17 Best Things to Do in Seoul for First-Timers (+3 Things We’d Skip)

If this is your first trip to Seoul, the hardest part isn't finding things to do. It's working out what to cut. The city has more going on than almost anywhere else we've visited, and however long you have, you'll leave wishing you'd had more time.

We've visited Seoul four times and have spent weeks exploring its palaces, neighbourhoods, markets, museums, viewpoints, and day trips. Across those trips, we've done far more than could ever fit into a single itinerary, which means every experience on this list has earned its place.

But if we were helping a friend plan their very first visit, these are the experiences we'd prioritise. It includes standing at the North Korean border on a DMZ tour, spending an afternoon café-hopping through Ikseon-dong's creative themed cafés, and wandering through Changdeokgung's Secret Garden (our favourite palace in Seoul).

We've also included three experiences we'd personally skip, because knowing what to cut is just as useful as knowing what to do.

First time in Seoul? A few things to know

Before you get into the list, here are a few practical things that will make your first trip to Seoul significantly smoother:

What we like most about this palace is its sheer scale. There are over 330 buildings here, and we walked from one courtyard to the next, and each one looked differently.

Most tourists only see a small section, so grab a map at the entrance and keep going.

If you can time it right, the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the entrance gate of Gyeongbokgung is well worth seeing. It happens at 10am and 2pm daily (but the palace is closed Tuesdays).

It's surprisingly colourful, with traditional instruments and full ceremonial dress. We really enjoyed it!

Walking through the historic parts of the city in a hanbok, surrounded by hundreds of other people dressed the same way, you become part of the spectacle rather than just a tourist watching it.

Our top tip: On our first visit, we walked past so many rental shops near the palace that we had no idea which one to choose. On our second trip, we booked our hanbok rental in advance and it was a much smoother experience. We knew exactly what we were getting and the price was set.

Oh, and anyone wearing a hanbok gets free entry to all the royal palaces, which is a nice bonus.

🌸 Your Seoul photo album isn't complete without the iconic hanbok look

3. Do a DMZ tour and see the North Korean border

This day trip was one of the most MEMORABLE experiences of our entire time in South Korea.

The Demilitarised Zone is a 250 km (155 mile) buffer zone between North and South Korea. The two countries have been divided since the Korean War, and the border remains one of the most heavily guarded in the world.

You can only visit the DMZ on a guided tour. You'll descend into a secret tunnel dug by North Korea and look straight across the border from an observatory.

We had a clear day, and could even see North Koreans going about their daily lives through the binoculars.

But the highlight was the live Q&A with a North Korean defector, which is included in the tour we booked. You could hear a pin drop in that room.

No museum can replicate seeing that border with your own eyes, or hearing from a North Korean defector firsthand.

The defector sessions sell out fast, so this is one of the Seoul experiences to book well in advance.

Our full DMZ tour review covers exactly what to expect on the day.

👉 Out of everything we did in Seoul, this DMZ tour left the biggest impression

4. Go café-hopping in Seoul's uniquely themed cafés

Seoul's café culture is on another level. We've visited hundreds of cities, and nowhere else have we seen themed cafés done quite like this.

Here are a few of our favourite themed cafés in Seoul:

Sunset is the most popular time to go, and it IS stunning. Just know that everyone has the same idea, so arrive early.

Pre-booking your ticket through Klook can save you a bit, as they sometimes run discounts compared to the price at the door.

👉 Skip the queue and book your N Seoul Tower ticket in advance

6. Walk the streets of Bukchon Hanok Village

We liked Bukchon so much on our first visit that we came back and stayed in the village on our next trip. That probably tells you everything you need to know.

It can get very crowded, but there are beautiful photo spots at every corner. It reminds us of Kyoto's historic Gion district, and just like Gion, Bukchon is absolutely worth visiting.

Because of the crowds, the Seoul government has restricted visitor access to between 10am and 5pm since November 2024. While some blogs will tell you to come here super early to avoid the crowds, you really can't anymore.

If you're there in November, you might catch the Seoul Lantern Festival, when the stream is lined with enormous illuminated sculptures (like tigers and dragons) that reflect in the water… it looked so beautiful!

8. Eat your way through Gwangjang Market

If you only have time for one food market in Seoul, make it Gwangjang Market.

The market is touristy, yes, but you'll still hear far more Korean than English around the stalls. Don't overthink which stall to pick. Most of them serve the same classics, so just grab a spot wherever one opens up.

Our top tip: The market can be a bit overwhelming as a first-timer. If you’d rather want help navigating the extensive number of food stalls, this Gwangjang Market food tour is a great shout. The guide knows what's worth trying and entertains the whole group with stories and interesting facts.

We ate our way through all sorts of traditional Korean food.

This included tteokbokki (chewy, spicy rice cakes that have a similar consistency to mochi), Mandu (dumplings), Kimbap (Korean version of a sushi roll, minus the raw fish), and hotteok (deep-fried dough stuffed with brown sugar).

The hotteok especially was dangerously good… crispy on the outside, with a soft chewy centre and a liquid brown sugar filling that ran the moment you bit in. We went back three times.

The full trail around the city wall runs 18.6 km (11.6 miles), but you don't need to walk all of it.

Our top tip: The wall is easy to walk solo, but a lot of the history is invisible unless someone points it out. We did this nighttime walking tour and came away knowing far more about Korean society than we expected from a walk along a city wall.

And the highlight of the palace is the Secret Garden. You go from stone courtyards and throne halls into something that feels more like a forest with a pond and pavilion at its centre.

It was designed as a royal retreat, and it really feels like one.

You can visit the garden only with an official guided tour, and each slot is capped at 100 people.

We missed out on our first trip because we had no idea how scarce the tickets were. On a later visit we got in, and it was absolutely worth coming back for.

So if you can only see ONE palace in Seoul, visit Changdeokgung if you manage to get tickets for the Secret Garden. If you can't get tickets, go with Gyeongbokgung.

We knew it would be one of the more touristy areas in Seoul, but it actually felt less touristy than the likes of Tokyo’s Shinjuku area or NYC’s Times Square.

Even if you don't buy anything, Myeongdong is worth an evening just for the atmosphere. Come hungry.

Check the DDP events page before you visit as there's usually an exhibition running. We once caught a Christian Dior “Designer of Dreams” show there, and it was fantastic.

Try to come in the evening too if you can. When we were there the whole plaza had a light and music display running, and the building looked completely different to what you'd see during the day.

13. Explore the energetic neighbourhood of Hongdae

Hongdae is Seoul's creative youth district, and the closest thing the city has to Shoreditch in London or Williamsburg in New York. It's home to one of Korea's top art schools, and you can feel that energy everywhere.

The area has also become popular for creative workshops. You can even create your own luxury perfume in a small perfume house hidden in one of the back alleys.

To be honest, we think the library alone isn't worth a dedicated trip across the city because Gangnam is quite far from most other Seoul attractions. But pair it with a visit to nearby Bongeunsa Temple, and it makes for a solid half day.

15. Eat Korean BBQ the way locals do

If there's only ONE thing you eat in South Korea, make it Korean BBQ!

Every table has its own grill, and you actually cook the meat yourself. The whole thing is less like a meal and more like an event. Every time we had it, the restaurants were packed, even on the weekdays.

Our top tip: There's an art to eating KBBQ properly, and on your first go you'll have no idea which cuts to order, how long to grill each one, or what to do with the fifteen side dishes in front of you. This guided KBBQ evening puts a local next to you who shows you exactly how it's done, so every KBBQ after that feels effortless.

But no matter where you go, we NEVER had a bad KBBQ in Korea… so don’t worry too much about the place. The competition is so fierce that mediocre places don't survive long.

By the way, never tip. Tipping is one of the biggest mistakes you can do in South Korea.

16. Take a break at Jogyesa Temple

Jogyesa Temple has been around since 1395 and is one of Korea's oldest and most valued Buddhist temples. It's not huge, but we think it was beautiful.

We stayed nearby at the Moxy Hotel in Insadong and ended up passing Jogyesa at different times of day. It's worth doing the same if you can.

During the day, colourful lanterns are strung across the courtyard and you'll see people photographing them. At night, the whole temple is beautifully illuminated and much quieter.

Before you leave, slip off your shoes and go inside the main hall briefly. There are three golden Buddhas in there, and they're worth seeing up close.

Across our four visits, we tried several teahouses here, and these two stood out:

• Yetchatjip – One of Seoul's oldest teahouses, with a beautifully preserved traditional setting and a wide selection of Korean teas.
• Banjjak Banjjak Binnaneun – Smaller and quieter, set inside a charming hanok with a genuinely warm atmosphere.

We typically walk 20-30k steps per day when travelling, and sitting down for a traditional teahouse experience was a great way to get some much needed rest for our feet.

Prefer to see Seoul's highlights with a guide?

If you want to cover Seoul's highlights in a single day without the planning, this full-day guided tour is what we'd recommend. A local guide handles the navigation and gives you the kind of context and history you'd never piece together on your own.

What We’d Skip on a First Visit

Some Seoul itineraries you'll find online include a few things we'd drop if it's your first time in the city. These aren't bad options… they're just not the best use of limited days when there are so many other must-do things in Seoul.

Gangnam

Yes, this is the neighbourhood from Psy's “Gangnam Style”. And yes, it lives up to the image: luxury shopping, plastic surgery clinics, and skyscrapers full of office workers. It's sleek and polished, but not particularly distinctive. 

The problem is that getting there takes time away from the parts of Seoul that are hard to find anywhere else. 

With five days or fewer, we'd skip it and come back on a second trip. There's more than enough on this list to fill those days, plus plenty of free things to do in Seoul we'd prioritise ahead of it.

The reason we'd save it for a second trip is that the 17 things on this list already give you a pretty complete picture of Seoul: the palaces, the markets, the street food, the nightlife, the traditional hanok streets. 

Once you've taken ALL of that in, Seongsu makes a lot more sense as a next step. On a first visit of five days or fewer, we'd focus on those first.

On a first trip with limited days, the palaces, markets, and neighbourhoods on this list will show you far more of what makes Seoul worth visiting.

The Han River parks are a lovely addition if you have a week or more, but they're not where we'd spend a precious half-day on a first visit.

FAQ: Visiting Seoul

We get a lot of questions about Seoul, and some come up again and again. Here are the ones worth answering before you go.

That said, even three days in Seoul is enough to fall in love with the city. We've put together a three-day Seoul itinerary for anyone working with less time.

And if you want to see more of South Korea in one trip, you could also add a day trip to Busan from Seoul. The KTX gets you there in 2.5 hours, so it's very doable in a day.

In general, South Korea ranks 48th globally on the English Proficiency Index across 123 countries, and 4th in Asia. For context, Japan ranks 96th.

We've always managed fine. Simple English works well in most touristy areas, and pointing at a menu gets you further than you'd think.

Download the Papago app before you go as it handles Korean far better than Google Translate (we cover all the apps worth having for South Korea travel in a separate post if you want the full list!).

Ready to start planning your Seoul trip?

Seoul is one of the few cities where we've come back four times and still added new favourites to the list each trip. For a first trip, though, the 17 above will give you a seriously good introduction to one of the best capitals in Asia.

If you're starting to plan your own trip, the next thing to figure out is where to stay in Seoul. The right neighbourhood makes a big difference to your trip, and some areas are far better located than others for first-time visitors.

A few of the activities in this post sell out faster than you'd expect, so it's worth checking what to book in advance in Seoul before you lock anything in.

And if the DMZ caught your attention, we wrote a detailed review of the tour we took to help you pick the right one.

We hope you love Seoul as much as we do!