How to Spend 3 Days in Seoul

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Welcome to Seoul - the capital city of South Korea. Seoul is truly one of those cities that can capture your heart, one moment you can be wandering through centuries old gated palaces and next, you're standing underneath bright neon lights feeling like you're in a futuristic world.

With just 3 days exploring Seoul, you may not be able to see everything but you will be able to experience the major highlights including royal palaces, different neighbourhoods and areas, unique shopping experiences and street food markets.

Earlier last year, I spent several days exploring Seoul on a 10 day trip visiting South Korea, you can read the itinerary here: 10 Days in South Korea: The Perfect Travel Itinerary for Solo Travellers. I stayed in Itaewon and Myeongdong as my base to explore this vibrant and historic city and let me tell you, there was so much to enjoy.

If you are short on time, this 3 day itinerary is perfect to outline the highlights as it covers a mixture of culture, history, food, neighbourhoods and my favourite photo spots, ideal for first time (or returning) visitors.

Why Visit Seoul?

Seoul is an incredible city to base yourself in, when starting your adventure in South Korea. It is filled with a rich history, a mixture of historic palaces and skyrise buildings with an incredible city scape. The food scene here is 10/10, there is so many incredible restaurants and cafes you can try whilst visiting here; and to top it all off one of the most efficient public transport systems I've seen on my travels (which makes it so much easier to get around). I feel like you could never run out of things to do whilst visiting Seoul.

How Many Days Do You Need in Seoul?

Three days is the perfect sweet spot for those wanting to get a feel for the city, without feeling like they're missing out on much. If you are planning a shorter trip visiting South Korea, this is a key destination on your trip (either as your starting point, or ending point). It's the perfect amount of time for first time visitors. Everything in the city is easily accessable by the subway system (which is incredible by the way), it's so easy to use and super afforadble. If you love walking - even better! A lot of the neighbourhoods are clustered, so it's super walkable to check out a few different neighbourhoods on the same day.

Where to Stay in Seoul

From my own research and planning from when I visited Seoul, there are three key neighbourhoods you can stay in around the city (which you can use to your advantage, depending on your plan).

I was recommended to stay in Itaewon, which was great. This is a trendy neighbourhood that is a great international hub with an incredible food and nightlife scene, a lot of expats live in this area. Itaewon is a little further out of the 'main' city, however everything is easily accessible via the subway.

When I returned back to Seoul, I stayed in Myeongdong; best known as the 'shopping capital' area. This area is quite touristy, so the accomodation price was a little more expensive (there is still afforadble accomodation in this area). Myeongdong is closer to the historical sites, which is great because you can literally just walk to the palaces.

Hongdae is another great area to base yourself in, this area is perfect if you're a younger traveller as there is a big youth culture here. Hongdae is best known as a university neighbourhood. There was a lot of hostels in this area and there is a great nightlife scene.

3 Day Seoul Itinerary

Day 1: Palaces and Seoul Skyline

On your first full day, it's time to head out and explore the historical side of Seoul and visit the palaces. Your first stop for the day is visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace complex. The entry fee is around ₩3000, however it is free if you rent a traditional hanbok (traditional Korean clothing, this is available for both women and men; and can be added in as a fun thing to do). The Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1395 and was the official palace of the Joseon dynasty.

After you've explored the palace complex, you can walk over the Bukchon Hanok village, which is a small residential area with traditional Korean homes. This area is a great photo spot with iconic views - I would recommend coming here early in the morning as this area does get quite busy as the day goes on.

Grab a bite to eat, there are lots of great cafes around this area and surrounds.

Please note - if you're solo you may have to get your food take-away, some restaurants/cafe's turned me away when I was by myself (or made me get takeaway).

For your afternoon, spend your time making your way to Namsan Seoul Tower, you can watch an incredible sunset overlooking the city here. You've got two options on how to get to the top, the first is via cable car or you can walk up if you're feeling up to it.

Day 2: Day Trip to DMZ + Late Night Shopping + Markets

Today is an early start as you head on the DMZ tour (this is the one I booked through Klook.) This day trip runs for about 6-7 hours, with an early depature leaving Seoul.

The DMZ tour is an 'must see'; you will learn so much on this tour about the Korean war and enter the 4km radius between South & North Korea. You can read an in depth guide here on my blog: A Complete Guide to Visiting the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ Tour).

Once you're dropped back off in Seoul, head over to Myeongdong for some late night shopping and to check out the street food markets. Myeongdong has a lot of different flagship stores and an incredible variety of street food to try.

Day 3: Neighbourhood Hopping + Shopping

Neighbourhood hopping was one of my favourite things to do whilst visiting Seoul, as there are so many trendy and cool places to visit. In the morning, head over to Hongdae for an exploration of this univeristy neighbourhood. There are lots of trendy shops and market stalls with one-off pieces you can purchase. Hongdae is a really cool area to walk around in and there is heaps of cute cafes you can stop and visit for a coffee or light brunch.

Next up, head over to Seongsu, this was by far my favourite shopping area in Seoul. There are so many unique flagship stores that can be found here, don't forget to check out Musina Store, this flagship store has lots of Korean brands + and an incredible streetstyle shoe wall which is just iconic.

In the late afternoon, head over to Itaewon and explore this trendy neighbourhood, best known for its vintage shopping and neon lights. It is a little hilly in this area, but the shopping is really good, if you are into vintage shopping, there are some really good pieces at afforadble prices that can be found throughout the streets. At night, enjoy the bustling nightlife and the bright neon lights.

Best Photo Spots in Seoul

Seoul is a photographers dream; this city has so much character and is super fun to capture on the camera. My favourite places and the best photo spots I found in Seoul are:

• Gyeongbokgung Palace + surrounds - super cool to capture everyone dressed up in the Hanbok as well, it just really adds to the vibe of the palace (with permission of course)

• Bukchon Hanok Village - arrive early morning for this, as the streets are filled by midday

• Namsan Seoul Tower - iconic views overlooking Seoul

• Alleyways & streets throughout Seoul - every street/alleyway is unique, this works especially well in Itaewon when it's night time, the bright neon lights just make your captures so much more special.

• Cafe hopping in Seongsu - there are so many cafes here that have uniquely shaped food items; and well, all of the food in general is a great capture

• COEX Starfield Library - located in Gangham

• Seoul Central Train Station (the old station), beautiful building

How to Get Around Seoul

The public transport system in Seoul and well, the whole of South Korea is super efficient and easy to use. Whether you're catching the subway (metro trains) or buses.

You can use a T-money card to get around. To purchase this card, I would suggest to get one at the airport on arrival. If you pick up a local sim card to use whilst in South Korea from Incheon airport, it comes with a T-Money card for free!

T-Money cards are readily available for purchase from the subway station vending machines and convenience stores (like 7-Eleven, GS25, CU, Ministop and Emart24).

The card itself cost between ₩3000 - ₩4000 and can only be purchased by using cash. You can top the card up at the subway station with cash too!

For navigation, google maps and apple maps don't work the best here; so I'd suggest downloading the app 'Naver', it's the South Korean version of google maps.

Final Thoughts on Visiting Seoul

Seoul is an amazing city to explore, with so much to do and discover. It is the perfect blend of modern city life mixed with cultural history; making it a unique experience for everyone to enjoy. It is one of those cities you always hope to return to visit because there is just so much to do and see here.