Things to Do in Busan 2026: 22 Places, Food and a Day-by-Day Route

Haeundae is the beach most people picture when they think of Busan: a long, wide stretch of sand backed by hotels, cafes and restaurants. In summer it fills up with swimmers and day-trippers; in spring, when we came, it was more of a place for a slow walk along the water.

It is also the easiest base for a first visit, because several of the top Busan attractions start here. We walked along the sand for a while and then went straight up Busan X the Sky, right next to the beach. Haeundae Station on metro Line 2 is a short walk away.

Busan X the Sky is the observatory on floors 98, 99 and 100 of the LCT Landmark Tower in Haeundae. From the top you see the whole coastline at once: the beach, the Blueline coast and the city spreading into the hills. The view really is something.

We paid 29,000 won per person in April 2026. At the very top there is a glass-floor section: you walk on glass with 100 floors of air below you, a good test if you are scared of heights.

Opening hours and ticket prices are listed differently from source to source, so check the official Busan X the Sky website before you go. See tours that include Busan X the Sky ↗ Ad

The Busan Sky Capsule is one of the things you really should do in Busan. Small, brightly coloured capsules creep along an elevated rail line above the coast between Mipo, at the Haeundae end, and Cheongsapo.

The line is about 2 km long and a one-way ride takes about 30 minutes. Haeundae Blueline Park also runs a slower Beach Train on the old coastal railway at ground level; we only rode the Sky Capsule.

How the tickets work: you pay per capsule, not per person, and every ticket has a set departure time. In April 2026 we paid 50,000 won one way for four of us in one capsule.

The standard fares on the official site change with the number of people: 50,000 won for two, 55,000 for three and 60,000 for four. That does not match what we paid, so look at the current fare table before you book.

Slots sell out fast, especially at weekends and around sunset, so book online before you arrive in Busan. See tours that include the Sky Capsule ↗ Ad

When we got off the Sky Capsule at Cheongsapo, the second glass walkway of the day was right on our way. You look out over the sea and, because the floor is glass, straight down into the water too. Busan seems to have a skywalk on every headland.

Entry is free. The walkway was extended in summer 2024 into a U-shaped path of 191 metres. It can close in bad weather.

One of the nicest places in Busan for a walk by the sea. The park sits on a small peninsula at the western end of Haeundae Beach: the city on one side, open sea on the other. People come here for the coastal path and the views, and it is a good way to get away from the crowds for an hour.

This building inside Dongbaek Park hosted the APEC summit in 2005. It is on the coastal path, so you can look in as you walk around the park. Entry is free; it is closed on the first Monday of each month.

Refugees who arrived during the Korean War settled on these slopes, which is why the houses are stacked one above the other up the hillside (VisitKorea). Art projects later transformed the village, adding murals and sculptures to its lanes. It is more than a photo spot: as you walk around you can feel the history of the place.

There is a real Little Prince craze here. People queue for a long time to take a photo with the statue on the lower terrace. There is a second Little Prince further up with a much shorter queue, and since the lower one has his back to you anyway, we think the upper one makes the better photo. Entry to the village is free.

How to get to Gamcheon Culture Village: take metro Line 1 to Toseong Station, leave by exit 6 and catch a green village bus (1-1, 2 or 2-2) up the hill to Gamjeong Elementary School, then walk to the village entrance. Bus numbers sometimes change, so check the stop on Naver Map or Kakao Map before you go.

On this bridge you are right above the sea, with the rocks and the waves below you. It is one of the highlights of the Songdo coast. The bridge sways a little as you walk, and in some places you can see down through it.

We paid 1,000 won to get in in April 2026. It is reported to close in bad weather and on two Mondays a month, so check the latest notice before you go.

The Songdo cable car, sold as the Busan Air Cruise, is another of the best things to do in Busan. It runs out over the sea for about 1.62 km. There are two kinds of cabin: the standard one and the Crystal Cruise, which has a glass floor. We took the glass-floor cabin, and both the view down and the view across the bay were worth it.

In April 2026 the one-way prices we saw and paid were 15,000 won for the standard cabin and 19,000 won for the glass-floor cabin. Other figures circulate online, so check the current fares on the operator’s own site. See tours that include the Songdo Air Cruise ↗ Ad

A walkway that curves out over the water from Songdo Beach, on the same stretch of coast as the Cloud Bridge and the cable car. It is about 365 metres long, parts of it have a glass floor, and entry is free. It can close in bad weather, so check before you go.

Jagalchi Market is Busan’s biggest fish market. On the ground floor stalls sell fresh seafood; you can buy what you like and take it upstairs, where restaurants cook it for you. The smell reaches well beyond the doors.

The market hall is huge and has every kind of seafood you can imagine, even the king crab we had seen in Norway. It is reported to close on the first and third Tuesday of the month, so check before you go. Jagalchi Station on metro Line 1 is right next to it. See Jagalchi and market tours ↗ Ad

BIFF stands for the Busan International Film Festival, and the square takes its name from the very first festival in 1996. Today it is better known for street food: small stalls everywhere, with sweet snacks especially popular.

It gets busier in the evening and is a good stop for a wander and a snack. If you are looking for a Busan night market, Bupyeong Kkangtong Market is a short walk away and is known for its evening stalls; we did not go there on this trip, so check its opening days before you plan around it.

Busan Tower is not especially tall, but because of where it stands the view is wide. The park around it has trees and footpaths, so it is calmer than the streets below. Come for the view, or just for a breather between the markets.

You can go up the tower if you like. Ticket prices and opening hours vary between sources, so check the tower’s own site for the current ones. Nampo Station on Line 1 is the closest metro stop. See tours that include Busan Tower ↗ Ad

One of the most colourful and unusual streets in Busan. The stairway is so long and steep that a monorail was built beside it, and locals ride small cabins up and down. That is the whole point: a bright, pretty, slightly odd street that is fun to see.

The monorail sometimes closes for maintenance, so check that it is running before you go.

You walk out onto a glass platform at the edge of the cliff, and the view is lovely. Before you step on, you pull free shoe covers over your shoes.

Entry is free. It closes in rain and strong wind. See Oryukdo Skywalk tours ↗ Ad

The cemetery was established during the Korean War for soldiers who served under the United Nations, and it is the only UN cemetery in the world. Today around 2,300 soldiers from 11 countries are buried here (VisitKorea), and each nation has its own section and memorials.

For us it was a personal visit: 462 Turkish soldiers who died in the Korean War rest here, and there is a Turkish memorial dedicated to them. Whichever country you come from, it is a quiet, moving place and much more than a historical stop. Entry is free.

This was right in front of the place we stayed. Gwangan Bridge, behind the beach, is Busan’s most famous bridge: a double-deck sea bridge about 7.42 km long that is lit up at night. On the sunny day we were there the beach was packed.

Cafes and restaurants line the beachfront, many with views of the bridge. The Busan Fireworks Festival is also held here every November; for 2026 it was announced for Saturday 7 November, so check the exact date on the festival’s site. Gwangan Station on Line 2 is a few minutes’ walk from the sand.

Gwangalli holds a drone show every Saturday evening. In the show we watched, about 1,000 drones drew shapes in the sky in front of Gwangan Bridge. As luck would have it, our room looked straight out over the beach, so we watched the whole thing from our window.

The show lasts about 12 minutes and is free. The start time changes with the season and the show can be cancelled in bad weather, so check the official site before you go. It is worth planning your Busan itinerary so that one evening falls on a Saturday. See Busan night tours ↗ Ad

Claw machine shops are on almost every corner in Korea. When we spotted a Waku Waku in Busan we could not walk past: we got one toy on the first try, then another, and ended up with five. All of them came home with us.

Most Korean temples sit in the mountains; Haedong Yonggungsa sits right on the rocks by the sea. The story goes that it was founded in 1376 after the monk Naong saw a sea god in a dream and followed its guidance. People have come here to make wishes ever since, and it is believed to bring luck.

As you walk down the steps the view keeps opening up, and with the sound of the waves the setting is very moving. Entry is free.

Getting there: the temple is on the northeast coast, about half an hour beyond Haeundae. City bus 181 from Haeundae Station (Line 2) stops near the temple, followed by a short walk.

You can also take the Donghae Line to OSIRIA Station and walk or take a local bus from there. Check the current route on Naver Map, and go early, because the stairs get crowded later in the day. See Haedong Yonggungsa tours ↗ Ad

Guinness World Records lists it as the largest department store in the world. Inside there is far more than shops: an ice rink and a golf area are part of the complex too. Centum City Station on Line 2 connects directly.

On the lowest floor there is a huge food hall with everything from Korean dishes to other cuisines. If you plan to shop, bring your passport: the tax refund details are in the travel tips below.

An old neighbourhood where people settled during the Korean War, renovated in 2011 and turned into an arts and culture village. Houses perched on the cliff edge, narrow lanes, murals and cafes with sea views: every corner looks different.

Below the village a path runs along the shore. It has been closed at times because of the risk of falling rocks, so check before you go. There are souvenir shops in the village too; we found some lovely fridge magnets, although the shops were crowded.

We got hooked on salt bread (sogeumppang, a buttery roll with a pinch of salt on top) in Korea, so when we found a branch of the well-known Jayeondo Sogeumppang near the Sky Capsule we went straight in. The smell alone won us over; it is rich, but it goes down very easily.

We bought a set of four and paid 12,000 won in April 2026. Eat ten and you will not need lunch.

Haeundae Market is a small local market a few minutes from the beach, and most of what it sells comes fried. How people eat this much fried food and stay so slim is a separate question.

We tried Mom’s Touch, a Korean chain known for its chicken burgers and fried chicken. It comes with a sweet sauce on top, which is why we did not love it.

If you go, ask for it without the sweet sauce; it would probably be much better.

We wanted to try dumplings at BIFF Square, but every one we looked at had pork in it, so we skipped them this time. If you have dietary needs, ask about the filling at the stall.

We came for dakgalbi, spicy stir-fried chicken. You put a bite inside a perilla leaf and wrap it up. We had seen it in K-dramas so many times, and now we got to try the real thing.

At Working Holiday, one of the cafes with the best views in Gwangalli, we ordered coffee and cake. We came in the late afternoon so we only had coffee and cake, but the breakfast plates looked great too. The blueberry cake was lovely and crisp.

Suddenly we were inside a K-drama scene: extractor hoods hanging from the ceiling, a grill in the middle of every table and everyone cooking their own meat. Many BBQ places serve mostly pork; beef options exist, and we found a place that had them and ordered six portions of beef. The restaurant is called Obanjang (오반장), on Gunam-ro in Haeundae.

The side dishes arrive first, and you grill the kimchi on the barbecue too. The meat is cut with scissors as it cooks, and we added some garlic on top.

For breakfast we chose Terrace 292 at the Grand Josun Busan, right next to Haeundae Beach. We ordered eggs Benedict and coffee. It is right by the sea and the view is beautiful.

After a long day of walking we went to a foot bath cafe. You sit facing the view with your feet in warm water while someone massages your feet and back, and you sip your coffee and look at the sea.

We paid 16,000 won per person in April 2026, including a hot coffee, an iced coffee or a tea.

This might be the most beautiful cafe in Busan. Everything is laid out on trays: you pick what you want and pay at the counter. Take your coffee and a few pastries and enjoy the sea view; at sunset it is even better.

We picked whatever looked interesting; with two coffees it came to 29,800 won in April 2026.

At Dongmyeonsik in Gwangalli we ordered cold noodles with beef. Many noodle dishes in Korea come cold, and milmyeon is Busan’s own version, made with wheat noodles. We had our doubts, but it turned out better than we expected.

In the food hall on the department store’s lowest floor we ordered bibimbap. Set meals were around 15,000 won in April 2026, and there is a huge choice.