Kaohsiung: top things to do, hidden gems and key tips

Give Kaohsiung two days: one around the harbour, with Pier-2 and the ferry to Cijin Island, and one for Lotus Pond and Fo Guang Shan. Ride the MRT Red line from Zuoying high-speed rail station.

How long have you got?

• One day: Pier-2, the ferry to Cijin Island, the Dome of Light at Formosa Boulevard station, then Liuhe Night Market next door.
• Two days: add Lotus Pond and the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum. Avoid Tuesday, when the museum closes.

When are you going?

• Around Lunar New Year: a lantern festival lights the Love River. In 2025 it opened on 25 January and ran from the cruise terminal across the river to Pier-2.1Taipei Times (opens in a new tab)taipeitimes.com Dates and route change each year.

Top things to do

• Pier-2 Art Center: old harbour warehouses turned into an arts district. 10:00 to 18:00 Monday to Thursday, and to 20:00 Friday to Sunday and on holidays.Tip Exhibitions charge separately, and ticket sales stop an hour before closing.2Pier-2 (opens in a new tab)en.pier2.org
• Cijin Island: a five-minute ferry from Gushan for the beach, Tianhou Temple, the lighthouse and seafood.Tip Pay with an EasyCard or iPASS:3Kaohsiung City Ferry (opens in a new tab)kcs.kcg.gov.tw it’s NT$20, against NT$30 in cash.4Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)en.wikipedia.org
• Lotus Pond and the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas: walk in through the dragon’s mouth and out through the tiger’s.5Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.twTip The restoration finished in 2025, and the nearest MRT is Ecological District, about 1 km away.6NOWnews (opens in a new tab)nownews.com
• Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum: a vast Buddhist complex, free. 09:00 to 18:00 on weekdays, to 19:00 at weekends.Tip Closed on Tuesdays.7Fo Guang Shan (opens in a new tab)fgsbmc.org.tw
• Dome of Light: a huge stained-glass ceiling inside Formosa Boulevard MRT station, where the Red and Orange lines meet.8Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw
• Liuhe Night Market: about 430 m from Formosa Boulevard station.9Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw

Hidden gems

• Weiwuying: the national arts centre, open daily 11:00 to 20:00, next to Weiwuying MRT station. Good in the rain.10Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw
• British Consulate at Takow: the 19th-century consulate above the harbour mouth, about 1 km from Hamasen MRT station.11Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw
• Ruifeng Night Market: the locals’ market, by Kaohsiung Arena MRT station.12Tourism Administration (opens in a new tab)eng.taiwan.net.tw

Getting there and around

• From Taipei: high-speed rail to Zuoying, about 90 minutes, NT$1,445 non-reserved. See Taiwan trains and transit cards.
• Into the city: the MRT Red line runs from Zuoying from about 06:00 to after midnight.13Kaohsiung MRT (opens in a new tab)krtc.com.tw
• Paying: tap an EasyCard or iPASS. The MRT also takes credit cards on NFC phones and watches.14Kaohsiung MRT (opens in a new tab)krtc.com.tw
• To Fo Guang Shan: take the Harvard Express bus from Zuoying high-speed rail station, about 30 minutes to the Buddha Museum. It leaves Zuoying from 08:00 to 17:50, and the last bus back passes the museum at 18:33.15Kaohsiung Bus (opens in a new tab)kbus.com.tw From Kaohsiung Main Station, take Kaohsiung Bus 8009 or 8010 from the bus station in front.16Fo Guang Shan (opens in a new tab)fgsbmc.org.tw

If it doesn’t go to plan

• It’s Tuesday? Fo Guang Shan is closed. Do the harbour and Cijin instead.
• Raining? The Dome of Light, Weiwuying and Pier-2’s exhibitions are indoors.
• Ruifeng closed? It shuts on Mondays and Wednesdays; go to Liuhe instead.