Seoul Travel Guide 2026: 3 Must-Sees, 3 Hidden Gems & How We Got Secret Garden Tickets
Updated: 3 days ago
A hidden golden temple, a 2AM scramble for Secret Garden tickets and a neighbourhood we nearly missed. Our Seoul travel guide reveals the discoveries we'd cross the city for again, and a few surprises.
We have an embarrassingly romantic habit of hunting down the “Old Town” in every new city, expecting ancient streets, beautiful buildings and an instant connection to its soul.
So naturally, we marched straight to Insadong Culture Street in Seoul.
And immediately regretted it.
Instead of historic charm, we found souvenir shops, crowds and the distinct feeling that we’d been lured into a tourist trap. So we wandered off. Ten minutes later, we stumbled into Ikseon-dong.
And suddenly, there it was.
A maze of impossibly narrow alleys lined with restored 1920s hanoks, their curved roofs sheltering design-led cafes, tiny boutiques and courtyard bars. By golden hour, warm light spilled across dark timber eaves, barbecue smoke curled through the streets, and locals gathered over cold beers.
Turns out, we hadn’t missed Seoul’s charm. We’d just walked past it.
In a Rush? Here's Our Favourite Hotels in Seoul
Myeongdong may not be our favourite neighbourhood, but its central location makes exploring Seoul a breeze, without endless subway rides or taxis. After plenty of research, we stayed in two luxury hotels here at either end of our South Korea trip and loved both for their location, comfort, service and atmosphere.
★★★★★
★★★★
Contents
01 Atmosphere
04 Is Seoul Worth Visiting? Our Honest Review
Affiliate disclosure: Some links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you book or buy through them, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend things we’ve personally booked, used or packed ourselves and would recommend regardless of whether we earn a commission.
Atmosphere
Before this trip, we expected South Korea to be a lot like Japan: steeped in history, remarkably efficient, impeccably clean, and so orderly that littering felt like it might carry a custodial sentence.
It was all of those things.
What we didn't expect was how warm it would feel (and we don’t mean the weather).
The memories that have stayed with us aren't really the lanterns, palaces, or even the cafes. They're the small moments. Young couples crafting together. The buzz of packed Korean BBQ restaurants. The genuine kindness we encountered over and over again.
For all its skyscrapers, high-speed trains, and cutting-edge technology, there's a genuine sweetness about the people that feels incredibly wholesome and increasingly rare.
8 Best Things to Do in Seoul
Once you step off the main tourist track, Seoul opens up into one of the most dynamic, visually rewarding cities in the world. But with endless neighbourhoods competing for your attention, knowing where to focus is everything.
Here is our personal edit of the capital: a balance of the iconic sights that genuinely live up to the hype, the hidden local finds that make the trip, and the seasonal moments you shouldn't miss.
Must-Sees
These are the Seoul classics worth making time for, from the grand royal palaces to the city’s atmospheric hanok neighbourhoods. We’ve picked three that we loved and think are genuinely worth the hype, rather than simply famous for being famous.
JONGNO-GU
Do the royal palace circuit
4 Palaces + Jongmyo Shrine
Royal Palace Pass KRW 10,000
(valid 3 months from purchase)
Gyeongbokgung was the first and largest of Seoul's five palaces, but after its destruction by the Japanese invasions of the 1590s, the royal court favoured Changdeokgung for the next 250 years. Deoksugung was where the dynasty ended its run.
If you're anything like us, you'll want to visit all 4. Buy the Royal Palace Pass from a human at the first palace you visit rather than faffing with individual tickets. It also includes UNESCO-listed Jongmyo Shrine.
Or arrive in full Joseon mode: rent a traditional hanbok and admission to the palaces is free.
JONGNO-GU
Wander the secret garden
Changdeokgung Palace Huwon
KRW 5,000
This was the royal equivalent of shutting the office door: a private garden where Joseon kings could escape the formality of court.
This UNESCO-listed paradise has separate timed-entry tickets that sell out instantly.
Online tickets are released at 2PM KST, 6 days before your visit. We were setting a 2AM alarm in London to snag ours. Worth the sleep deprivation.
BUKCHON + IKSEON-DONG
Explore hanok villages
Bukchon Hanok Village
Daily 10AM - 5PM
Ikseon-dong Hanok Village
Bukchon, a residential neighbourhood, delivers traditional lanes with beautifully preserved hanoks, while Ikseon-dong brings the same architecture with considerably more caffeine.
This maze of 1920s hanok-lined alleys is packed with atmospheric design-led cafes, including our personal favourite: Nakwon Station Cafe with its vintage train station design, peanut cream latte and dessert conveyor belt, and Cheongsudang Bakery, offers a lantern-lit bamboo garden that makes stopping for cake feel almost compulsory.
Hidden Gems
These are the experiences we stumbled across that made us appreciate the city beyond the attractions in every Seoul travel guide. From carving your own traditional stone seal to visiting Korea’s only gold-clad temple, these are the slightly unexpected additions we recommend adding to your itinerary.
JONGNO-GU
Catch the royal changing of the guard
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Wed-Mon 10AM & 2PM
Deoksugung Palace
Tue-Sun 11AM, 2PM & 3:30PM
Skip the crowds by arriving 10–
15m early and catch the ceremony at the main gate.
The guards, costumes and military musicians make this a theatrical history lesson.
INSADONG
Carve a personalised stone seal
Feel So Good Calli
1h 30m Class
Design and carve your own Korean name seal, then stamp it in traditional ink.
It takes a little more patience than buying a fridge magnet, but we left with a genuinely personal souvenir that we actually want to keep.
GUSAN-DONG
See Korea's only gold-clad temple
Suguksa Temple
Daily ~6AM - 6PM
~30m taxi from central Seoul
Line 6 → Gusan Stn + 15m walk
Built in 1459, this is Korea's only gold temple, quietly tucked beneath Mt. Bongsan in a residential neighbourhood most tourists never reach.
Don't miss the forest path behind the main hall. It has the best view of the temple.
Experiences Worth Planning Around
Every May for Buddha’s Birthday, Seoul hosts Yeondeunghoe (The Lotus Lantern Festival), a 1,200-year-old UNESCO-listed celebration where thousands of glowing lanterns light up the city.
We literally planned our entire Korea trip around this festival, and it was hands down one of the best decisions we made!
INSADONG
Be dazzled by the Grand Lantern Parade
Jongno St.: Heunginjimun Gate to Jogyesa Temple
Sat 8 May 2027 7-9:30 PM
Free entry
Thousands of free plastic chairs line the street. Arrive 1–2 hours early to grab a front-row view or
email LLF@buddhism.or.kr ahead of time to snag free reserved seating for foreigners.
INSADONG
Watch dance under thousands of lanterns
Jogyesa Temple
Sat-Sun 8-9 May 2027 Times vary
Free entry
The festival’s main hub. Head here all weekend for cultural events under a massive ceiling of colourful lanterns. We were lucky to catch traditional dances.
Seoul Travel Guide
All the practical bits you need to make your Seoul trip run smoothly, from where to stay and what to eat to getting around, booking ahead and downloading the right apps.
STAY
Plush beds in the heart of Myeongdong
★★★★★
★★★★ L'Escape Hotel
We’d stick to a luxury hotel in Seoul if a good night's sleep matters to you.
We stayed 4 nights at The Westin and loved it, then spent our final night at L’Escape before flying home.
Both have properly plush beds and excellent service, but we preferred L’Escape’s decor and slightly more theatrical bathroom.
MOVE
Take the taxi. Seriously
K.Ride
Download alongside Uber. to access local taxis
iOS →
Android →
We faffed around with the subway at first, but for two people, taxis were often nearly the same price, or cheap enough that we decided our time was worth more than the savings.
There's also an alarming number of stairs in Seoul’s subway stations, which you discover while hauling even the tiniest of carry-ons. Eventually, we stopped faffing and just got the taxi. Much easier.
EAT
The meal we’d go back to Korea for
Wed-Mon 5PM - 12AM
DM the chef on Instagram one week in advance to reserve
This 16-seat spot in Hongdae served our favourite meal in Korea. We don’t even like fried chicken, or fried food generally, yet the chicken here was so good we’re still talking about it. The homemade sake was equally brilliant.
The chef also speaks fluent English and is happy to accommodate food allergies, which makes this one an especially easy recommendation.
Apps to Download
Download these three before you go. Because discovering you needed them after arriving is considerably less useful.
Before You Go
KTX (i.e. bullet train) tickets are one thing we would book as soon as they go on sale. Popular routes can fill quickly, and if your itinerary beyond Seoul involves connections, there may be very little flexibility if your preferred train sells out.
Tickets currently go on sale 2 months before departure Check the release schedule for your dates and set an alarm if necessary. You can book through the KORAIL website for foreigners.
Is Seoul Worth Visiting? Our Honest Review
Yes. We loved Seoul, but there are a few things we'd want to know before going: navigating this enormous city takes planning, shellfish allergies make eating surprisingly difficult, and Korean beds have a rather different interpretation of the word comfortable.
Seoul is brilliantly clean, safe, friendly and wonderfully easy to explore once you understand its rhythm. We'd absolutely go back, but we'd also do a few things differently...