Seoul offers countless restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, to suit everyone's taste and budget. There are all kinds of eating establishments, ranging from street vendors and quaint cafes to high-priced, formal restaurants with full-course meals. In between you can find many types of medium-sized places offering a wide range of food types, including traditional Korean food, fast food, Western and other non-Korean fare. Seoul has a large number of international restaurants.

Dine with the birds and take in dramatic views from the 23rd floor restaurant of Jongo Tower in Jongmyo Park. Hotel Lotte's 31 specialty restaurants and bars cater to the Western palate.

More casual Western style restaurants are common, including some chain restaurants like T.G.I. Friday's and Coco's.

When most people think of Korean food, they think of kimchi, Korea's staple side dish of spicy pickled cabbage which accompanies almost every Korean meal. A traditional Korean meal allows you to sample a bit of everything. A variety of dishes and condiments are commonly shared among those sitting at a table. Utensils are chopsticks and a spoon used in separate hands. Chinese restaurants are very popular among Seoul-dwellers. Japanese restaurants are pricey, but affordable sushi places have been popping up near office buildings to serve the lunch crowd.

There are countless restaurants in Seoul serving local fare and national delicacies. Two Korean dishes that nearly all visitors will enjoy are bulgogi (marinated sliced beef) and galbi (marinated short ribs). Both are mildly seasoned and grilled at your table. Another favourite is samgyetang (stewed whole chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng root). If you enjoy spicy food, try yukkejang (hot beef soup with noodles), kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) and jeyuk bbokeum (sautéed spicy pork with vegetables). Milder dishes include mandu guk (dumpling soup), seolleongtang (beef soup) and teok guk (rice-cake soup). A popular lunchtime food is bibimbap, a bowl of rice with meat, vegetables, pepper paste and a fried egg on top. To eat it, mash everything together and use a spoon. The flat, fried cakes sold on the street at night are called hotteok. The cakes are filled with hot cinnamon-and-sugar syrup and are absolutely delicious. European and other Western foods, including U.S. fast food are available, as are Chinese and Japanese cuisines, although many of the dishes are different from Western-style Chinese and Japanese foods. On Jeju Island, be sure to sample the tangerines.

A 10 percent tax is added to restaurant bills at better restaurants. Tipping is not customary and can be conceived as degrading, but is appropriate for outstanding service.

An exciting expedition for children, or adults for that matter, is to experience another time by travelling in an old-fashioned train. Passengers can hear the chug-chug and whistle of a steam locomotive as they clickety-clack along the tracks, even though the train is actually powered by a diesel engine. The train departs from Seoul Station in the morning on all Sundays and holidays, and arrives at Uijeongbu about an hour and a half later. It leaves Uijeongbu in the evening, arriving back at Seoul Station. Between train trips, passengers can visit attractions such as a mountain fortress or a recreation area.

Seoul is a shopping extravaganza offering every form of consumer arena from small street stalls to gigantic multi-storied malls. Though not inexpensive, bargains can be found and the selection is tremendous. Designer shops and slick malls dominate the downtown district of Gangnam, while the Itaewon, Namdaemun and Dongdaemun areas are home to more funky fare, street stall bargains and unusual items. Bargain only in smaller shopping areas and arcades, not in department stores where the prices are fixed.

For those herbal advocates, Seoul is the ginseng capital of the world where all assortments of this legendary root can be found. Other items to look for are traditional masks, maedeup (ornate macramé tassels), brass ware, sweaters, lacquer ware, silks, wood carvings, jewellery, dolls, leather goods, bamboo ware, musical instruments, toys, paintings, custom-made clothes, fans, painted gourds, and cutwork paper crafts such as boxes, ceramics, topaz, amethyst and china. Calligraphy paraphernalia (ink stones and brushes) and beautiful handmade paper are also available. Designer clothing and athletic shoes, made in local factories, can be purchased at bargain prices in outlet stores and at markets, but beware of fakes - they're everywhere.

The Chang-anp’yong Antique Market in Eastern Seoul is composed of about 150 stores, located in six buildings. You will find an enormous variety of items ranging from very old artefacts to relics from the more recent past at very reasonable prices. Popular items are paintings, calligraphy, old chests, ceramics, and lacquer ware. Antique furniture, paintings and handicrafts can be excellent buys, but before you buy an item made prior to 1910, check with the Art and Antiques Assessment Office to see if it can be exported. If so, they'll issue a certificate allowing export. If you're not allowed to export the antique of your dreams, consider the excellent reproductions of ancient Goyreo celadon and Joseon porcelains.

Korea’s largest duty-free store is located in downtown Seoul in Hotel Lotte. Another giant duty-free is in the massive shopping mall of Lotte World. Other duty-free stores are located in the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel, Hotel Shilla, Incheon International Airport and the Kimpo Domestic Airport.

Most outdoor sport activities take place along the bustling banks and parks of the Han River. Both sides of the river are lined with cycling, jogging and rollerblading (known as inline skating) paths. One of the best places to explore is Hangang Park which boasts over 30 kilometres of smooth pathways, winding through beautiful gardens and sport grounds. Yeouido Park rents bicycles and skates and offers its array of ponds, traditional gardens and a cultural plaza which hosts events and concerts for visitors. If you work up an appetite during all this activity, there are numerous food vendors along the way. Seoul’s mountains offer endless mountain biking trails as well. The Olympic Velodrome has professional track racing during the summer months.

Water sport such as water skiing is becoming increasingly popular and you can enjoy the view from one of the boats that cruise between Yeouido lsland and Jamsil.

Families with children will find hours of fun and entertainment in Jamsil’s Lotte World, an enormous amusement and shopping complex with a large indoor ice skating rink. Everland is another family entertainment area with a modern theme park, zoo, outdoor and indoor water parks and winter sledding about an hour's drive from downtown Seoul.

Golf is extremely popular among Koreans. New golf courses are plentiful and several are located a short distance outside the city. Being a symbol of status, the sport has taken the country by storm and new courses will most likely continue to appear. Membership and green fees are much cheaper than in Japan or the United States.

Hiking would appear to be Korea’s national pastime. On any given weekend, the hills around Seoul and every other city are filled with Koreans wearing alpine hiking clothes, which can be bought very cheaply here. The abundance of natural hot springs makes the perfect end after a long day's hike up a mountain. You should always shower before getting into the tub.

Skiing is also a popular sport and there are several ski resorts within a 3-4 hour drive of Seoul. The season runs from late November through March, and most resorts have decent snow-making equipment during the dry periods. All areas operate lifts, which are kept in good condition. Just recently many ski resorts have set aside special areas for snowboarding as well. A nice selection of ski clothes can be purchased or made to order at the local markets. Resorts also rent and sell ski equipment to fit all sizes, and many have ski instructors who can speak English and other languages. Ski resorts become quite crowded on weekends and holidays, so go during the week if you want to avoid the crowds.

Plays, operas, ballet, and orchestral performances are held frequently throughout the year, and at venues around the city. Local artists, as well as big-name international artists, perform in Seoul. The National Theatre offers a free outdoor entertainment area. Sejong Cultural Centre, Seoul Arts Centre and the LG Arts Centre produce regular programs. Popular movies find their way to the local Korean theatres and first-run American movies are shown with Korean subtitles. The theatres are clean, modern and reasonably priced.

At the foot of Umyun (or Woomyun) Mountain in Seocho-gu, Seoul Art Centre is a large cultural and art centre. It has a fine art exhibition hall, calligraphy hall, concert hall, archive of arts, and an opera house.

Situated next to the Seoul Art Centre, the Korean Traditional Performing Art Centre works to restore the unique Korean culture and identity through the development of traditional performing arts.

For children, there are the Nun-Kke Little Theatre and Gu-Ryong Little Theatre, both north of Mt. Umyun in Seocho-gu.