Where to Stay in Seoul: A Neighbourhood Guide

Short answer: for a first visit, stay in Myeongdong or Jongno, within five minutes of a subway station. The palaces, markets and Namsan are close, airport buses stop there, and you won't spend your evenings crossing the river. Pick Hongdae for nightlife, and leave Gangnam for business trips and second visits.

One tip that matters more than the district: check the walk from the station. Seoul is hilly, and a hotel "near" a station can mean a steep climb with your suitcase.

Myeongdong

The most convenient base. Big hotel chains and business hotels, cosmetics shops, street food carts at night, and Seoul Station one stop away for the AREX and the KTX. It gets very busy and it's not the place for local charm, but everything is easy from here.

Jongno and Insadong

The historic centre, with Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and Gwangjang Market on the doorstep. Mid-range hotels around Jonggak and Gwanghwamun, older lanes of cheap restaurants, quieter at night. Our palaces guide starts right here.

Hanok stays in Bukchon

A night in a traditional house, with paper doors and a heated floor where you sleep on a thick mattress (yo). Rooms are small and bathrooms sometimes shared. Registered guests are exempt from the evening curfew for visitors in Bukchon's core area.

Hongdae

The student district around Hongik University: live music, clubs, cheap food and busking on weekend nights. The AREX all-stop train from Incheon stops here, which makes it handy for arrival and departure. Choose Yeonnam-dong or Hapjeong, just next door, for quieter nights, and book early for cherry blossom week.

Gangnam

Wide avenues, glass towers, big hotels and the COEX mall with its tall library of books. It makes sense for business trips. On a first visit it means crossing the river twice a day, as the palaces are thirty to forty minutes away by subway.

Seongsu and Itaewon

Seongsu has a handful of design hotels among its cafés and warehouses, fun for a second visit. Itaewon is the most international neighbourhood, with bars and restaurants from everywhere and Namsan behind it, though the streets get loud on weekends.

Book well ahead for cherry blossom season, Chuseok and big concerts, when rooms fill up.