Kaohsiung

Warehouse district turned arts quarter on the waterfront, open 10:00 to 18:00, to 20:00 Friday to Sunday. Free to wander.

Lotus Pond's twin towers, reopened after a long renovation. Enter through the dragon's mouth and leave by the tiger's for luck.

The world's largest single stained-glass artwork, 30m across, inside Formosa Boulevard metro station. Free, and always there.

Colossal Buddhist complex with eight pagodas and a 108m seated Buddha, an hour out. Closed Tuesdays; main shrine still in works.

Five-minute ferry from Gushan to a sandbar of seafood grills, a lighthouse and an old fort. Beachfront works run through 2026.

Under 100 minutes from Taipei. Zuoying connects straight onto the Red Line metro and is walkable to Lotus Pond.

International airport with routes across east and southeast Asia, on the Red Line and 15 minutes from the centre.

Half an hour on the conventional TRA line, and cheap enough to make Tainan an easy day trip in either direction.

November to March: dry, sunny, around 25C, and the harbour at its best.

June to September, hot and wet, quiet apart from Taiwanese holidays.

Lunar New Year and the winter high season, December to February.

Red Line to Zuoying for Lotus Pond: the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas and the Spring and Autumn Pavilions.

Down to Formosa Boulevard for the Dome of Light, then wander the Central Park lanes and shops.

Ferry over to Cijin and eat grilled squid and prawns on the seafood street by the pier.

Cihou Lighthouse and fort for the harbour view, then back to Pier-2 for the warehouses and waterfront.

Love River at dusk, dinner at Liuhe Night Market, and a papaya milk to finish the night.

Taiwan's southern tip, two hours down: coral coast, surf beaches and the island's only tropical monsoon forest.

An hour northeast, known for oil-paper umbrellas, flat ban tiao noodles and old tobacco-barn architecture.