Seoul

Incheon International Airport (ICN) is the main gateway and handles almost all long-haul international arrivals. There are no direct flights from Sweden, so most travelers connect via a major hub — Helsinki, Frankfurt, Paris, Doha, or Dubai are among the most common routes, with total journey time (including the layover) typically landing somewhere between 13 and 18 hours depending on the connection. From Incheon, the AREX express train to Seoul Station takes about 45 minutes (around ₩13,000, cheaper booked online); the slower all-stop AREX takes closer to an hour but costs only around ₩5,350 and also serves Hongdae along the way. Gimpo Airport (GMP), Seoul's secondary airport, sits much closer to the city center (roughly 20–30 minutes by subway) and mainly handles domestic flights plus a handful of short-haul international routes to Japan and China — useful if you're arriving via Tokyo, Osaka, or a few other regional cities, but not an option for long-haul arrivals from Europe. If you're combining Seoul with other parts of Korea, the KTX high-speed rail network is excellent and worth building into your route — Seoul Station to Busan takes about 2 hours 35 minutes, making a Seoul–Busan or Seoul–Gyeongju combination an easy add-on by train rather than a domestic flight. Ferries also connect Incheon's international terminal to several Chinese port cities, including Qingdao and Tianjin — a slower but interesting alternative if you're arriving overland-and-sea from China rather than by air.

The subway is the backbone of the city and it's excellent — clean, on time, signed in English, and it'll get you almost anywhere for around ₩1,550 a ride (base fare rises slightly with distance). The network is color-coded and numbered (Line 1 through 9, plus branch lines like Bundang, Gyeongui-Jungang, and the Airport Railroad), and platform screens count down to the next train in English, so it's genuinely hard to get lost. Get a T-money card the moment you land (₩3,000 at any CU or GS25 convenience store, including the ones at Incheon Airport arrivals) and tap it on subways, buses, most taxis, and even some convenience stores — it also gives you free or discounted transfers between bus and subway within 30 minutes, as long as you remember to tap out when you exit the bus. Buses are color-coded by function — blue for trunk routes across the city, green for feeder routes within a district, red for express routes out to satellite cities, yellow for short circular loops around one neighborhood — useful once you've got the hang of it, though the subway is more forgiving for visitors. The subway stops running around midnight to 1am and doesn't restart until about 5:30am, so if you're out late, either budget for a taxi or catch one of the N-series night buses that run through until dawn on major routes. From Incheon Airport, the AREX express train to Seoul Station takes about 45 minutes and runs roughly ₩13,000 (a bit less booked online); the all-stop version is slower, closer to an hour, but only around ₩5,350 and also serves Gimpo Airport and Hongdae on the way. Taxis from the airport into the city run ₩55,000–90,000 depending on destination and traffic, which is honestly fine for a late-night arrival or a group splitting the cost. Within the city, taxis are metered, cheap, and best booked through the Kakao T app rather than hailed off the street — it removes any language barrier since the destination is already typed in. If you're staying more than a couple of days, look at the Seoul Climate Card — unlimited subway and bus rides for 30 days for ₩62,000. And if you want to explore like a local, the Ttareungi (Seoul Bike) docked bike-share system is cheap and covers most of the city, including the flat, scenic paths along the Han River.

Naver Map is the one to download before you land — Google Maps is largely useless for walking and transit directions in Korea, but Naver Map has full English support, real-time bus tracking, and subway routing that actually works. KakaoMap is a solid backup with similar coverage. For taxis, use Kakao T (or its foreigner-friendly version, K.ride) — you punch in the destination and the driver gets it automatically, no address confusion or language barrier. KakaoTalk is how Korea communicates, full stop — hotels, tour operators, and even some restaurants will want to reach you through it rather than SMS or WhatsApp. Papago, Naver's translation app, beats Google Translate hands-down for Korean — its camera mode is a lifesaver for menus that are only written in Korean. Worth adding: WOWPASS, a machine you'll spot in subway stations and around Myeongdong, which exchanges cash into a rechargeable card that doubles as a T-money transit card at a competitive rate — handy if you land with cash and don't want a separate transit card. If you want to eat like a local without leaving your room, Baemin (Baedal Minjok) and Coupang Eats are the dominant delivery apps, though both work best with a Korean phone number. And if anything goes properly wrong, the Korea Tourist Information hotline (dial 1330) has English-speaking staff around the clock — worth saving before you land.

Don't tip — it isn't part of the culture here and can genuinely confuse or embarrass service staff; if you want to show appreciation, say "jal meogeosseumnida" (I ate well) on your way out, or just leave a good review. Shoes come off before you enter most guesthouses, restaurants with floor seating, and any home you're invited into, so skip the socks with holes. Seoul is very safe to walk around at night — genuinely one of the safest big cities anywhere — but jaywalking is taken seriously and does get fined, so use the crosswalks even when the street looks empty. Convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven) are a real part of daily life here, not just a backup option — they sell surprisingly good instant noodles with a hot-water station and a few plastic stools out front, phone chargers, hangover drinks, and cheap alcohol, and they're open 24 hours on almost every block. Drinking culture is central to socializing — soju is the default spirit, poured with two hands or one hand supported by the other as a sign of respect when serving someone older, and outdoor drinking in parks, including along the Han River, is legal and common in warm weather. Smoking is banned indoors and around building entrances but allowed in small designated outdoor booths you'll spot near office blocks and stations. It's worth arranging an eSIM or pocket wifi rental before you land — both are cheap and easy to book in advance or grab at Incheon Airport arrivals, and Korea's mobile data speeds are some of the fastest in the world. Card payment is accepted almost everywhere, even at small street stalls, so you don't need to carry much cash, though a little is worth having for the odd market vendor. July and August bring monsoon humidity and real heat, so pack for it if you're visiting then; spring and autumn are far more comfortable and also the most beautiful times to be here. The classic first-timer mistake is trying to see too much — the city rewards picking one or two neighborhoods a day and wandering rather than sprinting between checklist sights, and it's worth building in at least one evening for street food or a jjimjilbang (Korean bathhouse) instead of another museum.

Myeongdong is the easiest first-time base — dead-central, walkable to Gyeongbokgung and Namsan, thick with hotels at every price point, and open late for shopping and street food. Hongdae suits anyone prioritizing nightlife and a younger, creative energy — it has some of the cheapest good accommodation in the city and doesn't quiet down until sunrise. Gangnam is the pick for a more polished stay, with sleeker hotels, upscale dining, and easy access to COEX, though it's less atmospheric than the older parts of the city. Itaewon works well if you want international food options and a more laid-back, expat-friendly evening scene, with Namsan and N Seoul Tower a short walk away. For something quieter and more atmospheric, Jongno-gu around Ikseondong and Bukchon puts you inside the old hanok fabric of the city, a short walk from Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, with boutique guesthouses and small hanok-stay options rather than big hotel towers — less convenient for late-night transit but unmatched for morning-walk atmosphere. Seongsu-dong, sometimes called the Brooklyn of Seoul, is worth considering if you want a design-forward, less touristy stay among converted warehouses, specialty coffee, and concept stores, with easy subway access into the rest of the city on Line 2.

Myeongdong isn't just a shopping strip — it's also home to Myeongdong Kyoja, one of the city's most-loved dumpling and knife-cut noodle spots since 1966, plus Wangbijip for solid Korean BBQ, both worth the queue. Gwangjang Market is the essential stop for traditional street food — bindaetteok (crispy mung bean pancakes stuffed with pork and kimchi), mayak gimbap (bite-sized "addictive" gimbap, named for how hard it is to stop eating), yukhoe (hand-cut raw beef tartare mixed tableside with sesame oil and egg yolk, some of the freshest in the city), and sundae (glutinous rice and glass-noodle sausage) — all eaten standing at a counter shoulder to shoulder with locals who've been coming for decades. Hongdae has some of the best-value Korean BBQ in the city — the all-you-can-eat spots around Hongik University pull huge crowds of locals for a reason (one nearby all-you-can-eat KBBQ joint sits at a near-perfect 4.9 rating, which tells you everything). Ikseondong, the maze of hanok alleys near Jongno, has turned into one of Seoul's most interesting food and cafe pockets — quiet by day, packed with lantern-lit courtyards and inventive small restaurants like Ikseon Chwihyang by night. Itaewon is the city's best bet for a break from Korean food or for fusion done well — proper Thai at spots like Pad Ka Paw, Japanese tonkatsu, and a genuinely international spread reflecting the neighborhood's expat roots. And Euljiro, the old printing and hardware district just south of Ikseondong, has quietly become one of Seoul's most fun nights out — hidden bars and grilled-meat joints tucked into 1970s machine-shop alleys, part of the city's "newtro" wave of blending gritty old spaces with a young, design-savvy crowd.

Korean barbecue is the obvious headline — samgyeopsal (thick-cut grilled pork belly) wrapped in lettuce with garlic, ssamjang, and a shot of soju is the classic night out, and Hongdae's all-you-can-eat spots are some of the best value in the city. Chimaek — Korean fried chicken and beer, double-fried for a crunch that actually survives the trip to your table — is practically a national pastime; Kyochon and BHC are the big chains, but any neighborhood joint with a queue out front is worth trusting. At Gwangjang Market, go for bindaetteok (crispy mung bean pancakes), mayak gimbap ("addictive" bite-sized rolls, named for how hard it is to stop at one), yukhoe (hand-cut raw beef tartare, mixed tableside with sesame oil and egg yolk), and sundae (Korean blood-and-glass-noodle sausage). Myeongdong Kyoja has been serving kalguksu (hand-cut knife noodles in a rich broth) and mandu since 1966, and it's still the standard everyone else is measured against. Budae jjigae ("army stew") — spam, sausage, ramyeon noodles, and kimchi simmered together in a spicy communal pot, a legacy of the Korean War era — is now pure comfort food, best shared with a few people. Tteokbokki (chewy rice cakes in a sweet-spicy gochujang sauce) is the classic street snack, alongside hotteok (syrup-filled fried pancakes, best in winter), Korean corn dogs (a chewier, sweeter batter than the American version, often rolled in cubed potato or ramen crumbs), tornado potatoes on a skewer, and tanghulu (fruit skewers glazed in a hard sugar shell). For dessert, bingsu — finely shaved milk ice piled with red bean, fresh fruit, and condensed milk — is the go-to on a hot day, and worth seeking out beyond the tourist-trap versions in Myeongdong.

Myeongdong is K-beauty central — Innisfree, Etude House, Laneige, Missha, and dozens more flagship stores sit within a few blocks, alongside Zara, Uniqlo, and the usual international names. Hongdae, anchored by the ever-popular Hongdae Shopping Street, is where to go for Korean streetwear, vintage finds, and indie designer boutiques, with a younger, more experimental edge than Myeongdong — the nearby Ewha Womans University street has a similar youthful, affordable fashion scene aimed squarely at students. Gangnam covers both ends of the spectrum — Apgujeong and Cheongdam-dong for luxury flagships, and the sprawling underground Starfield COEX Mall, home to the stunning Starfield Library, for a few hundred more accessible brands under one roof. Seongsu-dong has become the place for design-led, small-batch Korean labels and concept stores set inside converted warehouses — less about big-name shopping and more about discovering brands before they blow up, alongside container-style malls like Common Ground. Dongdaemun is the one to see after dark, its towering fashion malls and market stalls running late into the night, and Namdaemun Market nearby is worth a wander for a more old-school, everything-under-the-sun shopping crawl.

Start at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul's grandest and most photographed royal palace — rent a hanbok nearby and you get in free, plus you'll blend right into the changing-of-the-guard ceremony held at 10am and 2pm. Walk straight from there into Bukchon Hanok Village, a hillside neighborhood of centuries-old traditional houses that's still actually lived in, not just preserved for tourists. Ride the cable car up to N Seoul Tower for the best skyline view in the city, ideally timed for sunset. Spend a quiet morning at Changgyeonggung Palace, less crowded than Gyeongbokgung but just as beautiful, or find some stillness at Bongeunsa Temple, a genuine working Buddhist temple that sits improbably next to Gangnam's skyscrapers. Cheonggyecheon, the restored stream that cuts through downtown, is a lovely spot for an evening walk between sights. In warmer months (April through October), pack a mat, pick up snacks from a convenience store, and join locals for a Han River picnic at Banpo Hangang Park timed to catch the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain — over a kilometer of illuminated water jets along Banpo Bridge, running several times an evening and genuinely one of the more magical free things to do in the city. For a properly local night, spend a few hours at a jjimjilbang (Korean bathhouse) — Dragon Hill Spa and Siloam Sauna near Seoul Station are classic 24-hour options with hot tubs, saunas, and sleeping rooms, and it's one of the best ways to decompress after a day of walking. Architecture fans should make time for Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Zaha Hadid's swooping, futuristic building that hosts exhibitions by day and sits beside the Dongdaemun night markets after dark. If you've got a full day free and don't mind a climb, Bukhansan National Park on the city's northern edge has serious granite-peak hiking with sweeping views back over Seoul — a genuinely different side of the city most short-trip visitors miss. And if you have a spare day, the DMZ day trip out to the Demilitarized Zone is one of the strangest, most memorable experiences you can have anywhere — book a few days ahead, since tours fill up fast around holidays.