Best of Seoul

(5 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)

This private tour of Seoul is ideal for travelers wanting to experience the cultural highlights of South Korea’s most interesting and exciting city. It features private touring with your own guide and driver, private transfers, and luxury accommodation.

During flexible private touring, visit highlights such as the Changdeokgung Palace complex—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—and its “secret garden.” Learn about traditional Korean lifestyles while walking through a neighborhood filled with hanok (traditional Korean houses). Stop for a cup of tea in a traditional teahouse in the Insadong neighborhood, and browse the best local shops for Korean antiques, textiles, ceramics, clothing and more. Enjoy a street food tour, as well as an exquisite, multi-course meal of traditional Buddhist cuisine.

Visit Namdaemun Market or one of the other vast markets dedicated to food, clothing, antiques or herbal medicine. Discover the treasures of Seoul’s best museums, such as the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Korea Furniture Museum or National Museum of Korea. Walk along Cheonggyecheon, a revitalized stream that brings greenery and fresh air into the heart of the city. Other options include visiting the Zaha Hadid-designed Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, touring additional royal palaces, learning about Confucian traditions at Jongmyo Shrine, walking through trendy neighborhoods such as Myeongdong to see the latest fashions and pop culture, hiking in the mountains surrounding Seoul, stopping by top art galleries and visiting the vibrant Hongdae university district.

Upon request, Artisans of Leisure can further customize this tour to include special interest activities such as a private Korean cooking class to learn to prepare kimchi or other typical Korean dishes, a private soju and makgeolli (rice beer) tasting, or lessons in taekwondo. We can also arrange excursions to ceramics villages, folk villages, amusement parks, Panmunjom, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and other destinations outside Seoul.

This tour combines easily with our private tours in Japan, China and other destinations throughout Asia.