Where to eat, stay and visit in Seoul
Seoul is a city of districts: Jongno and Bukchon for palaces and hanok streets; Gangnam for polished shopping and dining; Hongdae and Seongsu for younger nightlife and design. The Banquet stay list leans Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Park Hyatt Seoul and Signiel Seoul; museum mornings go to Leeum Museum of Art, Amorepacific Museum of Art or Dongdaemun Design Plaza; dinner planning starts with Jungsik, Mingles or Evett; The Hyundai Seoul covers a department-store shopping day when Frieze week fills the diary. Shinsegae Gangnam, at 176 Sinbanpo-ro in Seocho, keeps a personal shopping room for Black Diamond: 120 million won and 12 purchase days on the 2026 card. Plan each day inside one zone and ride the metro between them; use Naver Map or KakaoMap for walking routes, since Google Maps navigation is limited in Korea. In Bukchon, respect residential quiet hours and photography rules; the area is lived-in, not a theme park.
Hotels · 3
- Four Seasons Hotel SeoulStay notes →
Four Seasons in Gwanghwamun at 97 Saemunan-ro, a practical northern base for palace walks, Bukchon and the Jongno dining belt without crossing the river every morning. The hotel…
- Park Hyatt SeoulStay notes →
Design-forward Park Hyatt on Teheran-ro opposite the COEX area, a practical Gangnam base for Frieze Seoul week and Samseong appointments. Rooms sit high above the boulevard with calm…
- Signiel SeoulStay notes →
Lotte Hotels luxury property on floors 76–101 of Lotte World Tower at 300 Olympic-ro in Songpa-gu, with 235 rooms and panoramic city views over Jamsil and the Han…
Restaurants · 3
- EvettTable notes →
Modern Korean-inspired fine dining by Australian-born chef Joseph Lidgerwood at 10-5 Dosan-daero 45-gil near Dosan Park in Gangnam. Evett moved from Yeoksam to this larger Apgujeong-area room in…
- JungsikTable notes →
Chef Yim Jung-sik’s New Korean fine-dining restaurant in Gangnam, with a parallel New York outpost under the same name. The MICHELIN Guide Seoul & Busan 2026 lists Jungsik…
- MinglesTable notes →
Modern Korean fine dining by chef Kang Min-goo at 19 Dosan-daero 67-gil in Cheongdam, Gangnam. Mingles earned three Michelin stars in the Seoul guide’s 2025 elevation and remains…
Museums · 3
- Amorepacific Museum of ArtVisit notes →
Museum inside David Chipperfield’s Amorepacific headquarters at 100 Hangang-daero in Yongsan, with lobby and catalogue library apLAP on the public atrium floors and exhibition halls below. The building…
- Dongdaemun Design PlazaVisit notes →
Zaha Hadid-designed cultural complex at 281 Eulji-ro in Jung-gu, managed with the Seoul Design Foundation as the city's design landmark. Design Miami staged its first Asia In Situ…
- Leeum Museum of ArtVisit notes →
Samsung Foundation private museum in Hannam-dong at 60-16 Itaewon-ro 55-gil, with buildings by Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas. Museum 1 holds traditional Korean art; Museum 2…
Shops · 2
- Shinsegae GangnamShopping notes →
Shinsegae Gangnam is the department store at 176 Sinbanpo-ro, Seocho-gu, beside Express Bus Terminal. The store brands itself Gangnam. The district on the address is Seocho. Lines 3…
- The Hyundai SeoulShopping notes →
Hyundai Department Store flagship in Yeouido at 108 Yeoui-daero, opened 26 February 2021 inside the Parc.1 mixed-use complex. The public beat is Burdifilek’s ground-floor Waterfall Garden: a roughly…