🏛️ Museum
British Consulate at Takao
Red-brick 1879 British consulate on a hill with the best view over the harbour mouth.
Typical duration
60 min
Price
About NT$99, includes a small souvenir
From port
4 km / 2.5 mi
Transfer time
15 min
Indoor / Outdoor
mixed
Queue risk
low
🕐 Best time to visit
Late afternoon for the light over the harbour; closed Wednesdays
Britain opened a consulate at Takao, as Kaohsiung was then known, after the port was opened to foreign trade in the 1860s. The red-brick hilltop residence dates from 1879 and is one of the oldest Western-style buildings in Taiwan, with arched verandas and small exhibits on the treaty-port era. The real draw is the view: ships squeezing through the narrow harbour entrance below you, Cijin Island opposite and Sizihwan bay to the north. It is open daily except Wednesdays, and there is a café on site for a cool drink.
Getting there from the port
Taxi about 15 minutes; or light rail to Hamasen (C14) and a 20-minute walk past Sizihwan