Seoul's Top Attractions: A 5-Day Itinerary

Five days covering the Seoul sights everyone comes for — the palaces, the markets, both towers, Gangnam — grouped by neighbourhood so you walk between them instead of criss-crossing the city.

• Day 1 — Royal & Traditional. Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung, Bukchon, Changdeokgung, Insadong, Ikseon-dong, Jongno 3-ga.
• Day 2 — Museums, Markets & Namsan. War Memorial, National Museum, Namdaemun, Myeongdong, N Seoul Tower, Euljiro.
• Day 3 — Markets & Modern Seoul. Gwangjang, Cheonggyecheon, Dongdaemun, DDP, Hongdae, Yeonnam-dong.
• Day 4 — Gangnam & Jamsil. Bongeunsa, COEX, Gangnam, Seokchon Lake, Seoul Sky, Songridan-gil.
• Day 5 — Coffee & Shopping. Seongsu-dong, Common Ground, Garosu-gil, Apgujeong Rodeo.

The things that will cost you a morning if you don't know them. Gyeongbokgung closes on Tuesdays and Changdeokgung on Mondays, so there is a wrong day to run Day 1. The Secret Garden is a timed guided tour with limited tickets and has to be booked ahead. The Integrated Palace Ticket covers four palaces and Jongmyo for ₩6,000. The royal guard ceremony happens twice a day and is the best free thing you'll see.

Every stop says how to get there — the line, the station, the exit and the walk, not just the name.

And the local half. Where to eat inside Namdaemun instead of on its main street, a charcoal-grill restaurant on Cheonggyecheon that's been there for decades, Euljiro after the workshops shut, the back lanes of Yeonnam-dong, and an honest warning about what Gwangjang Market has become.

Free to download, and built as the companion to Seoul Like a Local — this one is the sights, that one is everything else.