How to spend 3 days in Seoul, from royal palaces to a loo with a view

Seoul crams six centuries into one sprawling, neon-lit city, and three days only works if you plan them well. This itinerary groups the sights by neighbourhood so you spend your time in palaces, markets and hanok lanes rather than on the subway, with a day out to the edge of North Korea and a proper Korean spa to finish. Expect one of the best-value lunches in the city, a cocktail bar in an old teahouse and a toilet with one of the best views in town.

Few cities balance old and new as deftly as Seoul. Joseon dynasty palaces sit in the shadow of glass towers, Buddhist temples open onto streets of office workers, and the lanes of a 600-year-old hanok village run a few minutes’ walk from some of the most futuristic shopping in Asia. It’s a city that never really stops, and that’s exactly what makes a short trip here so tricky: there is far more than you can see in a long weekend.

I spent time in the city at both the start and the end of a two-week trip around South Korea in October, first on a programme with a local guide, Johan, and then on my own for a few more days. This itinerary is built from what worked: the sights I’d go back to, the restaurants I’d queue for again and the timings that save you from the worst crowds.

Each day sticks to one part of the city. Day one takes you through the old royal heart of Jongno, from Gyeongbokgung Palace to the top of N Seoul Tower. Day two pairs a second palace and the Bukchon hanok lanes with the Han River, Gwangjang Market’s mung bean pancakes and the bars of Euljiro. Day three starts with a sunrise hike, takes you to the border with North Korea and ends, as every trip to Seoul should, with a scrub at a Korean spa.

You’ll find practical tips on getting around, what to pack and when to go at the end, plus a few ideas if you can stretch your 3 days in Seoul into a longer trip.

Your 3 days in Seoul at a glance

• Day 1: Gwanghwamun, the palace and Namsan. Gwanghwamun Square, Gyeongbokgung Palace, a bulgogi lunch in Insadong, MMCA Seoul, Jogyesa Temple, the Cheonggyecheon stream, Namdaemun gate, dinner in Itaewon and N Seoul Tower by cable car.
• Day 2: palace gardens, hanok lanes and the Han River. Changdeokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Samcheong-dong, Yeouido Hangang Park, The Hyundai Seoul, Gwangjang Market, Ace Four Club and Nogari Alley.
• Day 3: a sunrise hike, the border and a Korean spa. Inwangsan, Seodaemun Prison History Hall, Aegibong Peace Ecopark (or a DMZ tour), barbecue and cocktails in Myeongdong, and a scrub at Spa Lei.
• Have more time? Busan, Jeonju or Gangneung by KTX bullet train.

Day 1: Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung and N Seoul Tower

Today is all about Jongno, the old royal heart of the city, where the Joseon kings built their palaces after making Seoul (then called Hanyang) their capital at the end of the 14th century. It’s a big day on foot, so wear comfortable shoes and have a hearty breakfast. Everything until dinner sits within a half-hour walk of the next stop, and you’ll finish on Namsan, the wooded hill in the middle of the city, for the view after dark.

Plan this day for a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday: Gyeongbokgung closes on Tuesdays, Namdaemun on Mondays, and the bulgogi restaurant where you’ll have lunch doesn’t open at weekends.

Start at Gwanghwamun Square

There’s no better place to begin than Gwanghwamun Square, the broad, car-free boulevard that runs up to the gates of Gyeongbokgung. It’s where Seoul gathers for celebrations and protests, and it’s lined with the ministries and institutions that have run the country for centuries.

Two statues dominate the square. The seated golden figure is Sejong the Great, the 15th-century king who gave Korea its own alphabet, hangeul, so that ordinary people could read and write (look for the exhibition hall beneath his statue if you want the full story). Further south stands Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the naval commander who defeated the Japanese fleet again and again during the Imjin War of the 1590s, often against hopeless odds. Behind them, the mountain Bugaksan rises above the palace roofs: it’s one of the great views of the city.

Explore Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung was the first and grandest of Seoul’s five royal palaces, built in 1395 by the founder of the Joseon dynasty. Its history is one of destruction and rebuilding: it was burned during the Imjin War, left in ruins for more than 250 years, rebuilt in the 1860s, then largely torn down during the Japanese occupation. Restoration has been going on since the 1990s, and the palace you see today is part original, part painstaking reconstruction.

Walk in through Gwanghwamun, the great gate with its sweeping double roof, and head up to Geunjeongjeon, the throne hall, where the kings received their court. Don’t miss Gyeonghoeru, the banquet pavilion that seems to float on its lotus pond, or Heungbokjeon Hall, one of the most recent reconstructions, with its beautifully carved wood and stone. Gyeongbokgung is the palace with the grand scale, though my favourite comes on day two, and it’s worth seeing both.

Time your visit for the changing of the royal guard at the main gate, at 10am or 2pm, when guards in bright Joseon-era uniforms march out to the beat of drums (it’s cancelled in heavy rain and extreme temperatures). The National Palace Museum, inside the grounds, is free and worth half an hour if you want more on the royal court.

Lunch on bulgogi at Hangane in Insadong

After a morning of history lessons, you’ll be ready for lunch, and Insadong Hangane Bulgogi Jumak is a ten-minute walk from the palace. It’s a small, traditional restaurant on Insadong-gil, and it serves one of the best-value meals in the city.

The bulgogi set menu cost me 18,000 won (about £11 at the time) and arrived as a feast: rich, densely flavoured beef bulgogi with rice, soup, pickled vegetables and more banchan (the free side dishes) than I knew what to do with. The bulgogi is the star, but save room for the rest. Prices have crept up a little since: expect around 19,000 won a head now.

It’s a small place, so be prepared to wait at busier times. You can often cut the queue by asking for one of the traditional tables on the raised deck in the corner, where you sit on a mat on the floor and eat off a low table: plenty of people would rather wait than sit on the floor.

Browse modern Korean art at MMCA Seoul

Walk back towards the palace’s eastern wall and you’ll find MMCA Seoul, the city branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. The museum was founded in 1969, and its Seoul branch opened in 2013 on a site that once held royal offices and, later, a military security command. It’s a clever building: a series of low galleries and courtyards that keep it from towering over the palace next door.

Exhibitions change through the year and mix international names with Korean artists, so check what’s on before you go. With only a couple of hours to spare, focus on the Korean work: it’s the best introduction you’ll get to how the country’s artists responded to colonial rule, war, dictatorship and the dizzying growth that followed. Look out for artists such as Park Soo-keun, famous for his textured paintings of everyday life in the 1950s and 1960s, and the experimental avant-garde of the 1960s and 1970s.

Find a moment of calm at Jogyesa Temple

Buddhism has been practised in Korea for more than 1,600 years, and Jogyesa, the head temple of the Jogye Order, the country’s largest Buddhist school, is its centre in the capital. It’s younger than it looks: the temple moved here in 1910, and its great main hall, Daeungjeon, was finished in 1938. Its painted eaves and the ancient trees in the courtyard stand out against the office blocks all around, and it’s very much a working temple, with chanting, lectures and community events going on most days.

When I visited in October, the courtyard was filled with chrysanthemum displays for the temple’s autumn flower festival. In spring, thousands of paper lotus lanterns are strung above the courtyard in the run-up to Buddha’s Birthday, and the Lotus Lantern Festival parade fills the surrounding streets with light. Entry is free, and the temple is open all day.

Walk along the Cheonggyecheon stream

From Jogyesa it’s a short walk down to the Cheonggyecheon, a 10.9 km stream that runs through the city centre from the valleys below Inwangsan. Its story hasn’t always been rosy: for decades it was effectively an open sewer, and in the 1970s it disappeared under concrete and an elevated motorway. The road was torn down and the stream restored in 2005, and today it’s one of the city’s favourite places to slow down.

Take the steps down from street level and stroll along the water, past bridges, stepping stones, murals and the multicoloured spiral sculpture, Spring, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, at its head. It’s a relaxed way to move between neighbourhoods, from Insadong to Mugyo-dong, and in winter the Seoul Lantern Festival lights up the upper stretch.

See Namdaemun, the great south gate

Sungnyemun, better known as Namdaemun, was the grand southern gate of the city wall, built in 1398 and one of eight gates that once controlled the way in and out of the capital. With its double-tiered roof on a great stone base, it’s a striking reminder of Joseon rule.

It has had a troubled recent history. In February 2008, a 69-year-old man, angry about a land compensation dispute, set fire to it, and most of the wooden structure burned in front of a stunned nation. It took five years and around 25 billion won to rebuild using traditional tools and techniques, and the restored gate reopened in May 2013. It’s free to walk through, from Tuesday to Sunday, and Namdaemun Market, one of the oldest and biggest markets in the city, sprawls behind it if you fancy a browse.

Eat and drink in Itaewon

By now you’ll have earned a good dinner, so head south to Itaewon, the city’s most international neighbourhood. Its proximity to what was for decades the main US army base made it the place for foreign food and nightlife, and today its steep streets are packed with restaurants from all over the world, plus some of the city’s best bars.

For Korean barbecue in stylish surroundings, Maple Tree House on Itaewon-ro 27ga-gil is a long-standing favourite, known for its aged hanwoo (Korean beef) and Jeju black pork belly. If you’d rather graze, the lanes up the hill towards Haebangchon and down to Gyeongnidan-gil are full of small bars and bistros.

Ride the Namsan cable car to N Seoul Tower

Now you’ve seen the historic heart of the city up close, it’s time to see it all from above. N Seoul Tower stands on top of Namsan, and the observation deck is the classic place to watch the city’s lights come on.

You can walk up through the woods in about 30 minutes, but I think the Namsan cable car is worth it, especially at night. It’s an easy (some might say cheaty) way up. Chances are it will be rammed, so be prepared to elbow your way to a window: triumph, and you’ll get far-reaching views as you glide up the mountain.

There’s a large viewing area at the base of the tower, and the views from there are good enough that I wondered whether it was worth going to the top. It is: the observation deck wraps right around the tower, so you get the whole city spread out beneath you in every direction. Disappointingly, there isn’t much else up there, save for a slightly odd shopping area and N Grill, a fine-dining restaurant where you’ll need to book.

One more thing: if you need the loo, this is the place to go. The toilets have floor-to-ceiling windows, so you get the same views of the buildings and highways from your cubicle as you do from the deck. It’s a bit weird, but it’s quite the loo with a view.

Getting to Seoul

Most international flights land at Incheon International Airport, about an hour west of the city. The AREX airport railway is the quickest way in: the express train runs non-stop to Seoul Station in 43 minutes for around 10,000 won, and the slower all-stop train takes just over an hour for about 5,000 won. Airport limousine buses run to most central hotels, including several in Myeongdong, if you’d rather not lug your bags through the subway.

Suggested stay: Four Points by Sheraton Josun, Seoul Myeongdong

I’d base yourself in Myeongdong: it’s well placed for most of the sights in this itinerary, with the subway on the doorstep and plenty of restaurants and nightlife nearby. I stayed at Four Points by Sheraton Josun, Seoul Myeongdong, a well-located (if a tiny bit bland) hotel with cool views over the skyline. The rooms aren’t the most spacious, but they’re clean, comfortable and modern, and the breakfast is great, with a big choice of Korean and Western dishes, including a made-to-order noodle station and an egg station. I booked fairly last minute in October and paid around $250 a night.

Insadong is also a good base, closer to the palaces: Nine Tree by Parnas Seoul Insadong (formerly the Nine Tree Premier Hotel Insadong) is a smart mid-range option in the middle of the neighbourhood. For a splurge, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul sits on Gwanghwamun’s doorstep. Or search all accommodation in Seoul.

Day 2: palace gardens, hanok lanes and the Han River

Day two is for eating, shopping and wandering, with a palace thrown in. The morning stays in the old town, among the gardens of Changdeokgung and the hanok houses of Bukchon. After lunch you’ll cross to Yeouido for the river and the city’s most talked-about department store, then head back east for street food at Gwangjang Market and a night out in Euljiro. Don’t schedule this day for a Monday, when Changdeokgung is closed.

Wander the gardens of Changdeokgung Palace

Of the Joseon palaces I visited, Changdeokgung was my favourite. It isn’t as famous as Gyeongbokgung, but the complex is more extensive, the buildings sit more naturally in the landscape, and the gardens are beautiful. If you only have time for one palace, make it this one.

Changdeokgung was built in 1405 as a secondary palace, but after the Imjin War destroyed Gyeongbokgung it became the main royal residence for more than 250 years. Its buildings follow the shape of the hills rather than a strict grid, which is a big part of why UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1997.

The highlight of my visit was the augmented reality experience inside one of the palace buildings, where I got to “attend” a royal 60th birthday banquet as if I were one of the guests. I hadn’t seen anything like it before, and it was a brilliant way to understand how these buildings would actually have been used: most of the time you can appreciate the history of a place without any real sense of the people who lived there.

Palaces aside, the Secret Garden (Huwon) behind the palace is the star of the show, with pavilions, ponds and centuries-old trees spread across the hillside. The grounds change dramatically with the seasons: I saw them in full autumn colour, and they’re just as famous for their spring blossom.

Stroll through Bukchon Hanok Village

Hanok are traditional Korean houses, with curved tiled roofs, wooden frames and courtyards, and the most famous hanok village is in Jeonju. If you can’t make a trip there, Bukchon, on the hillside between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, is every bit as photogenic. Around 900 hanok line its steep, cobbled lanes, many built in the 1920s and 1930s on plots where officials and nobles had lived since the Joseon era, with views down over the rooftops to the towers of the modern city.

Don’t go expecting a quiet, peaceful experience: Bukchon is very firmly on the tourist trail. But it’s also an impossibly pretty part of town, and well worth a couple of hours. You’ll find small museums, craft workshops, tea houses and shops among the houses, and lots of people rent a hanbok to walk around in: Hanboknam’s Gyeongbokgung branch is one of many rental shops nearby.

Please remember that this is a living neighbourhood and many of these houses are people’s homes. Keep your voice down, and don’t drape yourself over doorways or sit on people’s window ledges for a photo.

Browse the boutiques of Samcheong-dong

Right next to Bukchon, Samcheong-dong keeps much of the same old-world charm, but trades the hanok for galleries, cafés and boutiques. Wander its narrow alleys and staircases for independent clothing shops, tea houses, murals and K-beauty stores such as Beauty of Joseon, and if you need a snack, the hand-torn dough soup at Samcheongdong Sujebi, a Michelin-listed local favourite, is the dish to queue for.

Unwind by the Han River in Yeouido

The Han River runs right through the middle of Seoul, and its banks are lined with parks where locals come to cycle, picnic and order fried chicken delivered to their picnic mat. Yeouido Hangang Park is one of the best, with tree-lined paths along the water and plenty of space to people-watch. It’s on the way to The Hyundai Seoul, and a good place to rest your feet.

Hunt the pop-ups at The Hyundai Seoul

A department store as a must-see? In Seoul, absolutely. The Hyundai Seoul opened in 2021 and is one of the biggest department stores in the city, built around a light-filled atrium with an indoor garden of real trees and a waterfall.

It’s best known for its pop-up stores, which change every few weeks and run from K-pop groups and Korean actors to anime and global brands. If you’re a K-pop fan, check its social media before you go to see who’s in. The basement food halls are worth a look too, and Le Freak’s Nashville hot fried chicken burger is the thing to try: Korean fried chicken with a Southern American twist.

Eat your way around Gwangjang Market

Opened in 1905, Gwangjang is one of the oldest traditional markets in Korea, and you’ll find just about every kind of Korean food imaginable at its stalls, from fish cake soup (eomukguk) to hand-cut noodles (kalguksu) and gimbap. Some people will tell you that Gwangjang is touristy. You’re a tourist, and the food is excellent.

My guide Johan let me in on a tip: go to Sunhui-ne Bindaetteok, which specialises in one thing, mung bean pancakes. If you don’t know what they are, you should. They’re ground fresh on site, fried until crispy and full of flavour, with pork, kimchi and vegetables inside, and at around 6,000 won each they’re one of the best snacks in the city.

The stall gets really busy, so go for an early lunch or be prepared to wait. If you want more than a snack, find a stall serving kalguksu, the knife-cut noodles in a savoury broth, to set you up for the evening.

Have a cocktail at Ace Four Club

Ready for a drink? Ace Four Club, in the trendy Euljiro neighbourhood, is one of my favourite bars in Seoul. It’s a low-lit, fin-de-siècle cocktail bar on the first floor of a 60-year-old teahouse, all dark wood, old bottles and hardwood tables.

The menu sticks to the classics, done with precision: think negronis, old fashioneds and highballs, made with good spirits and no gimmicks. Expect to pay around 18,000 to 24,000 won a drink.

Go for a night out in Nogari Alley

A couple of minutes’ walk away, around Euljiro 3-ga station, Nogari Alley is where the after-work crowd heads for cheap beer. At dusk the beer halls spill out onto the street, plastic tables and stools fill the alley, and everyone orders nogari (dried young pollack, grilled and dipped in a spicy mayonnaise sauce) with their beer. Manseon Hof is the best known of the bars, and it’s a brilliantly lively, unpolished last stop for your second night.

Day 3: a sunrise hike, the border and a Korean spa

Your final day covers a lot of ground: a short, steep hike, one of the most moving memorials in the country, a drive to the North Korean border and, to finish, a long soak in a Korean spa. Seodaemun Prison is closed on Mondays, so keep this day off one.

Climb Inwangsan for the sunrise

You’ll have to rally early on day three, but the views from Inwangsan should clear any fog from the night before. At 338 metres, it’s one of the smaller mountains ringing the city, but the climb is short and steep, much of it on stone steps that follow the old Seoul City Wall up the ridge. Allow 40 minutes to an hour to reach the top from the Sajik Park side, and you’ll watch the sun rise over the palace roofs, Bugaksan and the towers of downtown.

Inwangsan is also the spiritual heart of Korean shamanism, and on the way up you’ll pass Guksadang, a shrine where shamans still hold rituals, and the Seonbawi rocks, worn into shapes that look like robed monks.

Face the past at Seodaemun Prison History Hall

At the foot of Inwangsan, the brick blocks of Seodaemun Prison tell one of the darkest stories in Korea’s modern history. The Japanese opened the prison in 1908, shortly before they annexed Korea, and through the colonial era it held thousands of Korean independence activists, many of whom were tortured and some executed here. After liberation, it stayed in use as a prison until 1987, when it held pro-democracy activists under the military governments.

Today it’s a memorial and museum. You can walk through the cell blocks, see the cramped solitary confinement cells and the execution building, and learn the stories of the people who were held here, including the 17-year-old independence activist Yu Gwan-sun, who died in the prison in 1920. It isn’t an easy visit, but it’s one of the most important in the city.

Look across to North Korea at Aegibong Peace Ecopark

A full day on a classic DMZ tour won’t leave you time for anything else on this itinerary, so Aegibong Peace Ecopark is an excellent alternative. It’s about a 1.5-hour drive north-west of central Seoul, in Gimpo, on a hilltop above the point where the Han and Imjin rivers meet, and from the observatory you look straight across the water to North Korea, about 1.4 km away.

On a clear day, you can see North Korean villages and hillsides in Gaepung county, and free telescopes help you pick out the detail (you can’t see Pyongyang, which is well over 150 km away). It was misty when I went, which made the view more atmosphere than detail, but there’s plenty to take in either way, from the exhibition hall on the history of the Korean War and the divided peninsula to the trails through the park. There’s even a Starbucks, which claims to be the closest to North Korea in the world.

If you’d rather see the DMZ itself, this day trip to the DMZ area with the Imjingak peace gondola takes care of the transport and the paperwork; standard half-day tours usually take in the Third Tunnel and Dora Observatory. Bring your passport, and swap it in for this morning and afternoon: it may come at the expense of a couple of the other stops.

Barbecue and cocktails in Myeongdong

Back in the city, make for Myeongdong, the shopping district that turns into a sea of neon and street food stalls from late afternoon. Its side streets are packed with Korean barbecue restaurants, where you grill marinated galbi (short ribs) or pork belly at your table and wrap it in lettuce with garlic, kimchi and ssamjang paste. Pick a busy one: the turnover keeps the meat fresh.

Myeongdong is also the K-beauty capital of the city, and Olive Young’s flagship store here is a particularly good place to stock up. If you bring your passport, they’ll take the tax off your bill at the till; otherwise, keep your receipt and claim it back at the airport. I did the latter, and it took around five minutes from start to finish. For something more personal, a personal colour analysis will tell you which shades suit you best.

For a nightcap, track down Myeongdong Sookhee (also spelt Sukui), a speakeasy-style cocktail bar hidden on the fourth floor of an unmarked building. Finding the lift is half the fun. It’s small, so book ahead.

Finish with a scrub at Spa Lei

Korean bathhouses are a big part of everyday life here, and I’d highly recommend trying one while you’re in the country. A jjimjilbang is a cross between a spa and a social club, with baths at different temperatures, saunas, sleeping and relaxation areas, and snack bars, and many stay open around the clock. Going after a night out is a very Seoul way to end the day.

I went to Spa Lei in Sinsa-dong, a women-only spa that’s very welcoming to Western visitors and a great introduction to the experience. Be warned: you go through the whole spa completely naked, and it’s more of a functional experience than a relaxing one, but you come out feeling like a brand new person.

Move between the baths, which range from ice cold to barely bearably hot, then book a scrub. I opted for the hour-long scrub and massage combo, which came to around £70. If you’re going to have a scrub, spend at least 30 minutes in the warm baths first to soften your skin. I’ve had a lot of scrubs before, but this one was vigorous, and you’ll definitely benefit from the prep. Afterwards, there’s a separate relaxation room to finish in.

Have more time? Add these to your itinerary

If you can stretch your trip, the KTX bullet train puts much of the country within three hours of the capital. It’s fast and inexpensive: I took it between Jeonju and Seoul, and it was so comfortable, with great views along the way.

Busan

The KTX gets you to Busan in around two and a half hours (from about 59,800 won), and Busan may just have pipped Seoul to the prize for my favourite place in South Korea. Korea’s second city sits on the south-east coast, with beaches, seafood markets, cliffside temples and the colourful hillside lanes of Gamcheon Culture Village.

Ride the Busan Air Cruise over the bay, or take the lift up to BUSAN X the SKY, on the 100th floor of the city’s tallest skyscraper, for the view. Then go hungry to Korean Steak Grill (전설의 우대갈비 해운대직영점), near Haeundae Beach, where steak on the bone is grilled at your table and cut into small pieces for you. It’s difficult to pick a favourite restaurant from my time in South Korea, but this was it. My 3-day Busan itinerary has the full plan.

Jeonju

If you’d like to slow down, take the KTX from Yongsan station to Jeonju, which takes about an hour and 40 minutes and costs around 31,600 won. It’s one of the most charming towns in South Korea, with a hanok village of around 700 traditional houses and the Gyeonggijeon Shrine, built to house the portrait of King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon dynasty, whose family came from Jeonju.

The town is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy and the home of bibimbap, so come hungry. Try a moju-making class: moju is a low-alcohol drink made from makgeolli (rice wine) brewed with spices and fruit, and you get to drink what you make. Mine was actually pretty tasty. Leave room for dinner at a pork grill restaurant, where unctuous cuts of pork are grilled to perfection at your table. My guide to Jeonju has the rest.

Gangneung

On the east coast, about two hours from Seoul by KTX, Gangneung pairs beaches with some of my favourite meals of the whole trip. Ride the semi-powered Jeongdongjin railbike along the coast, then eat your way round Jungang Market. My guide to Gangneung has my favourite restaurants.

Map

Handy tips for planning your 3 days in Seoul

Top tips

• Sort your entry before you fly: UK and US passport holders are exempt from the K-ETA travel authorisation until 31 December 2026. If you don’t have a K-ETA, fill in the free e-Arrival Card online (e-arrivalcard.go.kr) in the three days before you land, as paper cards have been phased out.
• Use Naver or Kakao Map: Google Maps still doesn’t give proper walking or driving directions in South Korea. The government cleared Google to export Korean map data in February 2026, but full navigation hadn’t arrived by late summer, so download Naver Map or KakaoMap before you go.
• Pick your days carefully: Gyeongbokgung closes on Tuesdays; Changdeokgung, Namdaemun and Seodaemun Prison close on Mondays; and Hangane is closed at weekends. Starting on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday makes the whole plan work.
• Carry some cash: South Korea is mostly card-friendly, but a few places, like the spa treatments at Spa Lei and some market stalls, need cash, so keep some won on you.
• Don’t tip: tipping isn’t part of the culture in South Korea, and good service is simply expected. My South Korea travel tips have more.

What to pack

• Comfortable trainers: you’ll be on your feet a lot over your 3 days in Seoul, and Inwangsan and Namsan are steep.
• A universal travel adapter: South Korea uses the European-style two-pin Type C and Type F plugs, at 220V.
• Warm layers in winter: a warm coat, hat and gloves from December to February, when temperatures drop well below freezing.
• Light layers that cover your shoulders: for summer, as Korean women tend to dress more conservatively than in Europe, and for visiting temples.
• Your passport: for the Aegibong checkpoint, a DMZ tour and tax-free shopping.

Best time to visit

Spring (April and May) and autumn (September to November) are the best times to visit. Cherry blossoms usually peak in early April, and in October the palace gardens and Namsan turn red, orange and gold, which is when I visited. Summer is hot and humid, with the monsoon rains in July, and winter is cold and dry but quieter, with festive lights along the Cheonggyecheon.

Getting around

Getting around the city by subway and bus is really easy: buy a rechargeable T-money card at a convenience store or station, top it up and tap in and out as you go (a single subway ride costs 1,400 won). If you’ll use public transport a lot, the city’s Climate Card offers unlimited travel on the subway and city buses for one to seven days, from 5,000 won for a single day, plus 3,000 won for the card. Taxis are plentiful and cheap by European standards, and the Kakao T app saves you explaining your destination.

Read next

• The best things to do in Seoul
• 10 days in South Korea: the perfect South Korea itinerary
• Things to do in South Korea
• How to spend 3 days in Busan
• South Korea travel tips

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