Full Day Small-Group Royal Palace and Seoul Tour

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Gyeongbokgung Palace, 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul South Korea

From your hotel or subway station, you will start your travel in a comfortable vehicle.

You’ll arrive at the Jogyesa temple, a quiet and calm place, located in Jongno. The irony is that the temple located in a very crowded street, but inside the temple is serene and beautiful.

 

Next, you will have the chance to visit the presidential blue house is known by the symbolic blue tiles. The building shows the true beauty of Korea with Mt Bukak peeking behind it.

Then, you will move onto the next place called Gwanghwamun to watch the royal guard changing ceremony. It is a ceremony to announce changing of the royal guards, as well as to clarify the guards' identities.

Then, you will head toward Gyeongbokgung where was a main palace and the most beautiful palace during the Joseon dynasty.

After seeing the Gyeongbokgung Palace, you will visit the Korean Ginseng Center to look around before having a lunch of local food and move on to the Changdeokgung Palace.

The Changdeokgung Palace is listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage since 1997 for its beautiful appearance. It is a residence for the kings and queens with rear garden pavilion.

After seeing how the royals lived, you will move onward to Insadong to see and experience the traditional culture of Korea like a Korean tea house and maybe try buying something in this famous antique alley.

For the last part of the tour, you will move to Namdaemun (also known as Soongryemun) which was built in 1396 by King Taejo’s reign. Now, Namdaemun is listed as Korea's most important National Treasure.

You will also visit Namdaemun Market near Namdaemun and look around this famous traditional market. 

After your long day, the tour will conclude at your hotel where you were picked up in the morning. 

Please note:

1. On Mondays, Changdeokgung Palace is closed, and you will go to Bukchon traditional Hanok Village instead.

2. On Tuesdays, the Gyeongbokgung Palace and National Folklore museum are closed, and you will go to Deoksugung Palace and The Presidential Blue House Museum instead.

Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Insadong, Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul South Korea

Insadong is a place of traditional culture near Gyeongbok palace. Insadong was famous since the Joseon dynasty for having lots of antique shops. Today Insadong is popular among tourists for having lots of traditional tea houses, antique shops, traditional handcraft shops, and lots of other shops.

Insa-dong is especially popular with foreign tourists. This is where they can experience and see traditional Korean culture firsthand, and also purchase pieces of fine art. On the street you can see many foreigners lost in all the joyous festivities of the street. Insadong is a place of traditional culture.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Changdeokgung Palace, 99, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03072 South Korea

It is famous for its beautiful feature. It is recorded as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 1997 for having its beautiful appearance of that time.

Changdeokgung Palace was the second royal villa built following the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1405. It was the principal palace for many of the Joseon kings and is the most well-preserved of the five remaining royal Joseon palaces.

The palace grounds are comprised of a public palace area, a royal family residence building, and the rear garden.

Known as a place of rest for the kings, the rear garden boasts a gigantic tree that is over 300 years old, a small pond, and a pavilion.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Jogyesa Temple, 45 Gyeonji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-170 South Korea

Jogyesa Buddhist Temple is the center of Zen Buddhism in Korea, and is famous for being located in the city.

From the busy streets of Jongno, follow the road towards Anguk Subway Station, and you will see Jogyesa Temple.

The first things you will notice at the temple are the lovely trees. These locust trees and baeksong trees in front of the Daeungjeon, the main temple building, are about 500 years old.

Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Namdaemun Market, 21, Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul 04529 South Korea

Soongryemun (Namdaemun) is a main gate of former Seoul fortress in Joseon dynasty. It is commonly called as Namdaemun.

The gate was built in 1396, in King Taejo's reign. And it was reconstructed in 1447 by king Sejong and in 1479 by king Seongjong.

In 2006 the Seoul city opened the passage to the gate to public. The gate is now listed as Korea's national treasure #1. But in February 10th 2008, the gate was all burnt away by arsonist and the wooden gate was all burnt away by that accident.

The Cultural Heritage Administration has announced to rebuild the gate similarly to its original appearance. The rebuilding was done by early in 2013.

Duration: 1 minute

You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.

This trip is fully refundable up to 96 hours prior to the commencement of your trip.

When you book this trip, you need to read and accept the terms and conditions for booking our day trips in excursions.

When you book, we will ask you to select a hotel to be picked up from. Once your booking is confirmed, we'll send you a confirmation voucher with full contact information (phone number, email address) for our local operator in case you need to update or change your hotel pick-up details.

Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about hotel pickup:

What if my hotel is not listed?
That's okay. When you book you can select an hotel from our list and make your way there on the day of departure; or you can contact our local operator directly to make alternate pick-up arrangements.

What if I have not yet booked a hotel?
Once your hotel arrangements are finalised, you can contact our local operator directly with your hotel details.

What if I live locally, am staying with friends or relatives, and/or don't require pick-up?
Once your booking is confirmed, we'll send you complete details and directions to the tour/activity departure point.