Sunday: We were exhausted! After a late night on Friday plus a full-on day on Saturday (and poor hostel conditions), we decided to take it easy on Sunday. We took a tour on the Seoul City Tour bus and did a lot of shopping. I do not recommend doing this city tour as it was a joke. It was not open top (we knew that going in) and we barely received more than a 2 sentence description of each stop on the itinerary. I would recommend researching the places you want to see and then taking the subway!
While in Myeongdong, we managed to find a Cat Cafe, where we paid about $8, sipped on the beverage of our choice, and played with some kitties. It was super fun and I will be doing it again! We also had great fun shopping around and finding good food for lunch and dinner. We were EXHAUSTED after dinner and forced ourselves to stay up until 9pm (haha)! Thankfully Kylee and I have similar tastes in movies, so The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy kept us awake and entertained until bedtime–Magrathea!!!
Monday: Time to hit it hard again! We actually had a fairly good night sleep and had a busy day ahead of us. We walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace and the National Folk (sometimes spelled Fork) Museum to celebrate Chuseok. While there, we were able to do some arts and crafts at the National Folk Museum and were fortunate enough to see the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace. There was free entry to the Folk Museum and Gyeongbokgung Palace for Chuseok, so they were PACKED! I will definitely visit Gyeongbokgung Palace again when it is not a holiday weekend.
After touring Gyeongbokgung Palace and the National Folk Museum, we toured around Insa-dong with our friend Ke, did a bit of shopping and had a fabulous dinner!
Tuesday: Kylee and I did more shopping around Insa-dong and ventured to Myeong-dong (where we shopped on Sunday) to go to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch-Yummers!! We stumbled upon a couple really cool stores and even some street performances.
We left Seoul in the late-afternoon on Tuesday and took the slow train back. 4hrs on a stuffy/wobbly train is not my cup of tea–KTX all the way in the future!
I had an absolutely wonderful time in Seoul during the Chuseok weekend and am looking forward to returning. I will most likely divvy up my trips based on some sort of theme: Partying in Itaewon, Shopping in the Markets and Malls, Museums and Palaces, etc. There is a lot to see and do in this lovely city and I look forward to going back!
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I want to know which hostel was such a disaster! Where did you go partying in Itaewon? I have a bunch of guides on my site – I wonder which locales from it other than the palaces and Myeong-dong you ended up seeing. You’ll be back to Seoul before you know it, I’m sure!
We actually didn’t party haha – it was more of a cultural visit! Yeah, have visited Seoul quite a few times since – always remember your first time though 🙂 The gross hostel was Guesthouse Korea in Insadong.. If they got a hold of their mold problem, then maybe it’d be worth going back – it was really bad when we went though!
Changdeokgung is my favorite palace to explore, it makes for super pretty pictures. Definitely explore Hyewha next your in Seoul it’s a very cool area.
Will do! Thanks for the tip 🙂
I love the Gyeongbukgung Palace too! I think its a must see for visitor of Seoul. As for the slow trains, sometimes I prefer them over KTX, they are more spacious, the seats are larger and recline more than the more expensive alternative’s.
Yeah, I’m really starting to branch out with my travel options! Going back up to Seoul in a couple weeks and may combine KTX and bus combo! 🙂
Been a Seoulite for 10 years now and yet, there’s still so much to explore. The nooks and crannies are always a good find. Good luck on your visit in 2 weeks. I hope you’ll get a good accommodation. I live in Sangam-dong where Digital Media City is. This is a good place to discover in one of your afternoons especially when you are into Korean media companies. They have transferrd their HQs here.
Awesome! Thanks for the tip! We’re staying near Yongsan station so we can catch the ITX to the Garden of the Morning Calm ^^
Awwww, you made me miss Seoul SO MUCH! I loved spending my weekends there and for sure, if I lived there, I would have never left for Vietnam! Insadong is great! I love the little mall where you travel upwards and all the way at the top is the garden full of love notes. Glad to read you had a great Chuseok xx
Thank you!! Yeah, Seoul is such a great city! I love it up there, but I’d be broke if I lived there haha – all the FOOD! Looking forward to one more trip to Insadong to get some goodies 🙂 Thanks for reading x
You hit all the Seoul hotspots! Cool I love all those places. The palaces, Insa-dong, the museum.
I’m not a huge fan of any city tours…. I want to explore myself, go where I want, when I want, and for how long I want.
But yeah, this city tour sounds terrible..
It was SO BAD! I’ve heard another company offers good tours, but we were unlucky 🙁