Ancient Palaces Meet Neon-Lit Modern Energy
Whilst Gyeongbokgung Palace has stood since 1395, Seoul is just as at home in Gangnam's glass towers and the global reach of K-pop and K-drama.
Seoul is the kind of city that keeps rewriting itself while you're still getting your bearings – in the best possible way. It's where a five-century-old palace and a glass-towered business district sit only a short taxi ride apart, and where an afternoon can swing from quiet hanok lanes to the buzz of K-pop and K-drama fandom without missing a beat.
We love how much range the city packs in. Gyeongbokgung Palace has stood since 1395 (rebuilt in the 1860s after the Imjin War all but flattened it), and just up the road, Bukchon Hanok Village is still lined with hundreds of traditional hanok houses from the 1920s. Head the other way and you're in Gangnam, or caught up in the global pull of K-pop and K-drama that keeps drawing new visitors in.
For food, Seoul doesn't disappoint. Gwangjang Market has been trading since 1905 and now holds more than five thousand stalls, plenty of them dedicated to bindaetteok, the crisp mung bean pancakes it's known for. Add tteokbokki, japchae and South Korea's many regional takes on kimchi, and a food tour or cooking class here is a genuinely delicious way to spend an afternoon.
Culturally, you're spoilt for choice too. Between the palaces, hanbok rental (which comes with free entry to sites like Gyeongbokgung), and the option of a proper templestay if you fancy something more reflective, there's a real range of ways to get under the skin of the city.
And despite being one of the largest cities in the world, Seoul knows how to find some calm. Seoul Forest, a former royal hunting ground turned 1,200-hectare park since 2005, is home to over 420,000 trees, while Bukhansan National Park on the city's edge climbs to 836.5m at its highest peak – both an easy escape without leaving Seoul behind entirely.
Getting around, meanwhile, is refreshingly simple. Incheon International Airport won Best Airport Staff in Asia Pacific at the 2025 Skytrax World Airport Awards, and the subway's English signage makes independent exploring easy even on a first visit. If a day trip out to Busan appeals, the KTX gets you there in as little as two hours and eight minutes, and the ride is every bit as much a part of the trip as the destination.
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Sophie
South Korea Expert