Day 1: palace and Bukchon
Today is only the Jongno axis. Enter Gyeongbokgung from Gwanghwamun and go deep in that one palace. Then the Bukchon slope, and stop in Samcheong or Insadong. Dinner closes in Ikseon: sit, eat, and leave along Cheonggyecheon. Do not jam the Changdeok rear garden, Changgyeonggung, or Daehak-ro into this morning. Do not take Namsan at dusk, and do not transfer to Hongdae. Garosu-gil, Seongsu and Jamsil are other days. If you eat, Ikseon is the meal — not Gwangjang or Namdaemun as well. In rain, the Folk Museum inside the palace; save the hanok slope for a clear day. If the gate queue already fills the square, drop the rear garden entirely. Do not add a second palace because the ticket is in your hand. What you can enter follows that day's notice. No unverified fare is printed here.
Day 2: Myeongdong and the stream
Day two stays on Myeongdong and the stream. If Namdaemun is breakfast, go early. Leave Gwangjang for afternoon or night. Do not stack the two meals in the same hour. Walk one stretch of the stream bed and stop — you do not owe it the walk to Dongdaemun. Finish cosmetics on the Myeongdong street. Close the evening at Gwangjang, or walk back along the stream to the hotel. Do not chase Hongdae, do not climb N Seoul Tower, and do not attach Seongsu or Jamsil to the same night. A Dongdaemun night is another day's close — do not open a second night district off this meal. Pick one cosmetics category before you enter a shop. Once the stream lights are on, turn back. Do not follow the crowd to Heunginjimun. That opens the Dongdaemun night market early.
Day 3: one of three south lines
Day three opens one south line. Walk Garosu-gil as far as Dosan and Cheongdam, then stop. If you choose Seongsu, take the warehouse lanes, the shoe street and Yeonmujang, then Seoul Forest — one coffee. If you choose Jamsil, see the lake and keep Lotte World Tower as the only tower. All three is a day spent on Line 2. One height at dusk: if the Jamsil tower is that height, do not also climb Namsan. COEX is a different indoor day — do not clip it on. Eat on the line you chose. Do not cross to another street for a second meal. Once the exit is chosen, do not buy a transit excuse for another district. If the tower has no visibility, stay by the lake. Do not climb Namsan to supply a dusk.