What to see, do, and eat in Seoul

I recently had the exciting opportunity to go to Seoul for five days. As with all of my trips, research immediately became overwhelming. Where should we eat? What are the tourist traps? What is worth seeing? Like all of my travel guides, I know that being in a place for five days means you can only cover so much ground, however I’m really proud of how our trip turned out, and I’d love to share all the places I think are worth stopping by, plus a few helpful tips I learned as we navigated our trip!

This blog post will cover all of the places we ate (and you’ll find no tourist traps here, you can trust me), the city stops and sights we loved, and a few recommendations for tours or Airbnb experiences. It’s an overwhelming city, but I’ve got you!

What We Ate in Seoul

Jayeondo Salt Bread

21-17 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Salt Bread was one of the most hyped-up foods I heard about before visiting Seoul, and let me say that it definitely lived up to my expectations.

Salt Bread is like a mixture between a buttery brioche roll and a croissant. It’s insanely fluffy on the inside, slightly crisp and greasy on the bottom, and it has just the right level of saltiness, which as a pastry skeptic, is exactly what I think good pastries need.

At this location you order via touchscreen and pick up the bag at the counter. There is seating to the left of the store.

You will see salt bread varieties everywhere (like matcha flavors, trout and roe, coffee cake!) but after trying a few of those, we realized that fresh, plain and simple is best. We started equating the crazy flavors to gourmet donut shops, fun to look at – but not all that great. Jayeondo was by far the best!

Samcheong Bingsu

84-1 Samcheong-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

VISITING TIPS: When it’s busy, there is a list to write your party name and size on the front door, they will call your name from there. You will be seated and then order at the counter, where you’ll get a little buzzer and can go back to your table until your food is ready! If it’s not busy, you can talk to the host directly to get your table.

Bingsu is a shaved ice dessert that feels NOTHING like American shaved ice. Think of the “ice” part as shaved sweet cream, so it comes out much sweeter, milkier and smoother than any snow cone counterpart. Traditional bingsu is just the cream flavor with a sweet red bean paste on top (delicious), but you can get various flavors, from matcha to purple sweet potato. Unlike Salt Bread (see above) we found the range of flavors at this bingsu shop were better than the original, so there’s a lot to choose from.

TINY PLACE

31 Nambusunhwan-ro 359-gil, Dogok-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea

I asked a local friend where was the best place to get tteokbokki. He mentioned this place and then WhatsApp-ed me exactly what to order. Out came a bubbling tray of tteokbokki, instant ramen, eggs, and dumplings with glass noodles.

The place lives up to its name, it is undeniably tiny. But it was such a good find and definitely worth the stop.

Also, if you’re right nearby Tiny Place, there is a small kitchenwares shop called Shiro, and that’s where I got my favorite checkerboard bowls!

Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market

674 Nodeul-ro, Dongjak District, Seoul, South Korea

This was one of our more fun and interactive food stops in Seoul. This is a working fish market and the largest fish market in Seoul. You can buy fish or sashimi in the downstairs area, and then take the escalators upstairs and have whatever you ordered prepared for you.

If you are comfortable using Google Translate to haggle, feel free to go for it. We opted to book a tour through Viator, which was less of a tour and more of a guide there to help us navigate what to buy and where to get it prepared.

Some favorites not to skip: Abalone (grilled with butter) and scallops (steamed). But everything was local, fresh, and excellent.

Mangwon Food Market

27 Poeun-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

This was our favorite food market BY FAR, I firmly believe it blows Gwangjang Market out of the water (Gwangjang Market did not make this list, it was a bit too touristy and expensive for us, but absolutely visit if you have the time!).

Mangwon is easy to navigate and filled with fantastic food options. Note that vendors here won’t let you eat other foods in their area, so if you buy dumplings at one stand, see if they have a seating area or restaurant behind their stall and eat there. You can also only throw out trash with the vendor you purchased from, so it’s best to buy, eat, then leave, instead of carrying a few things around.

The best kimchi dumplings and tteokbokki were near the center of this market, so make sure to do a few laps before finding what you want to eat. There’s also a stall rolling out fresh noodles, you can’t miss it, and it’s so much fun to watch the rolling and slicing process.

Namdaemun Market

18-1 Namdaemunno 4(sa)-ga, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

(Enter at Gate 2)

This is where we fell for the viral hotteok cart, called “Hotteok Namdaemun Vegetable” on Google Maps and Naver, and wow was it worth it. Hotteok is a fried stuffed hand pie which is usually sweet. The reason this stand at Gate 2 has gone viral is because they started the Yachae Hotteok, a savory hotteok filled with vegetables and glass noodles. I still prefer the honey seeds hotteok, which tastes like a lighter, fluffier funnel cake, but my sister loved the yachae version.

The market itself is more of a working market, with textiles, housewares and food all interspersed. It’s a good place to meander and shop. And of course, sample more foods.

Gebangsikdang

17 Seolleung-ro 131-gil, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea

Raw marinated crab is a MUST when visiting Seoul. I did not know what to expect, but if you like sushi, you’ll definitely like the experience.

This restaurant takes reservations in advance, but we had no trouble walking in. We ordered two of the marinated crab meals which came with rice, salad, a few sides, and of course the crab. There are a few ways to eat the crab, so I recommend looking up a few videos before you go! My preferred ways are sucking it out of the claw or scooping it into little seaweed hand rolls with rice.

Cafe Onion (Seoungsu Location)

8 Achasan-ro 9-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea

I always am skeptical of Instagram cafes but this was such a cute spot. Go to this location, which is calmer and less touristy than the location near Gwangjang Market.

This is a self-serve cafe, so you take a tray and choose your pastries before paying. They are all so beautiful, so good luck with choosing!

If you go to this location, you’re only a few blocks from a great shopping district. Walk in the direction of Seoul Forest Park and you will find the main stretch of stores (another easy way is route yourself towards Le Alaska Cafe, which is right on the main stretch).

Baekusaeng Makgeolli

8 Achasan-ro 9-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea

This is my last food recommendation, but it is by far the best – take a Makgeolli Class! Not just the tasting, take the class. Because in the class you will get to taste this rice-fermented beverage, but also see the process of making your own.

I did not think makgeolli was delicious until I took this course. Our instructor brews his own (obviously) and had a blend made with ginger that tastes like a sharp sour beer. So good. You can book a class here.

Activites + Sights We Loved in Seoul

Spa Lei

5 Gangnam-daero 107-gil, Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea

This is a women-only bathhouse, and something that I wish we had a better guide of before entering. So here I am with a guide!

You will enter on the top floor, remove your shoes and pay for your day pass. From there you will get a locker for just your shoes, and then they will exchange that locker key for a key with the same number. That key is the key for your locker downstairs. If the front desk agent speaks English (ours didn’t, but we expected that!) you can book a massage and body scrub upstairs. But we waited until we were in the bathhouse.

From there, you go down to the basement level to the locker rooms where you can change out of your clothes and into your bathrobe.

There are showers both upstairs and in the actual baths. You will need to (and want to) fully shower off before entering the baths. Like really scrub. It’s proper etiquette.

There are small plastic tubs at the door that you can use for your toiletries, and if you need to use the restroom, there are slippers you can put on at the door of the bathroom and then take off when you leave.

The main room has hot baths, cold baths, salt baths, various saunas and steam rooms. My sister and I rotated through the hot bath, cold bath, massage pool and salt bath for a few rounds.

The massages, body scrubs and facials happen in an open room to the side of the baths. To “book” just go up to the women working there and inquire. They will give you a time (usually within the next 30-60 minutes) to come back for your treatment. You pay for the treatment upstairs.

I only go into so much detail because when we were at the spa when it was under construction and I got a little confused with it all! But it was probably one of my top three experiences. An absolute must-do!

Cheonggyecheon stream

1 Cheonggyecheon-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

Both at night and during the day, this is a such a peaceful stretch of the city. It’s centrally located, so if you’re near it, I’d pop down and put your feet in the water.

Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

40 Sinbanpo-ro 11-gil, Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea

While you can catch the official “show” at 9pm, you can also walk along the stretch and see the rainbow fountain run all night. All the convenience stores around this area have spots where you can prepare the ramen you buy, so if you want to have a midnight snack and watch the fountain, it’s a great place to spend the night. It also feels incredibly safe.

Jamsil Baseball Stadium (The Tour We Booked)

19-2 Olympic-ro, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea

I really believed “we have baseball at home” until I saw how different Korean baseball culture is to ours. When the home team is playing, every time a player comes up to bat the crowd knows their two coordinated songs and dances to cheer them on. The cheering is nonstop. There is a “mandatory dancing” seating section. It’s so fun and you definitely will want to learn the dances by the end of it.

Namsan Mountain Park (And Hike to Seoul Tower)

231 Samil-daero, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea

Many will say take the tram up to the top, but I really recommend hiking the stairs if you can. It’s all paved, and the reward at the top is worth it! We started in the early morning so the hike wasn’t too hot, grabbed some snacks at the 7/11 at the top and hung out for a bit, then took the tram down.

Gyeongbokgung Palace + Bukchon Hanok Village

161 Sajik-ro, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea + Gyedong-gil, Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea

While this is last on my list, it’s only because I really hope you already have these planned. If you love seeing history right in the center of moving, bustling cities, seeing this palace and the residential area nearby are a must. I recommend a walking tour of each. The areas are huge and there’s so much to learn about them.

And an Honorable Mention – Olive Young!

You will find these stores everywhere, so of course you must stop in! I spent most of my time in the SPF section, but be warned that SPF with a white cast is part of Korean beauty, so you’ll have to test a lot of them to find your perfect fit. But all of the skincare is so fun to try, and my sister swears by a collagen gel she got there!