Itinerary · 6 days · 27 places
6 Days in Seoul
Six days in Seoul: three of the five royal palaces and Bukchon, Gangnam with Bongeunsa and K-pop, Hongdae and the Han River, the market lanes around Gwangjang and Dongdaemun — and every evening a neighbourhood that only wakes up after sunset.
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Photo: Jaythen Bag-ayan · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival and a first evening in Myeongdong
Arrival in Seoul
Hotel check-in
Myeongdong lies between Namsan and the city centre: two metro lines on the doorstep and street-food stalls until midnight in the evening.
Myeongdong street market
From early evening, hundreds of food carts line the pedestrian lanes, selling cheese lobster, egg bread and grilled squid skewers.
Day 2Palaces, Bukchon and Insadong
Gyeongbokgung Palace
The largest Joseon palace, with the Geunjeongjeon throne hall and the Gyeonghoeru pavilion standing on pillars in its pond; at 10:00 the changing of the guard takes place at Gwanghwamun Gate.
National Folk Museum of Korea
In the north-east of the palace grounds, three halls show Korean daily life, the yearly cycle and life's milestones, from rice farming to funeral rites.
Bukchon Hanok Village
Several hundred lived-in hanok houses with sweeping tiled roofs line the hillside lanes between the two palaces; the best view is from Bukchon-ro 11-gil.
Changdeokgung Palace and Secret Garden
The UNESCO-listed palace nestles against the hillside, and behind it lies Huwon with its lotus pond and reading pavilion, which you can only enter on a guided tour.
Insadong
The main street and its side alleys are lined with brush and paper shops, antiquarian bookshops and teahouses, with the spiral Ssamziegil building in between.
Evening: Cheonggyecheon Stream
The uncovered city stream runs six metres below the traffic, lit up in the evening and crossable on stepping stones — head east from the fountain at the Gwanghwamun intersection.
Day 3Gangnam: temples, K-pop and royal tombs
Bongeunsa Temple
Among the office towers lies a 1,200-year-old temple complex with a 23-metre Mireuk Buddha; in the morning you can hear sutras being chanted in the main hall.
Starfield Library at COEX
On the lower level of Asia's largest underground shopping mall, 13-metre-high walls of shelves hold 50,000 freely accessible books.
K-Pop Square COEX
The 80-metre curved LED wall on the Artium building shows the famous wave illusion and K-pop videos; until 2020 the building housed the SMTOWN museum of the agency behind EXO and Girls' Generation.
Garosu-gil in Sinsa
The ginkgo-lined avenue is Seoul's showcase for Korean fashion labels and concept stores, with little cafés tucked into the side alleys (Serosu-gil).
Seonjeongneung Royal Tombs
Three wooded burial mounds from the 15th and 16th centuries in the middle of the banking district, with stone guardian figures and the wooden sacrificial pavilion in front.
Evening: Apgujeong Rodeo Street
The nightlife district north of Dosan-daero fills up after 20:00 with dessert cafés, pojangmacha tents and the K-Star Road walk of Hallyu stars.
Day 4Western Seoul: Hongdae and the Han
Seodaemun Prison History Hall
The preserved brick cells from the Japanese colonial era display interrogation rooms, exercise yards and the history of the independence movement.
Ewha Womans University campus
Dominique Perrault's ECC cuts into the hillside like a glass canyon — six floors of university underground on either side, with a grassy staircase on top.
Hongdae street art and Playground
Around the little square in front of Hongik University, dance crews and buskers perform in the afternoon, and the side streets are covered in murals.
Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Yeonnam-dong
A narrow green strip runs through the neighbourhood along the disused railway line, lined with coffee roasters, bookshops and picnic blankets.
Yeouido Hangang Park
Wide riverside lawns on the north bank of the river island, with bike hire, a ferry pier and views of the office towers — in spring the cherry trees on Yunjung-ro blossom.
Evening: Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain
From April to October the bridge sprays illuminated fans of water into the Han along 570 metres in the evening, best seen from the Sebitseom bank.
Day 5Markets, city wall and Dongdaemun
Gwangjang Market
Korea's oldest covered market: in the central aisle you sit at metal counters over bindaetteok mung bean pancakes and the classic rice roll, mayak gimbap.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Zaha Hadid's seamless aluminium wave houses exhibition halls, and behind it lie the foundations of the old military barracks, uncovered during construction.
Seoul City Wall at Naksan
The 1396 rampart runs along the ridge of the hill; from the top of the wall you can see west as far as Inwangsan.
Ihwa Mural Village
In the hillside tangle below the city wall, artists have painted stairways, walls and fuse boxes — it's a residential area, so keep your voice down.
Dongmyo Flea Market
Around the Guan Yu shrine, traders spread records, military jackets and electronic odds and ends on tarpaulins, with vegetable stalls in between.
Evening: Euljiro Nogari Alley
In the alley behind Euljiro 3-ga Station, the old beer halls set out folding tables in the street in the evening, served with dried nogari pollock.
Day 6Last morning at City Hall Plaza
Deoksugung Palace
The smallest of the palaces mixes wooden halls with the neoclassical Seokjojeon; at 11:00 the changing of the guard marches through Daehanmun Gate.
Seoullo 7017
The elevated road turned garden walkway crosses the tracks of Seoul Station with 645 planted concrete containers.
Departure from Seoul
Make it your trip
Viatro AI opens this plan in the app — with map, travel times and opening hours. You change the days, pace and places yourself.
