Gyeongju

A park of twenty-three royal tombs, smooth green mounds among pine trees and lawns, right in the centre of town. You can step inside Cheonmachong, the Heavenly Horse Tomb, excavated in 1973, where a cutaway shows how the wooden burial chamber was buried under stones and earth; it is named after a flying horse painted on a birch-bark saddle flap found inside, along with a gold crown. Hwangnamdaechong, a double-mound tomb, is the largest in the park.

TipThe lone magnolia tree between two mounds near the north gate is a famous photo spot, and queues form in spring.

The lanes just west of Daereungwon, once a quiet neighbourhood of old single-storey houses, are now lined with cafés, bakeries, bookshops and small restaurants, many in restored hanok. It is the liveliest part of the city in the evening and at weekends, and a good place for lunch between sights.

A bottle-shaped stone tower from the seventh century, built in the reign of Queen Seondeok and generally described as the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in East Asia. It stands in open fields that turn pink and gold with flowers in late summer and autumn. A short walk south leads to Gyerim, an ancient wood linked to the founding legend of the Gim royal clan, and Wolseong, the crescent-shaped site of the Silla royal palace, still being excavated.

A village of traditional tiled houses on the site of Silla's national academy, best known as the home of the Choi family of Gyeongju, famous for generations of wealth and generosity. Their house is open to visitors. On the river just beyond is Woljeonggyo, a covered Silla bridge rebuilt in timber with a pavilion at each end, beautifully lit at night.

The best introduction to Silla, with gold crowns and jewellery from the tombs, Buddhist sculpture, a gallery of finds from Wolji Pond and a garden of stone pagodas and statues. Outside hangs the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok, often called the Emille Bell, cast in 771 and one of the largest bronze bells in Korea. The museum opens from 10 am to 6 pm and closes on New Year's Day, Seollal and Chuseok.

The foundations of what was once Silla's greatest temple, whose nine-storey wooden pagoda, around eighty metres tall, burned during the Mongol invasions in 1238. Today, rows of stone bases in a wide field show the scale, and a museum nearby has a model of the pagoda. Next door, Bunhwangsa, founded in 634, keeps part of a stone-brick pagoda guarded by carved lions.

The site of a Silla crown prince's palace, with a pond created in the 670s and pavilions rebuilt on its banks. In the day it is pleasant; after sunset, when the pavilions are floodlit and reflected in the still water, it is the classic image of Gyeongju. Excavations in the 1970s drained the pond and found thousands of objects, now in the National Museum.

TipArrive just before dusk to see it change from daylight to night, and expect crowds on weekend evenings.

A reservoir east of the city at the heart of a resort district of hotels, a convention centre and a lakeside path lined with cherry trees, which make it one of Korea's best-known blossom walks in early April. It was the main hub of the 2025 APEC summit. Walk or cycle the loop, or rent a swan pedal boat.

The masterpiece of Silla Buddhist architecture, on the wooded slopes of Mount Tohamsan, first built in the eighth century on stone terraces reached by double staircases, called the Blue Cloud and White Cloud bridges. In the main courtyard stand two contrasting stone pagodas, the elaborate Dabotap and the plain, elegant Seokgatap. With Seokguram, it was among Korea's first World Heritage Sites, listed in 1995.

TipCome early on weekdays to avoid school groups, and look up at the painted eaves and the carvings on the stairways.

A man-made granite cave temple near the summit of Tohamsan, built at the same time as Bulguksa, where a serene seated Buddha faces east towards the sea, surrounded by carvings of bodhisattvas and guardians. The figure is seen through a glass screen to protect it, and photography inside isn't allowed, but it is one of the finest Buddhist sculptures in Asia. On clear mornings, the views from the ridge reach the East Sea.

A mountain south of the city that Silla treated as sacred, with more than a hundred temple sites and dozens of Buddhas and pagodas carved into rock faces and boulders along its valleys. The most popular trail climbs Samneung Valley, past three royal tombs in a pine forest and a series of rock-carved Buddhas, to Geumobong peak, at 468 metres; allow half a day.

A living village of tiled and thatched houses spread across wooded hills about sixteen kilometres north of the city, founded by two clans, the Son and the Yi, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Families still live here, and with Hahoe in Andong it was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2010 as one of the best-preserved Joseon clan villages in Korea.