Though Seoul has one of the world's best subway systems, it's not the ideal way for first-time visitors to get a sense of the layout of the city and take in the major tourist sites in one day. If you've just arrived in Seoul and want to get a feel for the capital and its diverse tourist attractions, Seoul City Tour Bus is an option well worth considering.
Offering four different tour courses, two by day and two at night, Seoul City Tour Bus circulates at regular intervals, allowing you to get off and on the bus whenever you like throughout the day. Both one-story and two-story buses are available, according to the course you choose. All bus seats are equipped with headsets offering a multilingual audio guide service in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, and French, giving detailed information on attractions along the route.
Offering four different tour courses, two by day and two at night, Seoul City Tour Bus circulates at regular intervals, allowing you to get off and on the bus whenever you like throughout the day. Both one-story and two-story buses are available, according to the course you choose. All bus seats are equipped with headsets offering a multilingual audio guide service in Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, and French, giving detailed information on attractions along the route.
Four choices
The City Circulation Course is the most comprehensive of the four, taking in 26 stops including many of Seoul's major tourist sites, as well as several hotels for the convenience of guests. The Cheonggye/Palace Course, meanwhile, stops at 13 points around the central area of the city and Cheonggyecheon Stream, including palaces, museums, markets, and more. The 1-Story and 2-Story Night Bus Courses follow similar routes, crossing four bridges over the Hangang River in the west and east of Seoul, following the northern riverbank, and passing the Mt. Namsan and Namdaemun Market areas.
Information at your fingertips...
Seoul City's official iTour Seoul website provides a comprehensive tourist information service that can also be used in the form of a mobile website or an iPhone application. iTour Seoul offers recommended itineraries, a wide variety of discount coupons, accommodation reservation, a trip planner function, and masses of information on places to eat and drink, sleep, visit tourist spots and other sites, shop, and more. The mobile version of iTour Seoul offers all the services available through the website on your smartphone or other mobile devices.
...and in the palm of your hand
The iPhone or iPod application version of iTour Seoul, available from Apple's App Store, offers functions similar to the Web versions, but a little more compact. Information, organized by theme, is the core of the app. You can use it right where you are to plan your route and check maps, transportation, contact information, and more. You can even take a picture, upload it, and check it out later at the site. The service now supports iPhone and iPod applications, but versions for other smartphones are under development. To buy the iTour Seoul app, go to the App Store, search for "Seoul," and then click on "iTour Seoul." The application is free.iTour Seoul combines well with Seoul City Tour Bus, allowing you to search for attractions, places to eat and drink, and more according to area as you move around the city. iPhones are available for rental at Incheon International Airport, Gimpo International Airport and City Airport, Logis & Travel (Gangnam). See "More Info" below for details.
City Circulation Course
The most extensive of the four courses, this uses a one-story bus and costs 10,000 per person. It takes in 26 stops:
This is the tour to take if you want to spend a day enjoying the full variety of what Seoul has to offer, from the quiet grounds of the Changgyeonggung Palace to the bustle of Dongdaemun Market, the multicultural buzz and great restaurants of Itaewon, museums and memorials worth at least half a day in themselves, and plenty more. The 30-minute intervals between buses mean you'll never be waiting around for long.
o Deoksugung Palace
This small but unique palace shows through its varied architecture the upheaval that was occurring in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Korea came under pressure from foreign powers after 500 years of stability and isolation.
o National Museum of Korea
One of the largest museums in the world in terms of floor space, this is Korea's flagship museum. It exhibits some 13,000 pieces at any one time, including some of the country's most stunning artworks and cultural artifacts.
o Namsangol Hanok Village
A collection of restored and relocated Korean houses on this side of Mt. Namsan gives a feel of what some Korean traditional villages felt like in the later Joseon era (1392—1910). It also offers a wide range of traditional culture experience activities and programs.
o Dongdaemun Market
A sprawling complex of markets and malls, many of which are open 24 hours a day. Dongdaemun Market is heaven for people out to do some serious shopping for shoes, clothes, accessories, and much more.
Cheonggyecheon/Palace Course
Somewhat shorter than the City Circulation Course in terms of distance and time, this course is centered around the historic urban stream of Cheonggyecheon and four of Seoul's five main royal palaces. Costing 12,000 won per person, it takes in 13 stops:
This tour is a great way to enjoy a scenic route through central Seoul. Parts of it, such as the stretch of Cheonggyecheon Stream between Cheonggyecheon Plaza and Dongdaemun Market, can be enjoyed on foot down by the water. It also introduces one or two destinations your guide book may have not said much about, such as the Agricultural Museum. The interval between buses is one hour this time.
o Daehangno
Seoul's best-known theater district is also home to plenty of good shops, cinemas, and places to eat, as well as a good jazz bar and more. It's a good starting point for a walk along the eastern part of Seoul's old city wall that crests Mt. Naksan, too.
o Insa-dong
One of Seoul's top tourist destinations, this street near the center of the old city is lined with shops selling various Korean traditional items (see Shopping, p80). It also has plenty of traditional tea shops, good restaurants, and other places to generally enjoy a relaxing stroll with half an eye on doing some shopping.
o Seoul Museum of History
Find out more about the 600 dramatic years that preceded today's Seoul, from the time it was chosen as the capital of the new Joseon Dynasty at the end of the 14th century. The museum features permanent exhibits on Seoul's past and an ongoing series of special exhibitions.
1-Story and 2-Story Night Bus Courses
Departing at 8pm nightly, these two tours follow somewhat similar routes. Customers generally stay on the bus and enjoy the nighttime views of a city that only sometimes sleeps. The one-story bus tour costs 5,000 won, while the two-story bus tour is 10,000 won.
One of Seoul Metropolitan Government's key recent projects is known as the Hangang Renaissance. It is aimed at regenerating the northern and southern banks of Seoul's main waterway to make them more accessible to citizens and provide plenty of high-quality green space for leisure, exercise, and entertainment. This has been achieved through a series of interconnected parks along each bank.
The Moonlight Rainbow Fountain on Banpo Bridge is one of the nighttime highlights of the regenerated river, giving intermittent displays of water and light throughout the afternoon and evening. Its show is at 8:30pm.
The nighttime tours also take in Mt. Namsan, one of the city's other best-known points for taking in the Seoul nightscape.
(Source: SEOUL Magazine Dec. Issue)
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