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27 places
Gwangjang Market
Food · Jongno & palaces · Jongno 5(o)-ga Stn Exit 8 · 2 min walk
Seoul's oldest market (1905), with a buzzing food alley of pancake griddles and raw-beef stalls.
About 1 hour
₩
OK to eat alone
Bukchon Hanok Village
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 2 · 10 min walk
Hilly lanes of lived-in tiled-roof houses with views over downtown rooftops.
1–2 hours
Free
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 5 · 5 min walk
The grandest Joseon palace, with mountain views behind the throne hall and a guard-change ceremony.
1–2 hours
₩
Ikseon-dong Hanok Street
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Jongno 3(sam)-ga Stn Exit 4 · 3 min walk
Narrow alleys of 1920s hanok turned into cafes, dumpling shops and bars.
1–2 hours
Free
Insadong & Ssamziegil
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 6 · 5 min walk
A spiral ramp of small craft shops on Insadong's antique and tea street.
1–2 hours
Free
Tosokchon Samgyetang
Food · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 2 · 3 min walk
Seoul's best-known ginseng chicken soup, served in a sprawling hanok near the palace.
About 1 hour
₩₩
OK to eat alone
Changdeokgung Palace & Secret Garden
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 3 · 5 min walk
A UNESCO palace that follows the hills, plus a guided-only Secret Garden that feels like a forest.
1–2 hours
₩
Gwanghwamun Square
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Gwanghwamun Stn · 1 min walk
Seoul's main boulevard, with King Sejong and Admiral Yi statues framed by the palace gate.
1–2 hours
Free
Jogyesa Temple
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Jonggak Stn · 5 min walk
The head temple of Korean Zen Buddhism, right downtown; calm at dawn and dusk.
1–2 hours
Free
Tongin Market Coin Lunchbox
Food · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 2 · 8 min walk
Buy old-style brass coins and trade them stall by stall to build your own lunch tray.
About 1 hour
₩
OK to eat alone
Blue Bottle Samcheong
Café · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 1 · 12 min walk
Upper-floor windows look straight across hanok roofs toward the palace and mountains.
About 1 hour
₩
Cheongsudang
Café · Jongno & palaces · Jongno 3(sam)-ga Stn Exit 4 · 3 min walk
Cross stepping stones through a bamboo garden into a hanok dessert cafe in Ikseon-dong.
About 1 hour
₩₩
Gwanghwamun Mijin
Food · Jongno & palaces · Jonggak Stn Exit 1 · 3 min walk
Office workers' cold buckwheat noodle institution since the 1950s.
About 1 hour
₩₩
OK to eat alone
Hyoja Bakery
Café · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 2 · 7 min walk
Neighborhood Seochon bakery whose cornbread sells by the hundreds each day.
About 1 hour
₩
Samhaejip (Jongno)
Food · Jongno & palaces · Jongno 3(sam)-ga Stn Exit 15 · 1 min walk
The pioneer of Jongno's bossam alley: tender boiled pork, open till 2 a.m.
About 1 hour
₩₩
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Night · Jongno & palaces · Gwanghwamun Stn Exit 5
A stream that was once buried under a highway, now a cool 11 km walkway through downtown Seoul, starting at a giant twisted sculpture.
1–2 hours
Free
Seodaemun Prison History Hall
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Dongnimmun Stn Exit 5
The red-brick prison where Korea's independence fighters were held, now a museum you walk through cell by cell.
1–2 hours
₩
Suseong-dong Valley
Sight · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 3 · 20 min walk
A rocky stream at the foot of Inwangsan, praised by Joseon scholars, at the top of Seochon.
1–2 hours
Free
Changhwadang (Ikseon-dong)
Food · Jongno & palaces · Jongno 3(sam)-ga Stn Exit 4 · 3 min walk
Crispy, juicy dumplings in a retro Ikseon-dong shop that draws a line of locals.
About 1 hour
₩
Cheongjinok
Food · Jongno & palaces · Jonggak Stn · 3 min walk
Hangover-soup house running since 1937, a Seoul Future Heritage from the old Pimatgol alley.
About 1 hour
₩₩
OK to eat alone
Daeo Bookstore
Café · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 2 · 8 min walk
Seochon's oldest bookstore (1951), now a tiny retro cafe inside an old family hanok.
About 1 hour
₩
Hwangsaengga Kalguksu
Food · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 1 · 12 min walk
Michelin Bib Gourmand noodle house in Samcheong-dong known for rich beef-bone broth.
About 1 hour
₩₩
Imun Seolnongtang
Food · Jongno & palaces · Jonggak Stn Exit 3 · 5 min walk
Opened in the early 1900s, often called Korea's oldest restaurant, still serving one milky ox-bone soup.
About 1 hour
₩₩
OK to eat alone
Kyobo Book Centre Gwanghwamun
Shopping · Jongno & palaces · Gwanghwamun Stn · 2 min walk
Korea's flagship bookstore, underground at Gwanghwamun, with a big stationery and gift section.
1–2 hours
Free
Onion Anguk
Café · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 3 · 1 min walk
A hanok bakery-cafe with floor seating around a courtyard, steps from Anguk Station.
About 1 hour
₩
Chebudong Janchijip
Food · Jongno & palaces · Gyeongbokgung Stn Exit 2 · 3 min walk
A busy Seochon noodle joint in the Sejong food alley where a bowl still costs about ₩4,000.
About 1 hour
₩
OK to eat alone
Shin Yet Chatjip (Old Tea House)
Café · Jongno & palaces · Anguk Stn Exit 6 · 5 min walk
A family-run tea house hidden in an Insadong alley, set in a house over 100 years old.
About 1 hour
₩
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