Luxury things to do in Seoul
EVETT, La Yeon, alla prima, Leeum, and Samwon Garden on one long loop
Four tasting-menu-level restaurants across three days, with Leeum and Deoksugung and Bongeunsa giving the afternoons shape and weight. This is Seoul for someone who has already been once and wants to go further in, not wider.
Day 1: Gangnam and Cheongdam at full tilt
Two of Seoul's most ambitious tasting menus at lunch and dinner, the grandest luxury retail floor in Korea, and a cocktail bar to close the night.
- 9:30 AM
Cafe Onion Seongsu
A ruined factory turned bakery café in Seongsu; get the pandoro and a pour-over before crossing to Gangnam.
Map - 10:30 AM
Galleria Department Store Luxury Hall WEST
Galleria Luxury Hall WEST is Gangnam's ultimate luxury flagship destination, browse the grandest designers in Korea's most famous department store.
Map - 12:30 PM
Mingles
Kang Mingoo's tasting menu built on Korean jang and ferments; lunch is the easier booking.
Map - 2:30 PM
Bongeunsa Temple 봉은사
Bongeunsa Temple is Gangnam's great landmark, ancient pagodas and lantern-lit halls tucked improbably between skyscrapers.
Map - 7:30 PM
EVETT
Joseph Lidgerwood's tasting menu of foraged and fermented Korean ingredients, cooked with an outsider's eye.
Map - 9:30 PM
Alice Cheongdam
Walk through a flower shop and down the stairs into a whimsical speakeasy; order a signature cocktail.
Map
Day 2: Myeongdong, palaces, and The Shilla
Seoul's most iconic cold noodles at lunch, the historic Shinsegae flagship before the crowds, and La Yeon's tasting menu high above the city.
- 9:30 AM
Damjangyeope Gukhwaccot Annyeong Insadong
A small upstairs café in Insadong for Korean teas, rice-cake sweets and a quiet start.
Map - 10:30 AM
Shinsegae Department Store Main Store
Shinsegae's historic main store is one of Seoul's grandest luxury retail temples, browse the flagships before the crowds arrive.
Map - 12:30 PM
Woo Lae Oak
Pyongyang-style naengmyeon since 1946: cold buckwheat noodles in clear beef broth, with bulgogi on the side.
Map - 2:30 PM
Deoksugung Palace
Palace where Joseon halls sit beside a stone Western-style hall; walk the stone-wall road after.
Map - 7:30 PM
La Yeon
Refined Korean court-style cooking on the 23rd floor of The Shilla, with Namsan out the window.
Map - 9:30 PM
Day 3: Hannam, Leeum, alla prima
Sulwhasoo's architectural flagship, Seoul's most celebrated KBBQ institution, world-class art at Leeum, and alla prima's boundary-pushing tasting menu to finish.
- 10:30 AM
Sulwhasoo Flagship Store
Ginseng skincare flagship wrapped in a brass lattice, with a spa downstairs and on the fourth floor.
Map - 12:30 PM
Samwon Garden Restaurant, Seoul
Galbi grilled over charcoal in a big garden restaurant open since 1976; order the marinated short rib.
Map - 2:30 PM
Leeum Museum of Art
Leeum Museum of Art is Seoul's grandest private museum, world-class Korean and international art in a stunning Samsung-founded complex.
Map - 7:30 PM
alla prima
Kim Jin-hyuk's precise tasting menu built on Korean seafood and vegetables; sit at the counter.
Map - 9:30 PM
ZEST SEOUL
A sustainability-minded cocktail bar in Cheongdam that turns kitchen scraps into its syrups and garnishes.
Map
Where to stay
JW Marriott Hotel Seoul
JW Marriott Seoul sits at the Gangnam end of the plan and puts you minutes from Mingles, EVETT, and the Galleria.
SIGNIEL Seoul
Rooms on the top floors of Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, the city's highest beds; a cab ride to everything else.
Make Seoul your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Changdeokgung Palace: weeks ahead
- Leeum Museum of Art: weeks ahead
- Jamsil Baseball Stadium: a few days ahead
- DMZ: a few days ahead
- Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea: weeks ahead
- Sky72 Golf & Resort: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Myeongdong street food as dinner: priced for tourists, fine as a snack walk, not a programme.
- Starfield Library at COEX as a destination: a mall photo stop, ten minutes in passing.
- All you can eat cheap BBQ: one good BBQ beats anonymous grade meat.
- N Seoul Tower observatory tickets and love locks: the hill is free and better.
The full Seoul travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around