Garosu-gil to Cheongdam: Architects' Flagships

Garosu-gil, Dosan Park, Neri&Hu, Frank Gehry and Christian de Portzamparc

13:30–17:30 + dinner · ≈3.0 km · ≈40 min walking · Easy · Gangnam-gu · Start: Sinsa station · End: Cheongdam station

Gangnam's fashion streets are where global brands commission star architects. Walk from Sinsa's tree-lined Garosu-gil to Dosan Park and Neri&Hu's Sulwhasoo flagship, then along Apgujeong's boutique streets to Frank Gehry's Louis Vuitton Maison and Christian de Portzamparc's House of Dior.

Your half day: 13:30 to 17:30

1. 13:30 Garosu-gil (50 min): Garosu-gil and the 'Serosu-gil' side lanes.
2. 14:50 Dosan Park (25 min): Dosan Park and Ahn Chang-ho's memorial.
3. 15:20 Sulwhasoo Flagship Store (30 min): Neri&Hu's brass and brick Sulwhasoo flagship and its tea bar.
4. 16:05 Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul (35 min): Gehry's glass sails and the free Espace Louis Vuitton.
5. 16:45 House of Dior Seoul (25 min): Portzamparc's white fibreglass petals.
6. 17:30 Dinner (60 min): Dinner in Cheongdam.
   • Mandujip (만두집): Handmade dumplings in brisket broth, a Cheongdam fixture for 30 years. Michelin Bib Gourmand.
   • Myeon Seoul: Housemade wheat, mung-bean and pollack noodles. Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Stops

1. Garosu-gil (가로수길)
   A ginkgo-lined street in Sinsa-dong with fashion shops, cafés and side alleys (locals call them 'Serosu-gil'). One of the stops on Gangnam's free guided walks.
2. Dosan Park (도산공원)
   A small park in Sinsa-dong dedicated to the independence leader Ahn Chang-ho (Dosan), with his memorial hall and tomb. The streets around it are full of designer boutiques and flagship stores.
3. Sulwhasoo Flagship Store (설화수 플래그십 스토어)
   The Shanghai studio Neri&Hu turned an ordinary five-storey building into a lantern: a fine brass lattice runs from the shop floors out across the facade and up to the roof terrace, and mirrored rooms make the golden grid seem endless.
4. Louis Vuitton Maison Seoul (루이 비통 메종 서울)
   Frank Gehry's building in Seoul: billowing glass sails on a white stone base, which he linked to the curved roofs of traditional Korean architecture and to his Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. The top floor, Espace Louis Vuitton, shows works from the Fondation's collection for free.
5. House of Dior Seoul (하우스 오브 디올)
   Six storeys wrapped in eleven curving white shells by the Pritzker winner Christian de Portzamparc, modelled on the stiff cotton toiles Dior's gowns were draped from. Just along the street from Gehry's Louis Vuitton, so the two make a short pair to see together.

Best time: Any afternoon; shops open around 11:00. Espace Louis Vuitton is free, booking advised.

Tips

• Apgujeong Rodeo Street and the K Museum of Contemporary Art are one block off the route.
• Dosan-daero is a busy road; cross at the lights.

Access

Level streets; shops are step-free.

All walks