The mine later sheltered refugees during the Korean War and more recently stored salted shrimp. I toured Gwangmyeong Cave, a former gold mine where Koreans were forced into military service by the Japanese. Visit Yonggungsa or Jeondeungsa temple, tour Songdo Hanok Village’s traditional homes or Gyeongbokgung Palace and pedestrian-friendly Insa-dong, shop at Triple Shopping Street, trendy Hongdae Street, Myeong-dong shopping district, or the infamous Namdaemun Market, or relive the glory of the 2002 FIFA World Cup by visiting Asia’s largest football stadium - complete with a tour through the locker and practice rooms. Shop, sightsee, pray, or play during one of eight tours offered to passengers transiting through ICN. Here’s a sampling of my favorite layover tours. But with these tempting layover tours, a long gap between flights offers a great way to whet your appetite for a future visit to a new city. Layovers are shorter - anything from a crazy-making one-hour sprint between gates to several laborious hours stuck in the airport searching for the best restaurant or Wi-Fi hotspot.
On international flights, stopovers are generally overnight stays between your departing and final destinations.
#The layover soundtrack free#
Why? I’ve discovered some airports, in conjunction with national airlines and tourism boards, offer free or ridiculously cheap layover tours (also called “transit tours”) as a way to promote future tourism. Now, I look for them! In fact, I even search for those formerly dreaded overnight breaks.
I used to avoid a long layover at (almost) any cost.