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Seoul City Sightseeing Tour Including Gyeongbokgung Palace, N Seoul Tower, and Namsangol Hanok Village

Seoul, South Korea

From USD 110.00

Select Date and Travellers

Free cancellation
Up to 24 hours in advance.
Seoul Tours
All Seoul Tours
Audio Guides
Kid-Friendly
Likely To Sell Out
Private and Luxury
  • 8 hours (approx.)
  • Pickup offered
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

This full-day sightseeing tour of Seoul showcases the best of Korea’s history, culture, and traditions. Led by a guide, see the city’s major landmarks, including Jogyesa Temple and Gyeongbokgung Palace, National Folk Museum, N Seoul Tower, and Namsangol Hanok Village. Watch the changing of the guards during a stop at Gwanghwamun Gate and enjoy a traditional Korean lunch with your fellow travelers in Insadong. Your full-day tour also includes a stop at a traditional ginseng center.
  • Full-day guided tour of Seoul by coach
  • Take in the tranquil interior of Jogyesa Temple
  • Explore the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace
  • Learn about Korean culture at the National Folk Museum
  • Get a bird’s-eye view of the city from N Seoul Tower
  • See restored traditional homes at Namsangol Hanok Village
  • Lunch, admission fees, and hotel pickup and drop-off are included

Why Travellers Choose This Tour

This express tour covers all of Seoul’s highlights in just one day and includes all admission tickets.

What's Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Professional guide
  • Lunch
  • Air-conditioned vehicle
  • Admission Fee
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • Gratuities

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

  • Seoul
    Seoul, South Korea

    Jogyesa Buddhist Temple

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

09:00 am

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

If you cannot find your hotel on our list, please let us know your hotel/accomodation name (including the address) and we will arrange the closest pickup location for you.

What To Expect

Meet your friendly local guide at your Seoul hotel and travel by comfortable coach through the capital city streets. Pay a visit to Jogyesa Temple, which is widely recognized as the top Buddhist temple in the nation. Once you’ve wandered the grounds head past the Blue House (Cheongwadae), where the current president resides. 

Your knowledgeable guide then takes you to Gyeongbokgung Palace, where the royal family lived during the Joseon Dynasty. Learn how this 14th-century structure was built and gain a deeper understanding of its iconic status as you wander the grounds learning about its architecture and traditions. While at Gyeongbokgung Palace, visit the National Folk Museum and learn about the history and culture of Korean residents. Galleries include information about traditional farming, hunting, royalty, and aristocracy. 

Next, venture to a traditional ginseng center, where you learn about this medicinal staple. Enjoy a traditional Korean lunch in Insadong and relax while you tuck into a bowl of bibimbap (rice, vegetables and meat). Spend some time at your leisure wandering the shops and town streets before making your way to the North Seoul Tower.

Stationed atop Mt. Namsan, this incredible city landmark offers up stunning views from its towering observation deck. Once you’ve snapped some photos, head to Namsangol Hanok Village, where your guide takes you through the model village streets that offer a look at the Joseon Dynasty life. Check out various housing styles and incredible gardens as your guide points out key features and shares a bit of Korean history.

Your tour ends back at your hotel.

Jogyesa Temple

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae) (Pass By)

Gyeongbokgung Palace

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

National Folk Museum of Korea

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Gwanghwamun Gate

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Insadong

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Namsangol Hanok Village

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

N Seoul Tower

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
  • A moderate amount of walking is involved; it is recommended that you wear good walking shoes
  • Please note: On Tuesdays, Gyeongbokgung Palace, the National Folk Museum and Namsangol Hanok Village may be closed; if this is the case, you will visit Deoksu Palace, the History Museum and Myeongdong instead
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Infants must sit on laps
  • Tour Schedule can be changed because of local circumstance or weather.
  • 1 of the shopping centers are included (Ginseng Center)
  • Tuesdays : Gyeongbok Palace is closed so, we will visit to Deoksu Palace
  • Mondays : Namsan Hanok Village is closed so, we will visit to Bukchon Hangok Village
  • Most travellers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveller Photos

See more

Traveller Tips

It should be better to have more time at the top of N Seoul tower because it is very beautiful.

Reviews

4.5
92 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Reviews by Viator travellers.
Showing 1-10 of 92 reviews
Perfect intro to Seoul
Lisa_W, May 2023
The tour bus and our tour guide, Julie, picked us up in front of our hotel. Every stop and visit was right on schedule and Julie was both friendly and informative. This is the ideal way to check out some highlights of the city, and decide if you want to go back on your own later. It was also great that lunch was provided, with 2 options of traditional Korean dishes. Julie was both efficient and patient, and we were lucky that our tour group was good at following instructions (not always typical of guided tours). There were 25+ people in our tour group and Julie was attentive and well-organized, keeping us on time and offering to take pictures of us. There is one stop at a ginseng center where you may feel pressured to purchase, but it is perfectly ok to comfortably decline. I highly recommend this tour. We learned quite a bit about Korean history and were able to explore beautiful highlights of Seoul.
Response from Host, May 2023
Hello this is Peter from Seoul City Tour. Thank you so much for writing such a nice and detailed review. We`re glad that you were able to enjoy and be satisfied with our tour. We hope to see you again soon. Thank you:)
Korea day tour
Douglas_M, May 2023
Guide was very good and quite enjoyed the palace. Lunch was very tasty, overall tour was very well organized
Seoul City Sightseeing Tour
RuthE_W, May 2023
This was an interesting tour. The Gyeongbokgung Palace and Namsangoi Hanok Village were highlights. The Seoul Tower was great but with a broken elevator, we were unable to actually go up to the viewing area. The Bhuddhist Temple was also interesting. Our guide, Julie was knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. I would recommend this tour.
EXCELLENT TOUR AND TOUR GUIDE. WOULD RECOMMEND.
VICTORIA_V, May 2023
The whole experience was well organised from booking to the actual tour and drop off (pick up and drop off was not at the hotel but at a designated metro station which was quite close by due to the narrow streets near my hotel). Grace was a wonderful tour guide and made the experience very memorable. She was knowledgeable and organised, friendly and helpful. I would recommend her. The tour was not rushed at all and we did pack a lot into the day. The only comment I would make to improve the tour would be to skip the ginseng factory which felt a bit like 'forced shopping' and we were kept waiting until other people had finished. Other than that, an excellent tour.
Amazing!
Ashley_C, Apr 2023
It was amazing. Our instructor Yuly Park made the experience 100x better. I would definitely recommend this tour.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Hello this is Peter from Seoul City Tour. We`re glad that you were able to have such a nice experience. We hope to see you again soon. Thank you:)
Great tour
Cora_C, Apr 2023
It was a great tour . Our tour guide Saebong (Spring) was really good and made sure our experience to see Seoul is awesome. Highly recommended
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Hello this is Sharon from Seoul City Tour. Thank you for sharing a great experience. We hope to see you soon again. Thank you:)
Disappointing
Niall_S, Apr 2023
The places we visited were interesting but felt very rushed at every location and our guide was difficult to understand so we were often not sure of what we were supposed to be doing. The meal was also a big disappointment, cold, choices not explained well and no drinks offered even to buy. Quite a stressful day
Fantastic e petit. Our...
Koel_C, Apr 2023
Fantastic e petit. Our tour guide Jun was fluent in English , very polite and very informative. Highly recommend
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Hello this is Sharon from Seoul City Tour. Thank you for your amazing review. We hope to see you again soon. Thank you:)
The sightseeing was...
Lourdes_T, Feb 2023
The sightseeing was overall beautiful. They picked us up from our hotel and dropped off which is very nice touch! Our tour guide “Spring” was so nice. THE BUS SMELLS SO BAD WITH CIGARETTES. I think the driver was smoking inside the bus. Please clean your bus and spray to smells clean. NO ONE SHOULD BE SMOKING INSUDE THE BUS!
Response from Host, Feb 2023
Hello, this is Jennie from Seoul City Tour. Thank you for your comments, the satisfaction of our customers is very important to us, we will follow up on what you tell us, to prevent it from happening again. Best, Jennie
Great tour
Sonya_I, Nov 2019
Our tour guide was so great. She gave us a lot of insight on the places we went to and then had time to look around ourselves.
Good tour but not enough time for the visits.
tristan_s, Nov 2019
Good punctuality. The guide was friendly but we went most of the time alone on the areas to visit. Beautiful touristic attractions but not enough time to visit and I think we have lost to much time in shops. Good lunch but no dessert. It should be better to have more time at the top of N Seoul tower because it is very beautiful.
Not worth the money
Dorte_w, Oct 2019
We only saw 3 things (Temple: 10 minutes visit; Palace and Old Korean street) + 2 time +45 minutes visit to tourist traps. So it was not worth the money! Our pick up at the hotel was 50 minutes late so we only had 10 minutes to see the temple before leaving. The visit to the Palace and old Korean street was ok. The whehter was cloudy so we didnt get to go up in the tower. But was dropped of 2 times for a +40 minutes sales pitch from sales people trying to sell you products (Ginsing and oil) is not worth the time and definetly not was I expected when I paid 90 USD for a whole day trip. The guide was nicce but tired all day and she explained she usally do the DMZ tour so she she only the the basic stuff about the places we visited. I would have been great hearing more about the history of Korea, culture, everyday life ect.
Response from Host, Oct 2019
Thank you for your review . We are sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy the tour well. To double check that you joined our tour, may i check your booking number ? I will wait for your reply thanks
Great
Nomad38757511859, Dec 2018
The tour guide chloe was very patient with my family especially my father who cant walk very fast. She also helped us took many photos and acceded to our request for hanbok rental at namsan tower. Overall a satisfactory tour on very cold days in December!
Great tour except our day the fog...
Paul B, Oct 2018
Great tour except our day the fog prevented us from much of a view of the city.
Yoon is a great tour guide same as the...
pdcemtbh, Sept 2018
Yoon is a great tour guide same as the first tour guide that we had. We visited different places and had time to take some photos and check the different places. They explained everything clearly and Yoon even snapped some photos for us as well as explaining everything in detail. It is a highly recommended tour.
Our guide Sonia did a very good job...
John_M, Mar 2018
Our guide Sonia did a very good job familiarizing us with Se
It was a great tour. Sonya our tour...
Calvin F, Mar 2018
It was a great tour. Sonya our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history and current events of Korea. I enjoyed her fun personality and she does a great job with keeping her guests engaged and interactive. She even offered to help take photos which was very nice. The palace and changing guards ceremony was good to see, although would be better in warmer months of blooming season for better photo opportunities. Seoul Tower offered amazing in the sky views of the city and a martial arts performance show. Was lucky enough that the weather was clear. The Buddhist temple was our first stop, but unfortunately you cannot take photos inside out of respect as it is an active place of worship. You will like to walk around the village and folk museum to see how they lived in the past. And of course the food and lunch at Insadong was another highlight of the tour. So much to see and do, I ended up with a colored caricature portrait from a sweet street artist that cost about 18 USD. I think Insadong tends to be one of the more expensive markets, but that's not complaining. Enjoy the moment and make the most of your trip with this great sightseeing tour.
Overall this is a really good tour...
Gina_B, Feb 2018
Overall this is a really good tour for people who want the highlights of Seoul in a short period of time. Rebecca speaks really good English and does a great job of explaining. She's also great at taking pictures for you. We had a nice balance of activities. The only thing I didn't like was the promotional activities. The one on ginseng was OK and we did feel like we learned a bit from that. However, we ended with a red pine oil sales pitch was seemed very gimmicky and scammy. It wasn't a great way to end what was otherwise a great day.
There was a lot of wasted time on...
Marnie_A, Feb 2018
There was a lot of wasted time on this tour. They could have shown us all of the sights in less than 4 hours but stretched it out until 4:30. At each stop, they would give us 30-45 minutes of free time. However, there wasn't anything to do other than a quick photo opportunity and it was FREEZING. They took us to this Ginseng high pressured sales talk. It wasn't on the schedule and I don't like feeling pressured to buy things. DO NOT USE SEOUL CITY TOURS.
We very much enjoyed this tour of...
Mike D, Dec 2017
We very much enjoyed this tour of the Deoksugung Palace as well as the N Seoul Tower. The village was great too. David was a great host. In spite of the cold, he made it interesting and covered a lot of ground.
...

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