Seoul's Five Palaces Compared: Hours, Tickets, Tours and Which to Pick

Seoul has five Joseon-era palaces (궁, gung, “palace”), all within a few subway stops of each other. Four are run by the Korea Heritage Service and charge a small fee. The fifth, Gyeonghuigung, is free. All facts below are as of October 2026, from the official palace and city sites.

The five palaces at a glance

Palace	Closed	Adult ticket (19–64)	Free English tour	Nearest subway	Allow
Gyeongbokgung 경복궁	Tuesday	₩3,000	11:00, 13:30, 15:30	Gyeongbokgung (Line 3), Exit 5	2–3 hours
Changdeokgung 창덕궁	Monday	₩3,000 + ₩5,000 for the Secret Garden	Palace 10:15, 13:15; Secret Garden see below	Anguk (Line 3), Exit 3	2–3 hours with the garden
Changgyeonggung 창경궁	Monday	₩1,000	11:00, 15:00	Hyehwa (Line 4), Exit 4	About 1 hour
Deoksugung 덕수궁	Monday	₩1,000	10:45, 13:30	City Hall (Lines 1 & 2), Exit 2	About 1 hour
Gyeonghuigung 경희궁	Monday and 1 January	Free	No regular tour listed	Seodaemun (Line 5), Exit 4	30–45 minutes

Holiday rule for the four ticketed palaces: if the weekly closing day is a public holiday, the palace opens and closes on the next non-holiday instead. Check your dates with Open or Closed?.

Who gets in free: foreign visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and over, and anyone in hanbok (see below). Bring your passport as proof of age. On Wednesdays (Culture Day, 문화가 있는 날), entry is free at Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo; Gyeongbokgung and the Secret Garden tour still charge.

Opening hours

Last entry is one hour before closing at every ticketed palace.

Palace	Hours
Gyeongbokgung	Nov–Feb 09:00–17:00 · Mar–May and Sep–Oct 09:00–18:00 · Jun–Aug 09:00–18:30
Changdeokgung	Nov–Jan 09:00–17:30 · Feb–May and Sep–Oct 09:00–18:00 · Jun–Aug 09:00–18:30
Changgyeonggung	09:00–21:00 all year
Deoksugung	09:00–21:00 all year
Gyeonghuigung	09:00–18:00

Each palace in brief

Gyeongbokgung: the big one

The main royal palace, built in 1395. Highlights are the throne hall Geunjeongjeon, Gyeonghoeru Pavilion on its lake and Hyangwonjeong Pavilion at the back. English tours run every day it’s open, without booking. The palace also runs seasonal special tours of Gyeonghoeru that need advance booking; check the official site for dates. You can also use Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5), Exit 2. For how to fit it into a day with Bukchon, see our 3-day Seoul itinerary.

Changdeokgung and the Secret Garden

A UNESCO World Heritage palace that follows the hillside rather than a straight grid. Its rear garden, Huwon (후원, “rear garden”), known in English as the Secret Garden, can only be seen on a timed tour.

• English Secret Garden tours: 10:30, 11:30 and 14:30, plus 15:30 from March to November. About 70 minutes.
• Price: ₩5,000 on top of the palace ticket (₩2,500 for ages 7–18). Hanbok and the integrated ticket don’t cover it.
• Booking: half the places go online from 10:00, six days before your visit; the rest are sold at the palace from 09:00 on the day. Spring and autumn sell out fast. Booking Alarm shows the opening time in your time zone.
• The tour starts at the garden entrance, at least a 15-minute walk from the main gate. Latecomers aren’t admitted or refunded.
• The Ongnyucheon stream area is closed for repairs until further notice.

Our 5-day Seoul itinerary pairs it with Jongmyo Shrine.

Changgyeonggung: quiet and open late

Smaller and calmer, with a pond and a large Western-style glass greenhouse (대온실, Daeonsil). Because it’s open until 21:00, it’s the easiest palace to see lit up after dark without a special ticket. The English tour starts beside Okcheongyo Bridge and lasts about an hour.

Deoksugung: palace meets 1900s Seoul

Right by City Hall, mixing traditional halls with Western-style stone buildings from the Korean Empire period. The Seokjojeon hall (Daehan Empire History Museum) is visited only on a guided visit that you book online in advance. Also open until 21:00, so it fits after a day downtown.

Gyeonghuigung: free and empty

Only a few halls were restored (it opened to the public in 2002), so it’s small, but it’s free and rarely busy. It’s run by the Seoul Museum of History, next door. From Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5), Exits 6–8 are about a 7-minute walk.

Integrated ticket and free entry in hanbok

Integrated palace ticket (궁궐 통합관람권): ₩6,000. It gives one entry each to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo Shrine. It’s valid for six months from purchase and sold at any of those five ticket offices. It excludes the Secret Garden. You can only get a refund at the palace where you bought it, and not once any part has been used.

Hanbok (한복, traditional clothing): free entry at the four ticketed palaces and Jongmyo. You need a full outfit: a jacket (jeogori) with a hanbok skirt or trousers. A jeogori with jeans or a T-shirt-style hanbok doesn’t count. Details are in discounts for visitors.

Changing of the guard

Where	What	Times	Not held
Gyeongbokgung, Heungnyemun Gate area	Guard-changing ceremony (수문장 교대의식), about 20 min	10:00, 14:00	Tuesdays
Gyeongbokgung, Gwanghwamun Gate	Gate guard ceremony, about 10 min	11:00, 13:00	Tuesdays
Deoksugung, in front of Daehanmun Gate	Royal guard-changing ceremony	11:00, 14:00	Mondays

Both are free to watch. They may be shortened or cancelled in bad weather, so arrive about 15 minutes early and check on the day.

Night visits

• Every evening: Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung are open until 21:00 (last entry 20:00) on any day they’re open. No booking needed.
• Gyeongbokgung night viewing (야간관람): a special spring and autumn event. The autumn 2026 run (2 September–2 October, 19:00–21:30) has finished. Tickets were ₩3,000 on NOL Ticket. Each night, 300 tickets were also held for foreign visitors to buy on site with a passport. People in hanbok and those 65 and over got in free without booking.
• Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour (달빛기행): a guided evening walk for small groups, held in spring and autumn. In spring 2026 it ran Thursday to Sunday from 16 April to 31 May and cost ₩30,000. Korean-language places were sold by lottery on Ticketlink, and separate English, Chinese and Japanese sessions on four dates were sold through Creatrip.

Dates for the 2027 night events haven’t been announced yet. They usually open for booking a few weeks ahead and sell out quickly.

If you only have time for one or two

• One palace: Gyeongbokgung. It’s the largest and has the guard ceremony, and Bukchon is a short walk away. On a Tuesday, go to Changdeokgung instead.
• Two palaces: Gyeongbokgung plus Changdeokgung with the Secret Garden. Book the garden six days ahead.
• Evening only: Deoksugung or Changgyeonggung, open until 21:00.
• Free: Gyeonghuigung, any ticketed palace in hanbok, or Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung on a Wednesday.

Bring a transit card for the hops between them; see transit cards compared. Then plan the days with Plan My Days.