Seoul, six centuries under the neon

Seoul has been a capital since 1394, and the Joseon city is still legible under the glass towers. Gyeongbokgung opens the day with its changing-of-the-guard ceremony beneath Bukhansan's granite ridges; Changdeokgung hides the finest thing in the city behind it, the Secret Garden, where pavilions and a lotus pond were laid out to follow the shape of the hill rather than fight it. Between the two palaces, Bukchon Hanok Village keeps its tiled roofs and sloping alleys, and Ikseon-dong has turned a similar warren of 1920s houses into a dense grid of coffee bars and small restaurants.

Eating is a full itinerary of its own. Gwangjang Market is one of the oldest, its aisles thick with steam from bindaetteok mung-bean pancakes pressed onto griddles, mayak gimbap and live octopus; Noryangjin auctions the morning's fish; and the tented pojangmacha stalls appear at night for tteokbokki and soju. Sit down for Korean barbecue in Mapo, cold naengmyeon in summer, or samgyetang chicken soup on the hottest days of the year.

Every district has a different tempo. Hongdae belongs to students, buskers and live-music basements; Seongsu-dong turned a shoe-factory quarter into Seoul's most creative café scene; Gangnam is department stores and plastic-perfect boulevards; Dongdaemun's silver DDP by Zaha Hadid glows over a night market. For quiet, walk the Cheonggyecheon stream, climb to Namsan tower, or take the metro to Bukhansan and be on a mountain trail within the hour.

Spring cherry blossom and autumn colour are the peak weeks — a fine start before the rest of South Korea.