Busan on a first visit: a coastal city that does not behave like Seoul

Busan is Korea's second city and its main port, wrapped around bays and hills at the southeastern tip of the peninsula. The important thing for planning is its shape: it stretches along the coast rather than radiating from a centre, so the parts a visitor wants are strung out in a line and a crosstown trip takes real time.

Broadly there are three clusters. The old downtown around Nampo and Jagalchi holds the fish market, the book alley and the port. Seomyeon in the middle is the commercial and nightlife core. Haeundae and Gwangalli at the eastern end are the beaches and the newer towers.

Choosing where to sleep matters more here than in Seoul. Basing yourself at the beaches and repeatedly travelling downtown, or the reverse, spends a lot of the day on the subway.

The KTX from Seoul takes a little over two and a half hours and arrives at Busan Station, which is downtown rather than at the beaches. Flights exist and are rarely worth it once airport transfers are counted.

The subway is straightforward and signed in English, with the same numbering logic as Seoul — our subway guide applies here unchanged, and our metro section lists every Busan station.

Two rides are worth taking for their own sake rather than to get anywhere: the Donghae Line along the coast east of the city, and the seaside capsule train and sky capsule on the old track near Haeundae, which is a tourist attraction rather than transport and priced as one.

Jagalchi is the country's largest seafood market, working rather than curated. You can buy a fish downstairs and have it prepared upstairs, which is the thing to do there.

Gamcheon Culture Village is a hillside settlement of brightly painted houses, originally built by refugees during the Korean War and later given over to art projects. It is very photogenic, very busy, and people live there — the signs asking for quiet are not decorative.

Haeundae is the famous beach and is genuinely crowded in summer. Gwangalli, the next bay along, has the better view — the suspension bridge lit at night — and a more relaxed strip of cafés and bars behind it.

Beomeosa is a substantial mountain temple on the edge of the city, reachable by subway and a short bus, and it is the easiest way to put a quiet morning into a Busan trip.

One day downtown: the fish market in the morning when it is working, the port area and Gamcheon in the afternoon, and the evening in Nampo.

One day east: a morning at Beomeosa or the coastal walk at Taejongdae, an afternoon at a beach, and the evening at Gwangalli looking at the bridge.

A third day, if you have it, is best spent leaving the city — Gyeongju is roughly an hour away by bus and is a completely different kind of visit, covered in its own guide here.

Busan is milder than Seoul in winter and considerably more humid in summer. It also catches typhoons more directly than the capital, which is worth watching in late summer.