As South Korea’s 2nd largest city, Busan (also known as Pusan) attracts many tourists. Whether you’re visiting for its beaches, its many activities or its history, you’ll need to figure out where to stay in Busan. From one part of the city to the next, the scenery changes and the atmosphere changes, offering a complete change of scenery in just a few minutes by metro.
In this guide, we’ll help you familiarize yourself with the neighborhoods that make up this colorful port city. For each of them, we define the main activities and suggest several places to stay to suit your needs and budget.
Main information
Before going into the description of the places to target when selecting your accommodation in Busan, here are the essentials to know from a tourist point of view. This should give you a better idea of the city and its constraints.
Our favorite places to stay
For those in a hurry, here are our favorite places to stay in Busan:
- $ this hotel, to be in the heart of Busan and enjoy the nightlife of Seomyeon,
- $$ this hotel, which offers a sea view at very affordable prices,
- $$$ this luxury seaside establishment,
Map of Busan’s different districts to stay in
To give you a quick overview of the different places we recommend to stay in Busan, you’ll find on the map below all the Busan accommodation recommendations we’ll be sharing in this guide. You can also use it to locate the various neighborhoods we’ll be detailing.
The essentials for choosing where to stay in Busan
Where to stay in Busan
Let’s get to the heart of the matter with a review of the main areas where we recommend staying in Busan.
Stay in the heart of Busan: welcome to Seomyeon
Seomyeon plunges you into the heart of Busan, in a lively district where activity never stops. By day, the big names and trendy boutiques attract many shopping addicts: clothes, accessories, shoes, korean skincare, household goods, CD stores... you're bound to find what you're looking for among the high-end brands that abound here, giving the area a Gangnam (Seoul's lively, luxurious district) feel.
When night falls on Seomyeon, it's not yet time to go to sleep. Restaurants, bars, karaoke bars and nightclubs take over, offering an atmosphere as electric as it is lively. Typical street-food stalls flourish along the avenues, like little itinerant restaurants. It's the ideal place to stay to enjoy the nightlife without worrying about catching the last metro.
Accommodation is plentiful and prices vary. You'll find very affordable rooms, as well as more expensive but comfortable accommodations. Most are centered around Seomyeon station, where the two main subway lines cross. This connection makes the rest of Busan easily accessible in a relatively short time, making it a particularly convenient place to stay.
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Just a 6-minute walk from Seomyeon station, the Toyoko Inn is the ideal place to stay if you're feeling restless. It's strategically located for easy access to the city's sites of interest. It's the ideal place to stay in the heart of the action without breaking the bank.
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The H-Avenue Hotel invites you to stay just 700m from Seomyeon station, giving you quick access to Busan station and tourist attractions. Night owls will appreciate staying in the heart of this district renowned for its nightlife.
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Located in the center of Busan, this accommodation offers you the chance to enjoy Seomyeon to the full while remaining close to transport and the station. So you can get around easily and stay in a neighborhood that never stays awake.
Nampo: accommodation in a strategic area
One of Busan's must-see areas, Nampo-dong is a stunning mix of shopping streets, local restaurants, fish markets and places steeped in history. This eclectic district developed with the arrival of refugees from the Korean War, when Busan was named the temporary capital of South Korea.
You'll find this influence very much in evidence as you stroll along Bosu Book Street, whose history will make your heart skip a beat, as well as several other marks of the past, such as Yongdusan Park and its statue of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin. It's also a particularly popular vantage point from which to admire Busan's harbor and bridge, either from the ground or from the top of Busan Tower.
Very popular with tourists, Nampo offers a wide range of accommodation, all within easy reach of transport links, whether metro line 1 or the many buses that run through the area. Accommodation overlooking the harbor is available at very affordable prices.
Most accommodations are also less than 3km from Songdo beach, renowned for its Sky Cloud Trails. It's the ideal area to stay close to places of interest.
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This accommodation is ideally located 300m from Gwangbok-dong and less than 2km from Gukje market, the port and Busan station. Enjoy city views and family rooms.
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Experience staying at this 3-star accommodation with a direct view of Busan harbor. You'll be able to stay close to transport links and places of interest such as the Gukje market, the harbor and Busan's Chinatown.
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The Stanford Hotel offers sea and city views, yet is only a 5-minute walk from Jagalchi station and the Jagalchi market. The airport is also just a 35-minute drive away. A peaceful place to stay, even when you've got a plane to catch.
Sea views at Haeundae
Renowned for its 1.5km-long beach, Haeundae is a favorite destination for tourists. Surrounding the beach is a lively district with restaurants, cafés, shopping centers and summer festivals.
But Haeundae is also about strolling through unparalleled landscapes, along Dongbaek Park, Dalmaji Road or the Oryukdo Islands. There's never a dull moment in this area, with so much to do.
Enjoying a unique panorama, the hotels that crowd the beachfront are generally luxurious establishments whose prices rise rapidly. However, there are plenty of accommodations in this area whose prices fall as you move further away from the coast. Most offer accommodation with a city or sea view, depending on location.
Getting around is made easy by the numerous buses and the metro line 2, which runs through the area.
We advise you to book your accommodation in advance, especially if you wish to stay here in July and August. At this time of year, when beachfront accommodation is in high demand, hotel beds are in short supply.
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The Plea de Blanc offers affordable accommodation in a 4-star hotel just 500m from Haeundae beach. Ideally located, it's close to the metro and the main street. It's the ideal place to stay, lulled by the sound of the waves.
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If you want to stay close to Haeundae beach without being far from the subway and main street, this is the accommodation for you. It's less than 600m from the beach and Haeundae station, and less than 3km from the Busan Art Museum.
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Experience staying in a 5-star hotel just 200m from Haeundae beach, in Grand Josun. The hotel offers seafront accommodation with a breathtaking view of the sea. You're just a few minutes' walk from the metro station.
Relaxing in Gwangan
Take time out from the hustle and bustle of Haeundae for a stroll along the Gwangan coast. Gwangalli beach, with its view of the Diamond Bridge, is a calm and relaxed setting. Here, you can take your time in the small cafés and restaurants, discovering a calmer, more local pace of life.
Highlights include the beach, the Busan Film Center and theDiamond Bridge Observatory, which offers a panoramic view of the bridge and its surroundings.
The rest of the city is within easy reach thanks to the many public transport services that criss-cross the area, notably metro 2. This means that the most attractive places are still within easy reach, if only because they take a little longer to get to.
This makes it an ideal base for those who want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of nightlife in more popular areas such as Seomyeon or Haeundae. Accommodation is generally found along the beach, but is rarer inland. Prices may vary, but remain affordable.
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Just 2km from the Busan Museum of Art, this accommodation offers affordable beachfront living. Depending on your room, you can enjoya sea view just a few minutes' walk from Geumryeonsan station .
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Conveniently located just a fifteen-minute walk from the subway, the H-Avenue Gwanganri is ideal for staying just a stone's throw from Gwangalli beach. The Busan Art Museum and Busan Cinema Center are less than 3km away.
Stay in the historic Dongnae district
One of Busan's oldest districts, Dongnae is home to many historic sites, including the Dongnae Hyanggyo Confucian School, Geumjeong Fortress, Dongnae Castle and Bokcheon-dong.
The area is marked by vestiges of the Three Kingdoms and the Japanese invasion of 1592, but not only. The area is also renowned for its natural hot springs and for housing Asia's largest spa, the Heosimcheong spa.
Within this residential area, you can observe thelocal atmosphere as you stroll through the traditional markets or take in a baseball game at Sajik Stadium.
Dongnae is not very well served by public transport. Subway lines 1 and 4 run through the area, intersecting at the station of the same name. Few hotels offer accommodation in this residential area, and buses are concentrated on the main roads.
Staying in this area can be interesting if you want to focus your stay on Busan's history or immerse yourself in the daily life of the locals.
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If you want to stay close to the stadium, this 3-star hotel is ideal. You'll be close to the subway and less than 5km fromBusan National University.
Summary
Between the sea and the mountains, Busan offers a wide selection of activities ranging from culture and leisure to gastronomy and water sports. The South Korean city offers an ideal setting for hiking and cooling off by the sea, as well as a much-appreciated proximity to dynamic areas that never stay asleep. The city is full of neighborhoods, each as unique as the next, which we’ll leave you to explore.
Now you know all about the best places to stay in Busan, depending on your schedule and budget. Now all you have to do is enjoy!