By Harry Nara · Last updated
Stay north of the river. Gangbuk, the north bank, holds the palaces, Myeongdong, Namsan and Hongdae, which is nearly everything a first visit is for, while Gangnam on the south bank is the newer business city and dearer at the cheap end. Jongno puts you among the palaces, and in a hanok if you want one; Myeongdong puts you in the middle of everything; Hongdae puts you on the airport line.
Seoul’s first geography lesson is in two words most visitors already know. Gang is the river, the Han, and buk and nam mean north and south, so Gangbuk is everything on the north bank and Gangnam everything on the south. The Han is about a kilometre wide as it passes through the city, and the two sides do not feel like one place.
For a visitor the split is lopsided. The old walled city with its palaces and royal shrine, the big markets, Namsan and the student quarter of Hongdae are all on the north bank. The south is where Seoul grew from the 1970s, and it is where the city works and shops rather than where its history is. So for most first trips the real question is which part of the north, and that depends on whether the days are built around palaces, shopping or nights out.
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The best areas to stay in Seoul
For the palaces, and for sleeping in a hanok
Jongno and Insadong
Suits: A first trip built around the palaces, and anyone who wants a traditional house
Jongno is the heart of the old walled city. Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, the Jongmyo shrine, the tea houses of Insadong and the hanok lanes of Bukchon and Ikseon-dong lie within a couple of subway stops of each other, and much of it is walkable. Stay here and the palaces are a morning stroll rather than a trip.
It is also the one district where a hanok stay is a realistic choice. Bukchon’s most photographed lanes turn sightseers away in the evening and early morning, because people live there, but the rule has a door in it for guests: showing a booking for a lodging inside the zone gets you through. The hours and the fine are in the questions below.
Watch out: The old city goes quiet after dark, so a night out means a subway ride to Hongdae or Itaewon. And a hanok is a house, not a hotel: most put a futon on the floor, rooms are small, and in Bukchon the neighbours are residents who asked for the evening rule.
- Splurge Bukchon Binkwan by Rakkojae A hanok hotel on Bukchon-ro 11ga-gil, in the middle of the hanok village, with rooms onto inner courtyards and futon bedding on the floor. It adds what most hanok stays cannot, a lift, a garden and breakfast, and its prices sit at the top of the city.
- Sweet spot Dajayon Hanok Stay A small hanok guesthouse with a garden, 250 metres from Jongno 3-ga station and close to the Ikseon-dong lanes. It is outside the Bukchon red zone, so there is no evening rule to plan around, and it costs about a fifth of the Rakkojae house.
- Sweet spot The Prima Hotel Jongno Insadong A conventional hotel on Ujeongguk-ro, the street Jogyesa temple stands on, 300 metres from Jonggak station. It has a lift, a fitness centre and facilities for disabled guests, which makes it the old-city base for anyone who wants a bed off the floor.
- Budget Beyond Residence Jongno Plain residence-style rooms 250 metres from Jongno 3-ga, where Lines 1, 3 and 5 meet. Few cheap beds in the old city are this well connected, and more than 1,100 guests rate it 8.6.
The middle of everything, for a short first trip
Myeongdong
Suits: Three or four days, shoppers, and anyone booking at short notice
Myeongdong sits between the palace quarter and Namsan, and that position is the whole case for it. City Hall, Namdaemun market and Seoul Station are a walk or a stop or two away, N Seoul Tower stands above it, and the Namsan cable car starts at its edge.
It has rooms at every price, from luxury hotels to guesthouses a street back from the stalls, so it is the easiest district in the city to book late. Three stations serve it directly: Myeong-dong on Line 4, Euljiro 1-ga on Line 2, and City Hall on Lines 1 and 2 at its western edge.
Watch out: Myeongdong is built for visitors and it shows. The main streets are cosmetics shops and food stalls, packed from late afternoon, with little of the city’s own life, and rooms at the cheaper end can be very small. The streets towards City Hall and up the slope to Namsan are quieter for the same access.
- Splurge L’Escape, a Luxury Collection Hotel On Toegye-ro at the Namsan edge of Myeongdong, with a spa, a bar and an airport shuttle. Seoul Station, for the airport railway, is just over a kilometre away on foot, and more than 2,200 guests rate the hotel 9.4.
- Sweet spot Hotel Midcity Myeongdong On Dadong-gil, the calmer side of Myeongdong towards City Hall, 600 metres from City Hall station on Lines 1 and 2. It has a fitness centre and luggage storage, and more than two thousand guests have reviewed it.
- Budget Soo Guest House A guesthouse 200 metres from Myeongdong station on the lanes below Namsan, rated 9.5 by more than 750 guests, whose breakfast is among the things they single out. The lanes behind it climb towards Namsan park, so the mountain walk starts at the door.
For nights out, and the easiest run from the airport
Hongdae
Suits: Night owls, students and anyone landing late at Incheon
Hongdae takes its name from Hongik University, and the streets around it are Seoul’s student quarter: live music, clubs, buskers, cheap food and bars that stay open late, spreading into the calmer café streets of Yeonnam-dong to the north.
Its practical advantage is the airport. Hongik University station is on the Airport Railroad as well as Line 2, so a late arrival at Incheon can reach a Hongdae bed on one train. Rooms run from design hotels to dormitory beds, most of them within a few minutes of the station.
Watch out: It is loud. The streets around Hongik University are the city’s main nightlife district, busiest on Friday and Saturday nights, and a room above them will hear it. It is also well west of the palaces: five stops on Line 2 to City Hall, and further to Jongno.
- Splurge RYSE, Autograph Collection A design hotel on Yanghwa-ro, 300 metres from exit 9 of Hongik University station, with a bar, a restaurant and room service. The Airport Railroad stops at the same station, and the property lists Incheon as 55 minutes away on it. Couples rate its location above 9.
- Sweet spot Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hongdae Further along Yanghwa-ro, 450 metres from the station, with a fitness centre, a restaurant, a bar and family rooms. A dependable chain hotel at about half the price of its neighbour, rated 8.9 by more than 1,600 guests.
- Budget Bunk Guesthouse Hongdae Dormitory beds and family rooms 500 metres from the station, with a garden, a terrace with barbecue facilities and a laundry. More than 1,700 guests rate it 9.0.
For business, the big malls and a second visit
Gangnam, south of the river
Suits: Meetings on Teheran-ro or at COEX, return visitors, and shoppers in Apgujeong and Sinsa
Gangnam means south of the river, and in everyday use it covers far more than the district of Gangnam-gu. This is the newer city, built out mostly from the 1970s: the office towers of Teheran-ro, the COEX convention centre and mall, the department stores and clinics of Apgujeong and Cheongdam, and the shops of Garosu-gil in Sinsa.
Line 2 is what makes it workable. The loop line crosses the Han to serve Gangnam, Seolleung and Samseong, then runs back north through City Hall and Hongik University, so a hotel near a Line 2 station here is one line from much of the rest of this page.
Watch out: Almost everything on a first visit is on the other bank. The palaces, Myeongdong, Namsan and Hongdae are all north of the Han, so a Gangnam base adds a river crossing to most days out. The cheap end is thinner and dearer too: in the same January search, the lowest well-reviewed beds here cost noticeably more than those in Jongno or Hongdae.
- Splurge Josun Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel On Teheran-ro, with an indoor swimming pool, a fitness centre and four restaurants, and rated 9.7. It is the Luxury Collection sister of L’Escape in Myeongdong, and the dearest room on this page by a distance.
- Sweet spot L7 Gangnam by Lotte Hotels 250 metres from Seolleung station, where Line 2 meets the Suin-Bundang line, with a fitness centre, a bar and free parking. It costs about a quarter of the Josun Palace, on the same road.
- Budget Forêt Guest House Gangnam A guesthouse in Sinsa-dong, the neighbourhood of Garosu-gil, 500 metres from Apgujeong station, with dormitory beds as well as family rooms, a terrace and a laundry. It is the south bank’s nearest thing to a Hongdae guesthouse.
When to book, and what it costs you
Rooms are dearest in April and October, when the blossom and the clear autumn weather bring the busiest weeks of the year, and in May around the lantern parade. The coldest weeks of winter are the cheapest, outside Christmas and Seollal.
The best value is usually January, February and November.
Prices and availability tighten most in April, May and October.
Hanok rooms are few, and in April and October they are the first thing to go, so book the hanok first and plan the rest of the trip around its dates. Watch the two big holidays as well. Seollal and Chuseok send much of the city away for several days, which empties the residential streets but fills the trains out, and at Seollal the hotels near Myeongdong and the palaces fill with visitors on holiday for Chinese New Year. Outside the room, a day in Seoul runs from about ₩75,000 in January to ₩90,000 or more in April and October at the careful end, so the season moves the whole trip, not only the hotel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I stay in Gangnam or north of the river?
North, for a first visit. The palaces, Myeongdong, Namsan and Hongdae are all on the north bank, and staying there saves a river crossing most days. Gangnam suits a business trip, a second visit, or a stay built around COEX, the Garosu-gil shops or the clinics of Apgujeong, and Line 2 makes it workable from either side.
Is it worth staying in a hanok in Seoul?
For a night or two, yes, if you know what you are booking. A hanok is a traditional house built around a courtyard, and most hanok stays put a futon on the floor rather than a bed in a room, often laid on ondol, the heated floor Korean houses have used for centuries. They are small, they book early, and the ones in Bukchon sit inside a residential area with rules about visiting hours. Many travellers split the trip: two nights in a hanok, the rest in a hotel.
What are the Bukchon visiting hours, and do they apply to hotel guests?
The red zone around Bukchon-ro 11-gil is closed to sightseers from 5pm until 10am, and a ₩100,000 fine applies outside those hours. Jongno district exempts residents and their visitors, people using the shops and anyone simply passing through, and it lets guests of lodgings in on showing their booking confirmation, so keep it to hand if you check in after five.
Where should I stay for the airport?
Hongdae, if you want to be on the train from Incheon: Hongik University station is on the Airport Railroad. Seoul Station, the line’s terminus, is a stop or two from Myeongdong for anyone staying in the centre. The same railway serves Gimpo, the city’s second airport, and from Gimpo Line 9 runs east across the south of the city towards Gangnam.
Is Myeongdong a good place to stay?
For a short first trip it is the easiest base in the city: central, a walk from Namsan and the markets, and full of rooms at every price. What it lacks is a neighbourhood of its own once the stalls pack up, so anyone staying a week may prefer the old-city lanes of Jongno or the cafés around Hongdae.
Checked against Jongno district, Bukchon special management zone: visiting hours, fine and exemptions, Seoul Metropolitan Government media hub, Bukchon visiting hours, Yeondeunghoe, organiser address at Jogyesa, 55 Ujeongguk-ro. Hotel details are verified on each property’s own Booking.com listing.
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