An hour south of Seoul on the metro there is a city with a wall around the middle of it. Hwaseong was built in the seventeen nineties by a king who intended to move the capital, and unlike most fortifications of its age it survives as a complete circuit: nearly six kilometres of stone and brick with gates, bastions, command posts, a floodgate arched over a stream, and a walkway running along the top of most of it. You can walk the whole thing in an afternoon, and almost nobody does.
What is actually there
The wall itself, close to six kilometres, walkable along the top for most of its length.
Four main gates, each different, with the northern and southern ones the most elaborate.
Command posts and bastions, projecting from the wall, several of them enterable.
The floodgate, a series of arches carrying the wall over a stream, which is the best single structure.
Hwaseong Haenggung, the palace inside the walls, ticketed separately.
A traditional market immediately outside one gate, which is where to eat.
Walking the circuit
Two to three hours for the full loop at a normal pace with stops.
Steps and steep sections, rather than a level promenade.
Join or leave at any gate, which makes a half circuit easy.
A trolley covers part of the route for anybody who does not want to walk it.
Anticlockwise from the northern gate puts the best structures early.
Water and a hat in summer, because there is very little shade up there.
Eating in Suwon
Galbi, the marinated beef ribs, which Suwon is known for nationally.
The market by the gate, for cheap street food and a proper lunch.
Wanggalbi restaurants in the streets around the palace, which are the local institution.
Nothing touristed, because Suwon does not run on visitors.
Cards everywhere, as in the rest of Korea.
Early dinners are easy here, unlike in central Seoul.
Practical notes
Metro line one or a suburban train, about an hour, on your transport card.
Tickets for the fortress and the palace, with a combined option; check current prices.
Almost all outdoors, which decides July and January.
Steps on the wall walkway, which rules out wheels for the full circuit.
English signage is good throughout the site.
A whole day is comfortable; half a day works if you take the trolley.
Where this fits in a Korea trip
Half a day to a full day from Seoul, or a night on the way south.
For the city you are travelling from, our guide to Seoul covers the ground.
For how this compares with the other options out of Seoul, our guide to day trips from Seoul covers the field.
And for the other great Korean heritage city, which is best seen on two wheels, our guide to Gyeongju by bike covers that trip.
The short version
Take metro line one for an hour on the card you already have. Do the palace and the market first, then start the wall at about four in the afternoon, anticlockwise from the northern gate, and finish as the lamps come on. Allow two to three hours for the full circuit, or take the trolley for part of it. Eat galbi, which is the local speciality. And stay a night if you can, because dusk on the wall is the whole point.
