Things to Do in Gyeongju: Bulguksa, Royal Tombs and Hanok

One of the most important temples in Korea. It was built in the Silla period and has been kept in this form ever since. The complex is big: separate halls, courtyards and stone bridges, and the stonework is what most people come to see.

It is normally a calm place, far from the noise of the city. In the videos I had watched before the trip it never looked busy, but the day we went it was packed. It may have been the most crowded place we saw in all of Korea.

You will see small towers of stones stacked on top of each other. People stack them while making a wish; if you see one, someone has made a wish there.

We went here first and then headed back to the centre.

Want to stay nearby? Bulguksa is outside the city centre; if you want to be at the temple early in the morning, look at the hotels right next to it.

What it is like: In Gyeongju we wanted to sleep in a traditional Korean house, a hanok, rather than a hotel. Wooden ceilings, paper-covered windows; a simple but very peaceful room.

Good to know: There is no bed; you sleep on a mattress on the floor.

The best part: The floor. Koreans call it ondol, underfloor heating used for centuries. The floor gets warm, and when you lie down in the evening the whole day’s tiredness goes. I think everyone who comes to Gyeongju should spend at least one night in a hanok.

Location: Next to Cheomseongdae; Gyochon Village, Daereungwon and Hwangnidan-gil are all within walking distance.

We saw it on the way, liked the look of it and went in for bibimbap. I had the one with beef.

You add the sauce first, mix it all up well, and eat.

The bill came to 86,500 won for four of us: two bibimbap, two bulgogi, a beer and three colas. Not bad at all, and we liked the food.

We saw them making rice cakes on the street. The lady had us make some ourselves, then sold us some as well, and gave us a few as a gift. We bought one and waited for our number to come up.

To be honest about the taste: you could live without it, but it was not bad.

On Hwangnidan-gil they make a little cake shaped like the Buddha’s face, and everyone is carrying one. We tried it too: 2,000 won each. It is like a taiyaki, the fish-shaped cake; it would be much better warm.

Again, everyone had one, so we had to try it. It is a chewy dough snack; it tasted almost like potato, more like sweet potato to me. Not bad, quite good actually.

We went to the most Instagrammable cafe on the street; we fell for the concept. We thought you could eat the outside of the cup too, but only the inside is edible.

The place is lovely and the coffee is good, but we did not like the dessert. Most people come here for the photos anyway.

A strange barbecue setup: you choose your meat and mushrooms at one shop, then cross the street to another and they cook it for you.

They have a local beef here: Hanwoo, Korea’s native cattle. We love eating local wherever we go, so that is what we ordered. The meat was amazing, really tender; the beef was the best part of the meal.

With the beef, mushrooms, two beers and a soju we paid 110,000 won in total.