South Korea

Almost every South Korea tour begins in Seoul, a capital where the Joseon dynasty’s palaces and the tiled roofs of old hanok houses sit among glass towers, and most give it several days. From there the classic route runs south-east to Gyeongju, for a thousand years the capital of the Silla kingdom, where grassy royal burial mounds rise in the middle of town and the temple of Bulguksa stands in the hills outside it, and on to Busan, the country’s great port, all fish markets, harbour and hillside neighbourhoods running down to the sea.

Longer itineraries take a loop through the south-west: the green-tea terraces at Boseong, the harbour town of Yeosu, and Jeonju, known for its hanok village and its food. A few fly out to Jeju, the volcanic island off the south coast. The distances are short by the standards of the region, and the high-speed trains make light of them, so a tour that covers both Seoul and the south still leaves time for slow mornings in the palaces and markets. Several tours carry on into Japan, and one into China.

The seasons are sharper than Britain’s and shape a trip more than the route does. Spring, from late March to May, brings the cherry blossom north from the south coast to Seoul and then a long run of warm, settled days. Autumn, from late September to early November, is clear and dry, with the leaves turning first in the mountains and later in the south. Between them, the summer rainy season and the heat that follows it make July and August the hardest months for walking and sightseeing, and winter is dry but bitterly cold, particularly in Seoul and the north.