Best Things to Do in Busan

Busan's best experiences follow the meeting line of mountain and sea, from painted hillside labyrinth alleys and clifftop Buddhist shrines to neon-lit beaches and Korea's liveliest seafood halls.

1. Wander the painted hillside alleys of Gamcheon Culture Village. Pick up an illustrated stamp map at the top gate and follow terraced pastel houses, narrow stepped lanes, murals and the Little Prince viewpoint looking down to the harbour.
2. Ride the Haeundae Blueline Park Sky Capsule from Mipo to Cheongsapo. Glide seven metres above the pines and rocky surf in a retro private pod along a repurposed railway line, finishing at the twin lighthouses and Daritdol Skywalk of Cheongsapo.
3. Visit cliffside Haedong Yonggungsa Temple above the East Sea waves. Unlike most Korean Buddhist monasteries tucked deep in mountain valleys, this 14th-century temple complex clings to wave-lashed granite rocks down 108 stone steps.
4. Feast at Jagalchi Fish Market and BIFF Square in Nampo-dong. Choose live flounder, abalone or snow crab on the ground floor of Korea's largest seafood market to have it prepared upstairs, then grab a hot seed-stuffed ssiat hotteok pancake on BIFF Square.
5. Watch the Gwangan (Diamond) Bridge light show from Gwangalli Beach. Claim a beachfront table or patch of sand at dusk as the two-level suspension bridge spanning Gwangalli Bay lights up across the water, with weekend drone shows overhead.
6. Walk the cliffside trails of Huinnyeoul Culture Village and Taejongdae on Yeongdo Island. Cross the historic lifting Yeongdodaegyo Bridge to stroll white-and-blue sea-cliff lanes and the lighthouse cliffs of Taejongdae.
7. Climb to mountain-framed Beomeosa Temple on Geumjeongsan. Founded in 678 CE during the Silla Kingdom, Busan's head Zen monastery sits among ancient wisteria groves and granite peaks at the northern end of Metro Line 1.
8. Stroll Haeundae Beach, Dongbaekseom Island and BUSAN X the SKY. Walk the wide crescent of Haeundae sand out around the pine-forested headland of Dongbaekseom (site of the Nurimaru APEC House) and ascend the 98th-to-100th-floor observation deck of the LCT Landmark Tower.
9. Hike the Igidae Coastal Walk and Oryukdo Skywalk. Follow timber suspension boardwalks and coastal ledges from Oryukdo (where a glass skywalk juts 35 metres above the surf) toward Gwangalli.
10. Soak in the ocean-view hot-spring baths of Spa Land Centum City. Unwind inside eighteen thermal spring baths and themed jjimjilbang sauna rooms inside Shinsegae Centum City.