Located just south of Seoul, Suwon is another great city to visit in Korea, filled with cute cafes, tons of shopping, and numerous historic cultural sites. We visited Suwon on our first weekend out of quarantine and it’s quickly become one of our favorite day trip destinations. Below are some must see places for a fun weekend outside of Seoul.

-Grab Brunch at Leaping Cafe (formerly ONHWA). One of my bucket list things for coming to Asia was trying the famous soufflé pancakes. Our first attempt at a local cafe was a fail, but I came across a picture of these pancakes on Instagram and they were so insanely good. I ordered the honeycomb pancakes, Dusten ordered chocolate, and our friend got banana; you can’t go wrong with any flavor. The local area has a lot of cafes and shops that would be nice to explore before heading to the next location.

-Go Shopping at Galleria Gwanggyo. This is a higher end mall filled with top designers. One of the biggest attractions is the glass staircase/walkway as it’s a really cool photo op. There’s parking located at the mall, but you’ll need to purchase something in order to have it validated.

-Head to Kyungyang Katsu for Lunch. This is a chain restaurant, however we visited their location right inside the Suwon Fortress during our first weekend out of quarantine and it was sooo good. I’d definitely recommend the cheese katsu.

-Explore Suwon Fortress. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, completed in 1796, was built to protect the city as it was one of the main government centers in Korea. The area is now filled with tons of cute cafes, restaurants, and shops to spend the day at. Additionally, you can find a peaceful lake to picnic at, a hot air ballon ride, a historic village, and a palace to explore. The area is huge but can be pretty hard to find parking on the weekends so you’ll want to arrive early.

-Grab Coffee and Cake at One More Cafe. We picked this cafe at random thinking they had a rooftop with a view of the fortress (they do, but it was closed the day we went) and it did not disappoint. The cafe itself is super aesthetic and has amazing coffees and cakes to choose from.

-POGN BAKERY. Technically this is a bit outside of Suwon in Dongtan. However this beautiful cafe is Korea’s largest cafe and is well worth the trip. This aesthetic cafe features crisp white walls, a white spiral staircase, cacti, and a gorgeous rooftop. There’s also a convenient underground parking garage for customers located along the back of the building.

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A FEW MORE PLACES TO TRY:

-Attend a KT Wiz Baseball Game. Baseball in Korea is honestly way more fun than the states and should be at the top of your list for things to do. The crowds are SO energetic, the food is amazing, and there’s K-pop style cheerleaders that make for a very fun time.

-AK PLAZA. Another popular department store/mall located throughout Korea. We’ve visited two AK Plaza’s so far and both had the train station locating conveniently inside. If you don’t feel like driving to Suwon, you can take the train to AK Plaza and use taxi’s or the bus to get around.

-GRAYROCK. A super aesthetic Italian restaurant with a great view of the Suwon Fortress.

-CALLIOPE CAFE. A beautiful European themed cafe/restaurant that has beautiful chandeliers and greek statues.

-KYONGGI UNIVERSITY. A really beautiful university the reminds me of the Ivy League universities in the US or England. The photos I’ve seen look especially beautiful in the Spring as the campus is covered in cherry blossom trees.

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xoxo