South Korea has a rich culture and I am inviting you to experience that culture by exploring the palace grounds of Changdeokgung Palace and Gyeongbokgung Palace. IMPORTANT: Take note that Changdeokgung Palace is closed on Mondays and Gyeongbokgung Palace is closed on Tuesdays.
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What I like most about Korea is that you can stroll leisurely even when you are in the city. We took the subway going to the Changdeokgung and had to walk a bit to get to Gyeongbokgung. There are a lot of small stores along the way and we even went to a bakery before going to the palace. We also noticed that there are cabbage and chili plants in the sidewalk! Something you don't see very often. I suggest you take leisurely walks and don't get stressed when you can't follow your itinerary. It was definitely worth going for walks in this country.
Since they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, we decided to go to the palace in the latter part of our itinerary. We decided to go on a Wednesday and upon going to the ticket booth, we were surprised to know that it is for free on that day. Apparently, Korea has declared every last Wednesday of the month as Cultural Day therefore selected facilities (museums, galleries, heritage sites, etc.) have free admission. For the full list of participating organizations, you may go to the Visit Korea website.
We went first to Changdeokgung Palace because we wanted to go to the Secret Garden or Huwon Tour. From Myeongdong Station to Chungmuro Station change to line 3 going to Anguk Station Exit 3. Go straight from the exit and you will see the palace (check the signboard also to make sure you are taking the correct direction).
Before you could go to the Secret Garden or Huwon Tour, you would need to purchase a ticket as you cannot go in without following the tour. You could choose the language that you prefer. They offer English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Of course, we chose English and they only have 1 schedule in the morning at 11:30AM.
I think there are about 4 or 5 stops in the tour. I only walked until the 2nd to the last stop as the last stop is very steep for me and I feel like if I miss a step, I would roll all the way back. Of course, if you don't have fear of heights then I would suggest to go ahead and walk until the last stop.
From the Changdeokgung Palace, we headed to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. It is just a short walk about 5-10 mins. You would only need to go to the opposite direction from Changdeokgung Palace. Unfortunately, I only have the above picture for this palace. We just walked around and went to the museum within the palace walls.
CHANGDEOKGUNG PALACE 창덕궁
ADDRESS: 99, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, SeoulCLOSED: Mondays
OPERATING HOURS:
Feb-May, Sep-Oct 09:00-18:00
Jun-Aug 09:00-18:30
Nov-Jan 09:00-17:30
* Last admission: 1 hour before closing.
ADMISSION:
[Palace]
Adults (ages 25-64): 3,000 won / Group (over 10): 2,400 won
Children and Teenagers (ages 18 and under): 1,500 won
[Secret Garden or Huwon Tour]
Adults (ages 19 and over): 5,000 won
Children and Teenagers (ages 7-18): 2,500 won
WEBSITE: http://www.cdg.go.kr/eng/
GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE 경복궁
ADDRESS: 161, Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, SeoulCLOSED: Tuesdays
OPERATING HOURS:
November-February 09:00-17:00
March-May 09:00-18:00
June-August 09:00-18:30
September-October 09:00-18:00
* Last admission: 1 hr before closing
ADMISSION:
Adults (ages 19-64): 3,000 won / Groups (10 people or more): 2,400 won
Children (ages 7-18): 1,500 won / Groups (10 people or more): 1,200 won
WEBSITE: http://www.royalpalace.go.kr
***Details are subject to change without prior notice.***
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