I decided to explore Seoul city on my third day. I didn’t take any tour for the same since I had whole day for me I decided to visit all the places at my own pace. I was staying near the famous Gyengbokgung palace so it was walkable from my hostel.
Gyengbokgung palace –The palace was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. It was built around 1300 and it has some of the finest Korean architecture on display. The palace is famous for its guard changing ceremony which occurs around 9-11 am every morning. It takes around 2 hours to explore the entire palace.
Blue house – Blue house is situated just near the palace. The president of South Korea resides here. You can only see the place from far.
Bukchon Hanok Village – After blue house it was around 30 minutes walk in order to reach Bukchon hanok village. It is situated between Gyengbokgung and the Changgyeonggung palace. The hanok village is a traditional Korean village. You have to walk on some of the very steep roads in order to explore the village. You can also have some nice Korean street foods along the way.
Changgyenggung Palace – I walked another 30 minutes in order to reach the Changgyenggung palace. You wont find any public transport or metro in order to explore the area. You can either book a day tour or you explore the area by walking. The palace was built in the 15th century. The architecture of the palace was completely different from that of the Gyengbokgung palace so I will still recommend to visit the palace.
Namdaemun gate –After exploring the palace i took a taxi to visit the famous Namdaemun gate. The gate was featured heavily in Korean tourism pictures. This was probably the first photo I saw of South Korea when I was a kid. It takes around 20 minutes by taxi to reach there. It was one of the eight gates of Seoul built around the Joseon dynasty.
North Seoul tower– From the Namdaemun gate you can take bus 402 or taxi in order to reach the cable car station of the Namsan mountain. North Seoul tower or Namsan tower is located on the Namsan mountain. It takes around 10 minutes using cable car in order to reach the top of the mountain. You can also hike in order to reach the tower. The view from the top is spectacular. I recommend to visit the place around sunset time. It gets very crowded for the cable car ride so be prepared for some long queue. There is a huge shopping complex on the top of the Namsan mountain.
Lotte tower– Lotte tower is the 5th tallest skyscraper in the world. The tower was located at the other side of the Han river. It takes around 1 hour to reach from Namsan tower to Lotte tower. I would recommend to take taxi to reach the tower. I visited the place during night time. I would recommend to visit the place before sunset. It was a great day with good visibility and I understood that Seoul is a huge city spread across both side of the Han river.
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