Best Things to Do in Seoul

Seoul rewards mixing things up: a palace in the morning, a market lunch, a hill in the afternoon, a late night somewhere loud. Here is our list, roughly from old to new.

1. Gyeongbokgung. The main palace of the Joseon kings, framed by the peaks of Bugaksan. Watch the changing of the royal guard at Gwanghwamun gate. Visitors in hanbok, the traditional dress, get in free, hence the rented silk everywhere. Our palaces guide covers all of it.
2. The Secret Garden at Changdeokgung. Pavilions and lotus ponds in a wooded valley behind the palace, seen only on a guided tour. Book online as soon as tickets open.
3. Bukchon. Around 900 hanok on steep lanes between the two palaces. People live here, so keep your voice down, and note the evening curfew for visitors in the busiest part.
4. Ikseon-dong. A tight maze of 1920s hanok turned into cafés, bakeries and small bars, more fun at dinner than at lunch.
5. Gwangjang Market. Rows of stalls frying mung bean pancakes and slicing raw beef, with shared benches in between. See our street food guide.
6. The city wall at Naksan. The old fortress wall still runs over the hills. The section through Naksan Park, above the Ihwa mural village, is an easy sunset walk.
7. Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Zaha Hadid's curved silver building, with fashion wholesale malls open until very late around it. Come after dark, straight from the Naksan wall; by day it's mostly a plaza.
8. Namsan and N Seoul Tower. Ride the cable car or walk up the stairs from Namdaemun. The view from the base of the tower is free; the observatory is not. On a three-day trip, pick this or a Han River evening, not both.
9. Cheonggyecheon. A stream that was buried under an elevated highway until 2005, now a sunken walkway through downtown. Walk it as the route between Gwanghwamun and Dongdaemun rather than a trip in itself, ideally on a summer evening when office workers sit with their feet in the water.
10. The National Museum of Korea. Gold crowns from the Silla kingdom, celadon pottery and the "Room of Quiet Contemplation", a dark gallery around two pensive bodhisattva statues. The permanent collection is free.
11. Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong. Buskers, dance crews and small clubs near Hongik University, then the Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a disused railway turned into a long park lined with cafés.
12. Seongsu. Former shoe factories and warehouses now hold cafés, pop-up stores and concept shops. Seoul Forest is next door when you've had enough.
13. A Han River park. Order fried chicken to a park bench, cook instant noodles at a convenience store machine and watch the bridges light up. From spring to autumn, the Banpo Bridge fountain shoots water off both sides in the evening.
14. Bukhansan. A national park inside the city limits, with granite summits and temples, and weekend trails full of Seoulites in full hiking kit.

Group them by area. Gyeongbokgung, Bukchon and Ikseon-dong make one long walk; the Naksan wall and Dongdaemun sit together on the east side; Hongdae and Seongsu are at opposite ends of line 2 and each want half a day. The city wall, the river parks and the National Museum cost nothing.