How to spend 2 days in Seoul. Even if you’re only visiting for a short time, you’re guaranteed to have a fabulous time in South Korea‘s capital city Seoul. Whether you’re visiting for a weekend break or making the most of a long layover, there’s so much to choose from. And with the efficient metro system, the city is easy to get around, meaning you can pack a lot of fun into a short visit. Read on for my guide on how to spend 2 days in Seoul.
Remember to buy travel insurance for your trip. Receive a 5% discount on Heymondo travel insurance.
2-day Itinerary for Seoul, South Korea
Day 1 in Seoul
Morning: Bukchon Hanok Historical Village
Immerse yourself in traditional Korean culture at Bukchon Hanok Historical Village. This historical neighbourhood has become famous worldwide for its hanok: traditional wooden houses. These have been beautifully restored and give you a real idea of what life used to be like. Note that people still live here, so please be respectful. Bukchon Hanok Historical Village can get very busy during the day, so I recommend visiting first thing in the morning when it’s quieter – that way you will get the best views. The famous street with views over the rooftops is called Bukchon-ro 11ga-gil. The views here make a wonderful first stop on your visit to Seoul.
After visiting Bukchon Hanok Historical Village, fuel up on coffee and pastries at the nearby Cafe Onion Anguk, a Hanok-themed Cafe.
Afternoon: Starfield Library
One of my favourite spots in Seoul is the Starfield Library in the COEX shopping mall. If visiting a library in the middle of a giant shopping mall sounds odd to you, just hear me out! This place is really cool, and definitely worth seeing. Read my more detailed post here.
Check out my book recommendations – themed by countries around the world.
Evening: Hongdae Food and Nightlife
There are a lot of vibey neighbourhoods in Seoul, but my favourite for nightlife was hands-down Hongdae. You have everything there, from souvenir shops pumping out music, endless restaurants and eateries, bars, clubs and street art. Even if you don’t want a late night out, just wandering around and soaking up the atmosphere is fun. There are photobooths on almost every corner offering fun passport-style snaps with props like hats and headbands. I recommend joining a food tasting tour so that you can try the best of South Korean dishes in a short time. This is especially good for trying traditional Korean BBQ as those places often won’t allow solo diners to eat there.
Book an Immersive Korean BBQ, Market, and Secret Pub Experience in Seoul.
Day 2 in Seoul
Morning: Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung Palace is an absolute must-do in Seoul and was the highlight of my time there. This colourful and ancient palace complex dates back to 1395, and has had a very interesting history throughout the years. It was even nearly destroyed completely during the Japanese colonization of Korea. Nowadays it has been lovingly restored and is a pleasure to explore. One of the best things about visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace is that you’re encouraged to rent a traditional Hanbok outfit to wear. This is clever as it means that all the other visitors become part of the attraction as they add to the atmosphere rather than taking away from it. Read my detailed post about visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace here.
Book a guided tour of Gyeongbokgung Palace here.
Afternoon: Quirky Cafes
No visit to Seoul would be complete without visiting some of their quirky, and at times quite frankly bizarre cafes! Notable mentions include:
- C.Through Cafe (you haven’t seen latte art until you’ve been here)
- Old Ferry Donut (fluffy and light donuts)
- Peach Grey (paint with watercolours while you sip your coffee and eat souffle pancakes)
- Ddong Café (poo-themed cafe. Yes you read that correctly.)
- Cafe Promenades D’été (cute doggy-themed cupcakes)
Note that cafes in Seoul open and close frequently (especially the quirky ones) so if you have a specific cafe in mind make sure to check on Google Maps if it’s still open.
Evening: Myeongdong Night Market
Finish off your final evening in Seoul by visiting one of their famed night markets: Myeongdong Night Market. Here you’ll find all sorts of delicious street food snacks to sample. Eat away to your heart’s content – there’s plenty to try! From fried chicken to grilled squid, pork belly to baked cheese, you can find everything. This area is also one of Seoul’s main shopping districts, and everything’s open late so you can browse some K-Pop merch after munching your way through the tasty food on offer. To get to Myeongdong Night Market take the subway to Euljiro 1-ga Station (Exits 5–7) or Myeongdong Station (Exits 5–8). Remember to bring cash.
Practical Guidance for Seoul, South Korea
Hopefully you have found this guide on how to spend 2 days in Seoul: stopover itinerary useful. I have also included some practical guidance below so that you can get the boring stuff sorted and make the most of your trip!
Read my other posts about South Korea here.
Read my recommendations for books set in South Korea here.
Where to Stay in Seoul?
In order to make the most of your trip I recommend picking a central district of Seoul that has some attractions in it so that you minimise travel time (see transport in Seoul below). Some good areas are:
- Hongdae (this is where I stayed and it’s a very cool neighbourhood)
- Myeongdong (good for shopping and near Gyeongbokgung Palace)
- Gangnam (a luxury area and near Starfield Library)
- Itaewon (near lots of good restaurants and cafes)
- Insadong (another good area for culture)
Transport in Seoul
Seoul is a very easy city to get around. I highly recommend using the metro / subway system as it’s clean and efficient. Most of the signs are in both Korean and English. The metro runs from 5:30am until midnight. You’re best off buying a transportation card that you can then top up as much as you need. Note that you will need physical cash (Korean Won). I purchased mine at the airport subway station before getting the train into the city. It is also possible to buy single journey tickets but this will end up more expensive and time consuming.
Withdrawing Cash in Seoul in Korean Won (KRW)
To withdraw cash at the best rates, I highly recommend getting a WISE card before you go. This allows you to convert money into Korean Won (or any other currency!) at the best rates and then withdraw cash in Korea without hidden fees. Wise is a UK-based financial services company (available in most countries worldwide) and is highly regulated in the various regions it operates in (in the UK it is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority).
Get your WISE card here.
Travel Insurance
Make sure that you have travel insurance to cover you for your trip. I can highly recommend Heymondo. I use them to cover me for all my trips and their app is very easy to use.
Purchase Heymondo travel insurance here.
This itinerary sounds great! We have to try out your café recommendations, especially C.Through Cafe.
We had an hour long layover in Seoul a couple months ago and I was hoping we’d have a flight delay that would allow us to explore. Korean Air was too good though!