The civic core is the part of the old town the Japanese built, between 1895 and 1945, as the seat of Tainan Prefecture. At its center is a roundabout park, Tang Te-chang Memorial Park (湯德章紀念公園), ringed by the old Prefectural Hall, the fire station with its lookout tower and a church, with Hayashi Department Store (林百貨) a short walk away. Many of these buildings are now museums, most of them free and indoors, which makes this the best part of the old town for the hot middle of the day.
The fast version
- What: Japanese-era public buildings, now museums, plus Hayashi, the 1930s department store.
- Where: the middle of West Central, between Chihkan Tower and the Confucius Temple.
- When: any day but Monday, when most of the museums close. Hayashi is open daily.
- Cost: mostly free. The art museums charge.
Tang Te-chang Memorial Park
The circle has had three names. Under Japanese rule it was Kodama Park, with a statue of the governor-general; after the war it became Minsheng Green Park (民生綠園), a name you will still hear and see on bus stops. In 1998 it was renamed for Tang Te-chang, a lawyer who was executed here during the February 28 Incident of 1947. His bust stands in the park. The city's tourism site calls the surrounding blocks the densest cluster of historic sites in Tainan. Open 24 hours.
Around the park
- National Museum of Taiwan Literature, in the former Tainan Prefectural Hall, completed in 1916 to a design by Moriyama Matsunosuke and now a national monument. Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 18:00. Free. Each Christmas a large tree goes up outside, and people come to see it.
- Tainan City Fire Museum, in the Japanese-era joint government building, the former Tainan He Tong Building (原臺南合同廳舍). Its lookout tower, finished in the 1930s, was once the tallest structure in downtown Tainan, used to watch for fires. Inside: fire brigade history and a VR rescue experience. Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 16:00. Free.
- Former Tainan Meteorological Station (原臺南測候所), nicknamed the pepper pot for its round shape, on a small rise that was once the highest point in the city center. The golden trumpet trees around it flower in March and April. 09:00 to 17:00, free.
- Tai Peng Keng Maxwell Memorial Church (太平境馬雅各紀念教會), a working church facing the park.
Hayashi and its block
Hayashi opened in December 1932, designed by Umezawa Sutejirō, as southern Taiwan's first department store, with its first commercial elevator. Restored and reopened in 2013 and 2014, it now sells Taiwanese design and local goods over several floors, with a small shrine on the roof. Open 11:00 to 21:00 daily, free.
- Land Bank of Taiwan, Tainan Branch, the former Tainan branch of the Nippon Kangyo Bank, right beside Hayashi. Still a working bank, so admire it from outside.
- Snail Alley (蝸牛巷), at Lane 97, Sec. 2, Yongfu Rd, a quiet lane of snail sculptures and wall paintings. Its name comes from a novel by the writer Yeh Shih-tao, who spent his last years in Tainan here, and lines from his writing are set into the paving. Open 24 hours, free.
- National Museum of Modern Art Tainan (臺南國家美術館), the pentagonal building with the fractal roof, formerly the Tainan Art Museum's Building 2 and run by the Ministry of Culture since January 2026. Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, Saturdays to 21:00. NT$160, which also covers the Tainan Art Museum the same day.
South toward the Confucius Temple
- Tainan Art Museum, in the 1931 Art Deco police station, also by Umezawa Sutejirō. Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00, Saturdays to 21:00. NT$80. → Both art museums
- Judicial Museum, the former Tainan District Court, built 1912 to 1914; the museum calls it the only large Japanese-era district court left in Taiwan. Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00. Free; roof catwalk tours at 10:00 and 15:00, 10 people each.
- Former Tainan Martial Arts Hall, built in 1936, now the assembly hall of Zhongyi Elementary School. Weekends only, 08:00 to 18:00.
A walking order
- 09:00: the National Museum of Taiwan Literature as it opens.
- 10:00: walk round the park to the Fire Museum, then up to the Meteorological Station.
- 11:00: Hayashi as its doors open, then the Land Bank facade and Snail Alley.
- Lunch, then the hottest hours inside the two art museums.
- Before 17:00: the Judicial Museum. On a weekend, add the Martial Arts Hall.
The Confucius Temple and Fuzhong Street are a few minutes south, and Chihkan Tower is a short walk north. → Confucius Temple area · Chihkan Tower area · Japanese-era Tainan
Sources
Building histories, hours and entry as on our Japanese-era and art museum pages, from Taiwan's National Cultural Heritage Database and each venue's official site. Park history, the Fire Museum, the Meteorological Station and Snail Alley from Travel Tainan: Tang Te-chang Memorial Park, Former Tainan He Tong Building, Museum of Meteorology and Snail Alley. Fire Museum entry from TVBS. Checked October 2026.