The palace hour
Ask about it
Gyeongbokgung opens early and fills by mid-morning. Arrive at opening, walk the back courtyards first, and leave the throne hall for last when the groups have moved on.
Capital · arrive here · three or four nights
Seoul for three days
Seoul 서울 · The capital
Most trips start here, and most visitors stay too long in the wrong place. Seoul is twenty-five districts, each with its own pace. Stay in the one that suits you and the city becomes walkable.
We plan three or four nights: a palace morning, a day with a design guide in the small studios of Seongsu and Euljiro, a night at a market counter, and one slow afternoon in a tea house in Seochon. Then the train south.
37° 34′ N, 126° 58′ E
Design, by appointment
Ask about it
A design guide takes you through workshops, furniture makers and galleries that do not do walk-ins. Some studios open only on weekdays.
A market at night
Ask about it
Mung bean pancakes from a griddle, raw beef with pear, a stool at a counter. We go with someone who orders in Korean and explains each plate.
Neighbourhood picker
Where to stay in Seoul
Choose what you came for. We’ll suggest the neighbourhood to stay in and a walking day that starts at your door.
Choose one or more.
Seochon 서촌
West of Gyeongbokgung: hanok lanes, small galleries, a market, and almost no traffic after dark. The palace is a five-minute walk.
Where you’d stay
A restored hanok with four rooms around a courtyard, or a small hotel near the palace wall.
Stay hereA walking day
- 08:30Gyeongbokgung at openingBack courtyards first, the throne hall last.
- 11:00Tongin MarketSwap cash for old-style coins and fill a lunchbox tray from the stalls.
- 12:30Lanes of SeochonSecond-hand bookshops, a printmaking studio and small galleries.
- 15:00Suseong-dong valleyA short walk up to the rocks and stream below Inwangsan.
- 17:30Inwangsan city wallClimb part of the old fortress wall for the sunset over the palace roofs.
- 19:30Supper in SeochonA small Korean bistro with a short natural-wine list.
Bukchon and Samcheong-dong 북촌 · 삼청동
The hanok hill between two palaces. Crafts and tea houses, and lanes that are lovely before ten and after six. Residents ask for quiet; there are visiting hours.
Where you’d stay
A hanok guest house high on the hill, or a design hotel on the Samcheong-dong side.
Stay hereA walking day
- 07:30Bukchon lanes, earlyBefore the visiting hours begin. Keep voices low; people live here.
- 09:30ChangdeokgungThe palace built to fit its hills. The Secret Garden is by timed tour.
- 12:30Lunch in Samcheong-dongSujebi (hand-torn noodle soup) at a long-standing local place.
- 14:00Craft workshopsKnot-making, lacquer or a natural-dye studio, by appointment.
- 16:00MMCA SeoulThe national contemporary art museum, between the palaces.
- 18:30Tea houseJujube tea in a hanok tea room, then dinner in Anguk.
Seongsu 성수
Old shoe factories and warehouses turned into studios, roasters and concept stores. Seoul’s design energy, a short ride from Seoul Forest.
Where you’d stay
A small design hotel near the river; Seoul Forest for morning runs.
Stay hereA walking day
- 09:00Seoul ForestA walk through the park before the shops open.
- 10:30Studios with a design guideFurniture, ceramics and leather makers in the old workshop blocks.
- 13:00Lunch at a counterKorean small plates in a converted factory.
- 14:30Concept storesFragrance, stationery and Korean labels; the guide knows which ones last.
- 17:00Ttukseom riverbankThe Han river at golden hour.
- 19:30Dinner and a barGrilled pork, then a listening bar.
Euljiro and Jongno 을지로 · 종로
Printing presses and lighting shops by day, hidden bars up the back stairs by night. Gwangjang Market is on the doorstep.
Where you’d stay
A hotel near Cheonggyecheon stream; Jongno for the palaces, Euljiro for the nights.
Stay hereA walking day
- 09:30Jongmyo ShrineThe royal ancestral shrine, by guided tour on most days.
- 11:30Sewoon PlazaElectronics arcades and a rooftop over the old city.
- 13:00Gwangjang MarketMung bean pancakes and knife-cut noodles at the counters.
- 15:30Ikseon-dongA tight grid of 1920s hanok, now cafés and small shops.
- 18:00Euljiro printing alleysAs the presses close, the bars open.
- 20:30Nogari alleyDried pollock and draught beer on plastic stools.
Hannam and Itaewon 한남 · 이태원
Galleries, the best tables in the city and late bars. Hilly, smart and international; Hannam is the calmer side.
Where you’d stay
A boutique hotel on the Hannam slope, close to the galleries.
Stay hereA walking day
- 10:00Leeum Museum of ArtKorean ceramics, including celadon, beside contemporary work.
- 12:30Lunch in HannamA modern Korean tasting lunch.
- 14:30Gallery walkSmall commercial galleries along the hill.
- 16:30NamsanWalk up through the woods to the old fortress wall.
- 19:30DinnerKorean barbecue or a fine-dining counter, booked well ahead.
- 22:00BarsCocktails in Itaewon, then home on foot.
Yeonnam and Mangwon 연남 · 망원
Low-rise, leafy and local: a linear park on an old rail line, bakeries, a neighbourhood market and the river. Near Hongdae if the teenagers want it.
Where you’d stay
A guest house on a quiet street off the Gyeongui Line Forest Park.
Stay hereA walking day
- 09:00Gyeongui Line Forest ParkCoffee and a walk along the old railway.
- 11:00Mangwon MarketFried chicken, croquettes and fruit from a neighbourhood market.
- 13:00Mangwon Hangang ParkRent bikes along the river.
- 16:00Bookshops and record shopsSmall independent shops in Yeonnam.
- 18:30DinnerChinese-Korean food in Yeonnam’s old Chinatown streets.
- 21:00Hongdae, optionalStreet music for anyone still awake.
What we’d do
Private, with a guide where it helps. Times are a guide.
-
A morning at Gyeongbokgung and the back lanes of Seochon
Palaces
3h
-
Studios of Seongsu with a design guide
Design
4h
-
Gwangjang Market supper at the counters
Food
2.5h
-
Bukchon early, before the lanes wake
Quiet
2h
-
Cocktail bars of Euljiro, up the back stairs
Nightlife
3h
-
A potter’s wheel in Icheon, a day trip south
Craft
Full day
ManySeoulschooseone
Seoul after dark
37° 34′ N, 126° 58′ E
At the table
Food calendar- 01Bindaetteok (mung bean pancake)
- 02Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) in summer
- 03Seolleongtang (ox-bone soup) for breakfast
- 04Hotteok (filled pancakes) from a street cart in winter
Get in touch
Mon–Fri, 09:00–18:00 UK time
The Executive Centre, Level 43, Three IFC, 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro, Youngdeungpo-gu, Seoul 07326, South Korea