Best Views in Seoul

If you want the best views in Seoul, two paid decks and a ring of free hilltops are worth your time. N Seoul Tower is the cheapest, from $21.73, and stands on top of Namsan. Seoul Sky is the highest, with its deck at 486 m, and its ticket is $24.72, rated 4.65 from 604 reviews. The free winner is Namsan itself. My pick is Seoul Sky, about an hour before sunset on a clear day.

The Best Views in Seoul at a Glance

The best views in Seoul come from two opposite sides of the Han River. N Seoul Tower is in the middle of the old city, on a hill, and looks across central Seoul and its palaces. Seoul Sky is in Songpa, to the south east, and looks down on the river and the skyline from a record height. The two are about 11.0 km (6.8 miles) apart in a straight line, from the coordinates in my data. The table has the numbers I could cite for each.

Deck	Height	Open-air?	Price from	Top ticket rating	Page
Seoul Sky, Lotte World Tower	486 m deck, 555.7 m tower	Not stated in my sources	$24.72	4.65 from 604	Tickets
N Seoul Tower	168.3 m deck, 236.8 m tower	Not stated in my sources	$21.73	4.56 from 561 for the cable car combo	Tickets

Deck heights come from Wikipedia’s list of observation decks, and tower heights from Wikidata (Lotte World Tower, Namsan Seoul Tower). Prices are US dollars from the GetYourGuide listings I checked in October 2026. For the tower’s own ticket prices, the official N Seoul Tower site is the number to compare against.

1. Seoul Sky: My Pick for the Best Views in Seoul

Seoul Sky is the one I’d book first for the best views in Seoul, because nothing else in the city reaches this height. Wikipedia calls Lotte World Tower the sixth-tallest building in the world, and says the observatory occupies the top seven levels. From a deck at 486 m the horizon is about 78.7 km away on a clear day, per the horizon formula, so the hills around Seoul can come into frame when the cloud allows. The tower opened to the public on 3 April 2017, per the same article, which makes it the newer of the two decks by 37 years: N Seoul Tower dates from 1980, per Wikidata. The older tower has the hill, and the newer one has the height, and that trade-off decides most of what follows.

BeMyGuest

Lotte World Tower Seoul Sky Observatory Ticket

• ★ 4.7 (604 reviews)
• 24-hour ticket

My pick: The only Seoul Sky ticket I found: $24.72, rated 4.65 from 604 reviews, and the cheapest way up to the highest deck in the city.

from

$24.72

Check availability

Google Maps lists Seoul Sky as open 10:30 AM to 10 PM Monday to Thursday and to 11 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so check the official site for your date before you plan around it. The full prices, hours and queue notes are on my Lotte World Tower tickets page.

2. N Seoul Tower: The Best Views of Central Seoul

N Seoul Tower gives the best views of the old city, because it is already high before you step inside. According to Wikipedia, the tower stands on the summit of Namsan in central Seoul and is considered a landmark and symbol of the city. Its observatory is at 168.3 m. Google Maps rates the place 4.5 from 68,547 reviews, the most reviewed view in this guide. It is open 10 AM to 10:30 PM Monday to Friday and to 11 PM at the weekend, per Google Maps.

WONDER TRIP

N Seoul Tower Observatory & Cable Car Combo Ticket

• ★ 4.6 (561 reviews)
• 24-hour ticket
• Free cancellation

My pick: The observatory and round-trip cable car combo at $33: 4.56 from 561 reviews, and the version I'd book for a first visit.

from

$33

Check availability

If you only want the deck, the plain observatory ticket is $21.73, rated 4.37 from 180 reviews, and it is the cheapest way to the best views in Seoul on this page.

CJ FOODVILLE

N Seoul Tower Observatory Entry Ticket

• ★ 4.4 (180 reviews)
• 24-hour ticket
• Free cancellation

My pick: The plain observatory entry at $21.73; the cheapest ticket in this guide, and 4.37 from 180 reviews.

from

$21.73

Check availability

There is also a guided option. The Seoul highlights tour with Gyeongbokgung Palace, Insadong and the tower is $26, rated 4.75 from 987 reviews, and takes 4 to 8 hours. I’d only pick it if you want a day plan, not just a view. More on the cable car and the other tours is on my N Seoul Tower tickets page.

VIP Travel

Seoul Highlights: Gyeongbok Palace, Insadong & N Seoul Tower

• ★ 4.8 (987 reviews)
• 4 - 8 hours
• Free cancellation

My pick: A palace, Insadong and tower day for $26, rated 4.75 from 987 reviews; I'd choose it if you want a guide, not just a deck.

from

$26

Check availability

Free Viewpoints for the Best Views in Seoul

The best views in Seoul for no money at all are on the hills, and this is the section I’d read before buying any ticket. Seoul is ringed by hills, so a free lookout can give a wide frame, and the only thing it cannot give you is a 486 m drop. The places below are public in my Google Maps data, and I have no entry terms or prices for any of them.

Namsan is the obvious start. Namsan Mountain Park is rated 4.7 from 2,621 reviews and is open 24 hours per Google Maps, just 0.2 km from N Seoul Tower. Namsan Photo Island (South Point) is 4.5 from 398 reviews and 0.7 km away, and Jamdubong Photo Island is 4.5 from 105 reviews and 0.4 km away. The Namsan Octagonal Pavilion Park Observatory (4.7 from 109 reviews) is next to the tower. Further out, Naksan Fortress Wall Trail is 4.7 from 104 reviews and 3.3 km from N Seoul Tower, with the city wall to walk beside. Jeongdong Observatory (4.6 from 126 reviews) is 1.8 km away, but its hours are short, with weekdays 1:30 to 5:30 PM, so check before you go.

The Mumudae viewpoint (4.6 from 92 reviews) is 4.2 km from N Seoul Tower, and 63 Skypicnic (4.9 from 80 reviews) is 5.5 km away, across the river. I have no prices I can cite for 63 Skypicnic beyond Google Maps listing it open 10 AM to 10 PM. Gyeongbokgung Palace (4.6 on Google Maps) is 3.3 km from the tower, so the hills and the old city make one easy half day. I pair one free hill at sunset with one paid deck, since no hill reaches the height of Seoul Sky. The hills are also where the best views in Seoul for photographs tend to come from, because you can set up a tripod and wait for the light, which a busy deck rarely allows.

Best Time for the Best Views in Seoul

The weather is nearly the same for both decks, so I use N Seoul Tower’s year of data as the city’s reference. Per Open-Meteo, February was the clearest month in 2025 at 26 percent cloud cover with 2 rainy days, and November was next at 38 percent with 3 rainy days. September was the cloudiest at 73 percent and October followed at 72 percent. Sunset runs from 17:14 in December to 19:55 in June.

Month	Sunset (Seoul time)	Cloud cover	Sunshine a day	Rainy days
Janclearest	17:37	42%	7 h	6
Febclearest	18:11	26%	9.1 h	2
Mar	18:39	51%	8.9 h	8
Apr	19:07	47%	9.7 h	11
May	19:34	61%	8.4 h	11
Jun	19:55	70%	8.5 h	12
Jul	19:53	65%	9.3 h	14
Aug	19:24	66%	9.7 h	20
Sep	18:40	73%	7 h	12
Oct	17:55	72%	5.7 h	13
Novclearest	17:21	38%	8.3 h	3
Dec	17:14	45%	7 h	10

My rule for the best views in Seoul is to arrive 45 to 60 minutes before sunset. In winter that means a late afternoon slot, which also gives the clearest air in the data. In June the sun sets just before 8 PM, well before both decks close. Cloud matters more than the hour, so if you can only choose one thing, choose a clear day. The rainy days follow the same pattern as the cloud: 20 in August, against 2 in February, per Open-Meteo. I would not buy a fixed-date ticket for a summer afternoon without a plan B, and the GetYourGuide listings let you pick the date when you book.

How Far Apart Are the Two Decks?

The two decks are 11.0 km (6.8 miles) apart in a straight line, so you can see both in one day if you cross the river by subway or taxi. N Seoul Tower is on Namsan in Yongsan District, and Seoul Sky is at 300 Olympic-ro in Songpa District, per Google Maps. I’d pick one deck and add a free hill, not both decks. Take Seoul Sky for the height, or the tower for the hilltop.

How I’d Choose the Best Views in Seoul

I’ve kept this list to one line per visitor, so you can find yourself quickly.

• The highest view: Seoul Sky at $24.72, with the deck at 486 m.
• A first visit and the icon: the N Seoul Tower and cable car combo at $33, rated 4.56.
• Cheapest: the N Seoul Tower observatory ticket at $21.73.
• Free and photogenic: Namsan Photo Island at sunset, with no ticket and no booking.
• A guided day: the Seoul highlights tour at $26, rated 4.75 from 987 reviews.

If you can only afford one paid view, I’d book Seoul Sky, the top of my best views in Seoul list. Add a free evening on Namsan, and you will have seen Seoul from above and from the hill in its middle.