The East Palaces and Jongmyo
Two palaces joined by a garden gate, then the royal shrine
≈1.6 km · ≈22 min walking · Easy · Jongno-gu · Start: Anguk station · End: Jongno 3-ga station
Joseon kings ran the country from Changdeokgung, the palace that follows the hills instead of a grid. Walk through to its sister palace Changgyeonggung, with a Victorian-style glasshouse by a lotus pond, then follow the restored wall south to Jongmyo, the long, austere hall where the royal ancestors are honoured.
Stops
- Changdeokgung Palace (창덕궁 인정문)
Built in 1405 and the main royal residence for much of the Joseon period. Its halls are set into the slope of the hill rather than on a straight axis, one reason it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Secret Garden (Huwon) behind it is by guided tour only. - Changgyeonggung Palace (창경궁)
Founded in 1484 for retired and widowed royals. Its main hall faces east, unusual for a Joseon palace. At the back, Daeonsil, a white wood-and-iron glasshouse from 1909, stands over a lotus pond. - Jongmyo Shrine (종묘)
The shrine to the Joseon kings and queens and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Jeongjeon, the main hall, is one of the longest single wooden buildings of its kind in Asia: a plain, endlessly repeated row of columns under one roof. The royal ancestral rite is still held here every May.
Best time: A Wednesday to Friday morning in spring or autumn (Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung close on Mondays, Jongmyo on Tuesdays).
Tips
- One ticket covers each palace; a combined palace pass is sold at the gates.
- Jongmyo is visited by guided tour on most days (English tours run at set times); on Saturdays you may walk round on your own.
- Since 2022 a walkway along the restored palace wall runs above the Yulgok-ro tunnel between Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo.
Access
Palace paths are wide but often gravel or stone, with raised thresholds into halls. Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo have gentle slopes.