This is my ultimate travel guide for Tainan, Taiwan including 15 best things to do and best places to visit which I carefully selected, like Fort Zeelandia, Du Xiao Yue for its epic Dandan noodles, Chun Sui Tang - the inventor of bubble tea, mega gachapon machine and the eating bizarre chicken butts. Subscribe to my channel ► for weekly videos!
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Sadly, #Tainan is not popular with foreign tourists even though it is the oldest city in #Taiwan. Tainan became a top priority on my bucket list for the simple reason that it was found by the Dutch in 1624. The city is home to Dutch VOC fortresses Zeelandia and Provintia which were massive fortifications for its time. I visited Tainan to find the remnants of my ancestors since I am Dutch myself.
Tainan is known by the Taiwanese as the food mecca of the country due to its many locally grown produce, from epic mango shaved ice desserts to Chun Sui Tang - the original restaurant where bubble tea was invented but also its delicious beef noodle bowls called dandan noodles at Du Xiao Yue.
My first stop was the Dutch Fort Provintia where the Dutch VOC's (Dutch East India Company) administrative heart of Taiwan was located. I was blown away to learn that the foundation of all these Dutch forts was made with a mortar recipe containing crushed oyster shells, sugar and sticky rice since cement was hard to come by on the island.
In the evening I went for dinner on the ancient Shennon street which is gorgeous during the evening for its small historic shops and cozy atmosphere. At a local street restaurant I went all out and tried their bizarre local delicacy; grilled chicken butts. One place where you should definitely eat is Du Xiao Yue, the oldest noodle shop in Taiwan founded in 1895 and order the Dandan noodles! Alternatively, try their milk fish, rice eel and incredible fried shrimp rolls. Let's not forget about the delicious beef soup and beef tongue and Win Chang restaurant..
The highlight of my visit was Fort Zeelandia, a massive Dutch VOC fortress on the Anping peninsula which the Dutch held onto until 1662 when the Ming Dynasty sent Koxinga to take over Formosa (Taiwan's original name) and banish the Dutch. Fort Zeelandia showcases a huge collection of Dutch artifacts from that time period. If you want even more Dutch history, check out the Merchant House for many ancient Dutch maps and VOC ship scale models, additionally visit the incredible treehouse, a warehouse completely engulfed by nature.
My favorite object was the scale model of Fort Zeelandia, the sheer size was absolutely mindboggling. The Dutch were besieged by Koxinga for 9 months which left them with no other option than to surrender after which Taiwan became Chinese territory and the Dutch retreated back to Batavia in Indonesia, nowadays known as Jakarta.
Tainan doesn't really have a big nightlife, for good parties you'll have to go to either Taipei or Kaohsiung but luckily Tainan has one major nightclub called MUSE Tainan where I had a great time drinking and socializing with the locals. For just 700 NT ($25 USD) it was an all-you-can-drink party. It was a crazy experience seeing not many people at the bar even with it being an all-you-can-drink event, I guess the Taiwanese know their limits very well.
In conclusion, I had a fantastic time in Tainan and I will consider visiting Tainan in the near future to see what other great places this magical city has to offer so I can create another #TravelGuide for you guys!
Watch my episodes from Taiwan!
Episode 1: My Free Flight to Taiwan
Episode 2: Beautiful Mountain Village Jiufen
Episode 3: Drinking Snake Venom
Episode 4: Bizarre Toilet Restaurant
Episode 5: Eating Entire Duck
Episode 6: Taipei 101 (Icon of Taiwan)
Episode 7: Taiwan Street Food at Taipei Night Markets