72 hours in Seoul: The Ultimate 3 day Itinerary
In true @roam_y style, back in September I took full advantage of the Queens birthday long weekend in Australia. I added an extra 0.5 days of leave and spent 72 hours (exactly, actually!) in Seoul, South Korea.
I was super apprehensive about spending such little time in Seoul, as I knew how much there was to see and do but really couldn't take any more leave, so I planned extensively before we left in order to maximise our time and get as much of a feel for the city as we could.
This blog post is a step-by-step walk through of our 72 hour itinerary. I've shared every detail of our whirlwind trip below - where we stayed, what we saw, ate, drunk and did... and as usual, everything is pinned on a map at the bottom of this post. For a more detailed guide, head to my Seoul City Guide blog post.
I genuinely feel like I was able to experience so much that Seoul has to offer via this 3 day itinerary. So enjoy the wild ride... of 72 hours in Seoul.
Word of Warning: We like to walk everywhere... there's alot of walking involved in this itinerary. But you could easily catch buses or ubers between sites within short distance of each other if not near Subway. Seoul is so well connected.
Day 1 - Seoul Forest, Seongsu Bridge, Garosu-gil, Starfield COEX Mall + Library, Myeongdong
Arriving in Seoul
- Land at Incheon International Airport (ICN), one of the worlds best airports. Shoot through security and immigration and make your way to Seoul Airport Station.
- Purchase a ticket for the AREX Express Train and head directly to Seoul Station. Transfer to line 4 towards Hoehyeon Station (Danggogae bound). Arrive 2 stops later at Myeong-dong Station.
- Exit at #9 and you're at L7 Myeongdong by Lotte. Pay $100 for early checkin, drop your bags, refresh, and get ready for your first day in Seoul!
Morning: Raw Coffee Stand, Seoul Forest and Seongsu Bridge
- Download Navermap for maps and directions. Punch in Ttukseom Station.
- Arrive Ttukseom Station and walk to Raw Coffee Stand. Buy yourself one of their amazing coffees, stay for a few photos, then walk towards Seoul Forest.
- Take your time to wander around Seoul Forest. Watch the citizens of Seoul go about their daily lives.
- If you're hungry, stop by Chedda and Oli for brunch.
- Weave your way through Seoul Forest towards Seongsu Bridge.
- Cross the Han River along the 1.2km Seongsu Bridge. It might look like you can't walk across, but you definitely can. You have the most incredible views from up here.
- You're now in Gangnam!
Afternoon: Gangnam, Garosu-gil, Starfield COEX Mall and Starfield Library
- Once you're on the other side of Seongsu Bridge you can either walk through Gangnam or jump on a bus (use Navermap for bus schedules).
- Stop for a coffee or refreshment at Cafe Bonsua - Village11factory to rest your legs and do a spot of shopping.
- Eventually arrive in Garosu-gil and wander through the cafes, restaurants and shops full of vintage fings, local fashion boutiques and international labels.
- Head to Bistopping for the most epic icecreams ever. Checkout their Insta for inspo!
- Jump on a bus, or grab an Uber and head to Starfield COEX Mall.
- Arrive at Starfield COEX Mall. Wander around and do a spot of shopping. There's all the obvious shops here (Zara, Sephora etc) plus some South Korean born stores. It's not THE BEST mall but that's not the main reason you're here...
- Smack bang in the middle of the mall is Starfield Library. Take your insta worthy snaps here, read / purchase some books, and take in the towering walls of books, all lined up in perfect South Korean aesthetic style!
- Before heading back, go to beautifully decorated Bongeunsa buddhist temple for a quiet minute.
Night: Myeongdong
- Head back to your hotel to rest your legs and refresh for the night.
- When the sun has set, head out to Myeongdong. Wander the chaotic, exciting streets. Enjoy some street food, fill your shopping bags, and just take it all in.
- If you fancy some traditional Korean noodle soup, head to Kalguksu Alley at Namdaemun Market - an alley full of hot soup, plastic stools and shoulder-to-shoulder patrons, in Seouls oldest market.
- Otherwise, head to Myeongdong 7-gil for open-air stalls lined up serving the best Chimaek (fried chicken and beer) in town.
- Once your tummy is full and your shopping bags packed, head to Rooftop Floating at L7 Myeongdong by Lotte, for rooftop cocktails with a view of Namsan tower.
Day 2 - Anguk, Buckhon Hanok Village, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Ikseon-dong, Itaewon
Morning: Cafe Onion Anguk, Bukchon Hanok Village
- Hope on the subway towards Anguk station. Exit at exit #3 then 200 metres to Cafe Onion. - the best cafe in town.
- Enjoy the incredible pastries and coffee under the roof of a gorgeous traditional Hanok building.
- Walk from Cafe Onion to Bukchon Hanok Village (type it in Navermap). You'll start to see the streets narrowing and people wearing traditional Hanboks (dresses).
- Spend as long as you can here, zigzagging through the little streets. Wander your way up towards Bukchon Best Prospect.
- Arrive at Bukchon Best Prospect, pay for your mandatory entrance drink and head straight to the rooftop for the best view out over the Hanok tiled roofs, across to the mountains and city skyscrapers of Seoul.
- Once refreshed and satisfied with the view, walk around the outside of Bukchon Hanok Village down Bukchon-ro 5na-gil and visit the gorgeous little shops along the way. My favourite was 100zack, an artists shack perched on the edge of the hill selling the most beautiful sketches of Seoul.
- From here, walk to Sinmumun Gate, one of the entrances to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Enter this way to skip the usual long lines at the palaces main entrance, Gwanghwamun Gate. From here you can also get a great view of Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House), the residence and office of the president of Korea.
- Spend the remainder of your morning wandering around the palace grounds, as well as the National Folk Museum of Korea and / or the National Palace Museum of Korea.
Afternoon: Ikseon-dong
- Exit out Gwanghwamun Gate and walk down Gwanghwamun Square towards Gwanghwamun Station. Don't be alarmed if you see large protests, apparently thats completely normal in Seoul!
- Jump on the subway line 5 to Jongno 3 (make sure its Jongno 3... we made that mistake and got off at Jongno 5.
- Exit number 4 or 6 and walk inlane towards Ikseon-dong. It'll look like you're entering into a wet market but the streets will get narrower and cuter and you'll end up in the heart of a thriving new market / neighbourhood full of cute shops, awesome cafes, street food stalls and markets.
- Refresh for lunch at Craft Roo for pizza and award winning local craft beer. I recommend the beer tasting flight. Nab a seat right by the window to people watch.
- After lunch, spend a few hours wandering the cute laneways and shops of Ikseon-dong. I got a cute watercolour sketch potrait done by local artist studio_ksol.
- "Refresh" for a few more beers at another great local brewery cafe - Art Monster.
- When you're ready to retire, head back to your hotel for a refresh before tonight.
Night: Itaewon
- Catch the subway (again) to Itaewon station, one of the nightlife hotspots in Seoul.
- If you've not pre-booked a table at Maple Tree House, go straight there and put your name on the list.
- Itaewon is full of loud, relatively tacky bars. We searched through these to find a cute rooftop bar called Caligari - you get a great perspective of Itaewon from the rooftop here.
- Head to Maple Tree House for your dinner reservation. Maple Tree House is one of the best Korean BBQ restaurants in town. It's super pretty (adorned with maple tree branches everywhere) and great service.
- After dinner, head to Southside Parlour - on the third floor of a random residential / business building in Itaewon, this bar serves awesome cocktails and yummy Southern USA snacks. The vibe is mostly expat but it has a great atmosphere and even better drinks! You'll also enjoy nice views of Seoul city to the left as you walk down the hill.
- Once you're done at Southside Parlour, head further down the road to Flower Gin - this gorgeous tiny bar has only one bar tender - the lady who owns this bar. She mixes up the most gorgeous botanical cocktials, all gin based. Only open till 12am so go here before Southside Parlour if you're planning a late one.
- You should be reasonably inebriated by now. We called it a night right about here... but not before a drunken bus ride home because it sounded fun? Otherwise, Uber is your best bet from here!
Day 3 - Yeonnam-dong, Hongdae, Cheonggyecheon Stream, Myeongdong, Gangnam Nights
Morning: Grain, Greem Cafe, Yeonnam-dong
- Take the subway to Hongik University Station. Exit number 2, and walk through the open space and neighbourhood streets until you get to Grain. It's a bit of a maze to get there and you'll probably think you've missed it (like we did) but just use Navermap and trust us, it's there.
- Enjoy the western style breakky and healthy menu in a cute garden style cafe.
- From Grain, walk up along Seongmisan-ro past cute antique shops until you get to Cafe 연남동 223-14 - an amazing 2D cartoon themed dessert cafe. Come for the insta-opportunities, stay for the yummy coffee or lemonade!
- Once you finished taking in the creativity of Cafe 연남동 223-14, wander through the quiet neighbourhood of Yeonnam-dong. The area is mostly residential but it's lovely and leafy and has some cute cafes and antique stores dotted throughout.
- From here, you can walk your way through Yeonnam-dong to Mangwon Market, or take a bus or Uber. Once at Mangwon Market you will be greeted by so many sights, sounds and smells of this little neighbourhood grocery market. This was one of my favourites in Seoul, it felt just like I was another citizen of Seoul, doing my morning Sunday shopping.
- Mangwon Market is just around the corner from my favourite dessert cafe in Seoul, Zapangi. Lookout for the bright pink vending machine on the side of a wall... and just behind this (it opens as a door) is the coolest icecream / coffee shop in an industrial space adorned with tropical plants.
Afternoon: Hongdae
- Arrive in Hongdae and head straight to Hongdae Shopping Street, you can spend as little or as long time as you'd like here. We had a variety of different snacks from the street side stalls for lunch.
- Wander the streets and visit the famous shops and boutiques such as Stylenanda, Ader Error , Chuu Store and Gentle Monster.
- If you're not into shopping, catch a performance at Hongdae Nanta Theater. Nanta Performances are held 2-3 times a day, and are a hilarious non-verbal play set in a kitchen. Think acrobats, music, and knives. A really great local experience.
- Treat yourself to the famous tall soft icecreams, common here in Hongdae as well as Myeongdong. They're 30 cm high and have the yummiest mix of flavours ranging from green tea to chocolate cherry.
- When you're ready to start making your way to the subway (Sangsu station), head past Hongdae Mural Street and take in the epic local street art culture.
- Catch the train from Sangsu Station to Jonggak (user Navermap for best directions), exit at exit 4,5, or 6 and you've arrived at one of my favourite spots in Seoul - Cheonggyecheon stream. The stream is one of the best examples of urban renewal projects - it used to be covered in transportation infrastructure but was regentrified into an 11 km fresh water stream and walkway running straight through the heart of Seoul. People watch here and enjoy the fresh air.
- From Cheonggyecheon Stream, walk towards the hotel past Myeongdong Cathedral, a gorgeous (al biet some what out of place) 19th century gothic cathedral.
Night: Gangnam
- Now it's time to get dressed up and head to Mingles for your incredible 2 michelin star degustation dinner at the best restaurant in Korea, and 13th in Asia. Reservations necessary.
- Take the subway to Apgujeongrodeo Station, exit at #3 exit and enjoy the walk through Gangnam to Mingles restaurant.
- Enjoy your incredible degustation experience with the most well put together seven-course tasting menu of reinterpreted Korean classics with an eastern and western flair.
- Once you've enjoyed your meal, meander your way through this lovely, quiet, leavy residential district of Cheongdam-dong, en route to two of the best bars in Seoul - Alice and Le Chamber
- Stop at Alice first, and enjoy Alice in Wonderland inspired cocktails in a cozy, dark, den-like underground bar. Think Manhattan meets upperclass sophisticated Seoul. Very cool, even better cocktails.
- If you're happy to keep drinking, head to Le Chamber just down the road for more mysterious cocktails hidden behind a large dark wooden door.
- When you're ready to call it a night (for your last night in Seoul!), either walk back to Apgujeongrodeo Station or grab an Uber (if you're like us and exhausted after your whirlwind, but incredible, 72 hours in Seoul.)
Summary
Within 72 hours, I truely fell in love with Seoul. Of course, I could've spent SO much longer there, but by researching and planning extensively, I really did feel like I got such a great feel for Seoul within 3 days
I hope that this 72 hour itinerary of Seoul inspires you to look past the constaints of time and enjoy Seoul with how ever much time you have there. And if you do only have 3 days, don't shy away from the adventure.
If you haven't already, checkout my more detailed blog post on Seoul - Seoul City Guide - it has over 100 pinned sites, cafes, restaurants, bars, shopping areas, markets... etc... and everything you need to know about visiting Seoul!
Love,
3 Comments
I LOVE how easy this itinerary is to follow! PERFECT for someone who also only has 72 hours – it seems like you managed to get a such a good feel for Seoul! x
You created SUCH a thoughtful itinerary for people!! This is great information and I’m so impressed with how much you packed into your time in Seoul– a city that always feels massive when I’m there. Amazing job!
I wanted to fo this after my trip but I just HAD to do it now because I can’t wait to appreciate the hard work and time you put Into creating this blog (esp Seoul). This 72hours of Seoul plan that I created (obviously based on and mostly yours) just made my life so easy! I can’t thank you enough. Though annoying I will still come back and comment after my trip and say how successful it is! Lol. THANK YOU AND YOU DA BEST!