the main bus hub is across from the station, split into a North Station and a South Station, so check where your bus leaves from.
- To the old town and Anping: the 88 Anping Route bus links the station with Chihkan Tower, the Confucius Temple, Koxinga Shrine and Hayashi, then runs out to Anping.
→ Getting to Tainan · Getting around
What is around
- Tainan Cultural and Creative Park (臺南文化創意產業園區), right beside the station at No. 16, Sec. 2, Beimen Rd. The red brick building was the Tainan office of the Japanese-era Monopoly Bureau, which handled tobacco and alcohol, and it is now a city historic site with exhibitions, craft classes, a small Japanese garden and a café. The city's tourism site lists it as open 08:00 to 22:00.
- Tainan Park (臺南公園), a short walk north-west of the station, the city's big old park. It was laid out in the Japanese era, at the same time as its former management office, which the city dates to 1917.
- 321 Art Alley (321巷藝術聚落), near Tainan Park: a compound of Japanese-era houses built for officers of the Japanese Army's 2nd Infantry Regiment, home to arts groups from 2013. It closed on 1 March 2026 to be turned into heritage lodging, and in August 2026 the chosen operator asked to end its contract. The city is looking for a new operator and aims to sign one by the end of 2026, so it is closed for now. Check the news before you go.
- National Cheng Kung University (成功大學), just east of the tracks, with Japanese-era barracks and pieces of the old city wall on its campus. → East District guide
Walking into the old town
Head south-west from Exit 1 and you reach the old town's civic core first: Tang Te-chang Memorial Park, the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and Hayashi Department Store. From there, Chihkan Tower is a short walk north and the Confucius Temple a short walk south.
- Start at the station: look at the 1936 facade from the plaza.
- Next door, the Tainan Cultural and Creative Park, for coffee or a look at the old Monopoly Bureau building.
- Walk south-west into the civic core, a good first stop with museums that open from 09:00.
- Carry on to the Confucius Temple or Chihkan Tower, depending on the time of day.
→ Hayashi and the civic core · West Central old town
Staying by the station
It trades charm for convenience. If you are arriving late, leaving early or just here for a night, it is hard to beat, and you are never more than a short ride from the old town. For a first visit of two or three nights, we would still steer you to West Central. → Where to stay in Tainan
Sources
The new station: CNA (October 2026), TVBS (October 2026), the Liberty Times on opening day (17 October 2026), UDN on the exits and platforms (October 2026) and UDN (March 2026). The 1936 building from the Ministry of Culture, as on our Japanese-era page, and Travel Tainan: Tainan Train Station. Nearby sights from Travel Tainan (Tainan Cultural and Creative Park) and the Taiwan Tourism Administration. 321 Art Alley from the Liberty Times (August 2026). Checked October 2026.