Palaces & Night Markets: A 4-Day Seoul Itinerary | Travileer

Four days between five-hundred-year-old palaces and neighbourhoods that reinvent themselves every season.

Seoul is cheap to move around, cheap to eat in and expensive only when you want it to be. The subway costs about a dollar a ride, palace entry is under three dollars and a bowl of hand-cut noodles at the city's most famous noodle house is under ten. This plan spends the first two days in the old royal district north of the river, then heads to the markets and the neighbourhoods where the city goes out at night.

Trip details

  • Destination: Seoul, South Korea
  • Duration: 4 days
  • Budget: moderate ($1,000 - $1,600)
  • Best season: April - May or late September - October
  • Best for: First-time Korea visitors, food-first travellers, groups of friends
  • Interests: food, history, markets, nightlife, cafes, shopping

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1: The royal district

palaces, hanok lanes and a bowl of ginseng chicken soup

  • 09:30 — Gyeongbokgung Palace · Gyeongbokgung Palace, Jongno
    The largest of Seoul's five palaces, first built in 1395. Entry is 3,000 won, and free if you arrive wearing a rented hanbok from one of the shops outside the gate. The changing of the royal guard at the main gate runs at 10:00 and 14:00.
    Tip: Closed on Tuesdays. Gyeongbokgung station on line 3, exit 5, puts you at the gate.
  • 12:00 — Lunch at Tosokchon Samgyetang · Tosokchon Samgyetang, Jongno
    A whole young chicken stuffed with rice, ginseng and jujube, simmered and served in its own broth. The restaurant, a cluster of hanok buildings a few minutes west of the palace, has been the city's reference for the dish for decades. Expect a queue at noon; it moves.
  • 13:30 — Bukchon Hanok Village · Bukchon Hanok Village, Jongno
    Six hundred traditional hanok houses on the hill between the two palaces, still lived in. The lanes off Bukchon-ro 11-gil have the classic view of tiled roofs stepping down toward the city. Free, but residential: keep voices down.
    Tip: The village asks visitors to leave the residential lanes by 17:00.
  • 15:30 — Jogyesa Temple and Insadong · Jogyesa Temple, Jongno
    The head temple of Korean Buddhism sits a block from Insadong, the street of galleries, brush shops and tea houses. In spring the temple courtyard is roofed with thousands of paper lanterns.
  • 18:00 — Dinner in Ikseon-dong · Ikseon-dong, Jongno
    Seoul's oldest hanok neighbourhood, now a maze of tiny restaurants, bakeries and bars inside restored courtyard houses. Korean barbecue, handmade dumplings or a pasta place in a hanok: all within three alleys of each other.

Dining highlight: Tosokchon Samgyetang — Ginseng chicken soup, $15-20. One dish, done for forty years, next to a palace. The definition of a Seoul lunch.

Day 2: Secret garden to the design plaza

the prettier palace, market feasts and a walk along the stream

  • 09:00 — Changdeokgung Palace and its Secret Garden · Changdeokgung Palace, Jongno
    The palace the kings actually preferred, and the one on the UNESCO list. Entry is 3,000 won; the Secret Garden behind it, a wooded valley of pavilions and lotus ponds, is a separate 5,000-won guided tour that sells out, so book it online a few days ahead.
    Tip: Closed on Mondays. English garden tours run a few times a day; the 10:30 slot is the easiest to get.
  • 12:30 — Gwangjang Market · Gwangjang Market, Jongno
    Seoul's oldest market and its best lunch. Sit at a stall for bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes fried in front of you), mayak gimbap and knife-cut noodles. Ten to twenty dollars feeds two.
    Tip: Many stalls sell the same things. Walk the whole aisle once, then sit where the most locals are.
  • 14:30 — Cheonggyecheon Stream walk · Cheonggyecheon, Jongno
    A restored stream running below street level through the centre of the city, with stepping stones, waterfalls and shade. Walk east from the market toward Dongdaemun; it takes about half an hour.
  • 16:00 — Dongdaemun Design Plaza · Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Jung
    Zaha Hadid's silver spaceship of a building, free to walk through and best at dusk when the LED rose garden on the lawn lights up. The exhibitions inside charge separately.
  • 19:00 — Fried chicken and beer in Dongdaemun · Dongdaemun, Jung
    Chimaek, chicken and beer, is the Korean night out. The blocks around the plaza and the wholesale fashion towers stay open past midnight; pick any chicken place with a queue.

Dining highlight: Gwangjang Market — Street food, $10-20. Bindaetteok sizzling in a foot of oil, cut with scissors, eaten standing. Seoul on a plate.

Day 3: Myeongdong, the mountain and Hongdae

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Day 4: The new Seoul

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Where to stay

L7 Myeongdong by Lotte — Mid-range design hotel, $120-200 per night, Myeongdong.

Myeongdong sits between the palace district and the river, on the lines that reach everything in this plan, and the hotel is the rare one here that is quiet at night.

  • Walking distance to Myeongdong, Namdaemun and the Namsan cable car
  • Two subway lines within five minutes
  • Rooftop bar with a view of the tower

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in Seoul, South Korea?

We recommend 4 days to experience the best of Seoul, South Korea.

When is the best time to visit Seoul, South Korea?

The best season to visit Seoul, South Korea is April - May or late September - October.

What budget should I plan for Seoul, South Korea?

This itinerary is designed for a moderate budget of approximately $1,000 - $1,600.

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