Seoul, Korea is a beautiful city and has enough culture and design that you could spend weeks wandering around trying to absorb it all. But when you visit Seoul you don’t want to waste your time, you want to see and do the best Seoul has to offer.
Here is your Seoul travel guide that will help you know the best places to visit in Seoul.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung is the largest of the five palaces in Seoul. It’s a lovely architectural monument, but there’s more to see there than just the building. The Royal Guard Changing Ceremony, or the Gwanghwamun Gate Guard-on-Duty Performance, happen throughout the day and are a great time to enjoy a part of Korean culture and history. You can even get free admission if you wear traditional Korean hanbok dress (which you can rent from shops in town).
Hanok Village
Nestled in the metropolis of Seoul is a small village that has over 400 hanok, or traditional Korean houses. The village lets you take a step into the past to see houses that are over 600 years old. You can also enjoy one of their many cafes, restaurants, or traditional teahouses.
Namdaemun Market
If you want a crash course in Korean street food, snacks, and cuisine, Namdaemun Market is a great place to start on your Seoul travel trip. This market is the largest market in Seoul, where you can try some of the best street food in the city. We recommend you try some hotteok (sweet pancakes), kimbap (seaweed rice rolls), or even tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). If you want to take a walk on the wild side, you can always try dalkbal (chicken feet), the Korean hangover cure of seonji haejangguk (congealed ox blood in a steamy broth), or beondegi (roasted silkworm pupae).
Even if you’re not going to try the food, Namdaemun is a great place to see the bustling streets of Seoul with vendors selling a wide variety of goods.
Myeongdong
Near the center of Seoul is Myeongdong, and it is a shopper’s paradise. Korea loves fashion and Seoul has become one of the world’s centers of fashion and cosmetics.
If fashion isn’t your thing, Myeongdong has a wide variety of other stores and cafes that might suit you. Some of the most famous cafes in Myeongdong are the dog, cat, and nature cafes where you are able to get a great cafe experience while being near a furry cuddly friend.
Banpodaegyo Bridge
The best time to visit Seoul isn’t always during working hours. Seoul still has a lot to experience after dark, and the Banpodaegyo Bridge is one of those gems that shines the most when it’s dark outside. The bridge is two tiers and was built expecting that the lower tier would flood during the rainy season, but it’s the rainbow fountains that come out at night that make it worth seeing.
Along the side of the bridge are 380 lit water jets that can move in time to music. Each show of the fountains and lights lasts anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, and from May to October every Saturday a nearby park hosts the “Moonlight Square Cultural Weekend” that gives you a chance to listen to jazz and brass bands, orchestras, and a variety of other musical styles as well.
South Korea is a safe place to visit with a unique blend of both traditional style and heritage mixed together with modern technology and culture. Along with this Seoul travel guide, you also should look into some of the best places you can travel to by yourself, or even some of the other safest places to visit in the world. Wherever you go, travel wisely with Nomatic travel gear. Find the perfect feature-packed bag to organize all of your gear and keep your belongings totally secure and easily accessible while you explore the best places to visit in Seoul.