Seoul is efficient, late-night and full of palaces you can walk without a tour. Book food, a hanbok hour if you want the photos, and a DMZ trip only with eyes open about what it is.
Seoul is easy. That is not faint praise. English on the subway, late food, palaces that cost less than a sandwich in Western Europe. The tours that earn their fee are food and the DMZ. Almost everything else is a well-signed walk.
Do one palace well. Eat twice in markets. Stay out late once in a neighbourhood that is not Myeongdong.
Book: a food tour, Gyeongbokgung (cheap), DMZ only if you actually want it.
Skip: Bukchon shouting tours, cafe crawls you can do with a map, and stacking every palace on the combo ticket in one day.
Myeongdong is for arriving shoppers and street-cosmetic stalls. It is not Seoul's personality. If your hotel is there, leave it in the morning and come back to sleep.
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Cheap ticket, free in hanbok, closed Tuesday. A guide is optional. Go early. Combine with the folk museum on site, not with three palaces in a day.
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Bukchon is a residential hanok neighbourhood that is tired of tour groups shouting for photos. Walk quietly, stay off private courtyards, or skip it for Ikseon-dong's cafes. A paid tour is rarely necessary.
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The booking that matters. Banchan, grill etiquette, soju pacing — you can learn it, or you can be taught on night one. Street-food tours in Gwangjang Market are the other good version.
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A militarised border visit with strict passport rules, not a viewpoint hike. It is worthwhile as geopolitics, dull as "scenery." JSA tours have tighter rules and cancellations. Read the restrictions.
Free cancellation up to 24h before
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A view tower. Go at dusk if you go. The locks on the railings are a tradition and also clutter. Cable car or walk up. Skip if the forecast is white haze — Seoul haze is real.
Free cancellation up to 24h before
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You do not need a cafe tour. Seongsu is warehouses and coffee, Hongdae is youth and music, Ikseon is hanok cafes. Pick a neighbourhood and sit. Paying a guide to order coffee is a choice.
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A UNESCO fortress that is not in every itinerary. Better than a second palace if you already did Gyeongbokgung. Subway plus walk is DIY-friendly.
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Four. Palaces and old neighbourhoods, food, one modern district, one day trip (DMZ or Suwon). Two days is only a taste.
Get a T-money card, use subway for almost everything. Taxis are metered and fine. Walking distances between "nearby" palaces are longer than they look.
Fun for photos, free palace entry at Gyeongbokgung with it. Rent near the palace, not in a tourist mall with a 20-item package you will not wear.
It is a real border. Behaviour is regulated. If you treat it as a theme park, stay in the city. If you want the history, go with a licensed operator and follow the rules.
Palaces and old Seoul are north. Gangnam is south and is offices, shopping and a different night. You do not have to "do Gangnam" unless that is your Seoul.