Busan itinerary for first-timers

Gamcheon climbs a steep hillside above the port in terraces of small houses painted blue, pink, yellow and green, joined by staircases and narrow lanes. It grew up as a settlement for refugees during the Korean War, and since the late 2000s artists have filled it with murals, sculptures and little galleries. Wandering its maze of alleys means constant views over the rooftops to the hills and the sea, and the statue of the Little Prince and the fox looking out over the village is its most photographed corner.

• Painted hillside houses
• Murals and art installations
• Little Prince statue
• Rooftop viewpoints
• Stairway alleys

This is a lived-in neighbourhood: keep your voice down in the residential lanes, and come in the morning before the tour buses arrive.

Korea's largest seafood market stretches along the waterfront of Nampo-dong. Inside the main building and in the stalls outside, tanks and tubs overflow with live fish, octopus, crabs, shellfish and sea squirts, while long rows of dried fish and seaweed fill the side lanes. The classic Busan experience is to pick your seafood from a stall downstairs and have it prepared in the dining rooms upstairs.

• Live seafood tanks
• Waterfront stalls
• Dried fish lanes
• Dining floors upstairs

The floors are always wet; wear shoes you don't mind getting splashed.

A few minutes inland from Jagalchi, Nampo-dong is Busan's old downtown. BIFF Square, named after the Busan International Film Festival that began here, is lined with street-food stalls, and ssiat hotteok, a sweet pancake stuffed with seeds, is the snack to try. From there the shopping street of Gwangbok-ro leads to Gukje Market, a huge warren of covered lanes that grew out of the post-war years, and to Bupyeong Kkangtong Market and its food alleys.

• BIFF Square
• Gwangbok-ro Fashion Street
• Gukje Market
• Bupyeong Kkangtong Market
• Bupyeong-dong food alley

Bupyeong Kkangtong Market is one of the oldest markets in the city and comes alive again as a night market in the evening, if you would rather stay in Nampo-dong than go on to Seomyeon.

Seomyeon is the modern heart of Busan, where the city's two main metro lines cross. Above ground it is a tight grid of shopping streets, neon signs, food alleys and bars that stays busy late into the night, and below it runs a long underground shopping arcade. It is also the best place to try dwaeji gukbap, the pork and rice soup that Busan calls its own.

• Seomyeon shopping streets
• Food alleys
• Underground shopping arcade
• Neon signs at night

Friday and Saturday nights are the liveliest; the side streets away from the main crossing are where the small local places are.

Most Korean temples hide in the mountains, but Haedong Yonggungsa sits right on the rocks of the east coast, with the waves breaking below its halls. A path lined with stone lanterns leads down a long stairway to an arched bridge over a cove, and from the terraces there are views straight out over the sea. The temple is a favourite place to watch the sunrise and to light a candle for a wish.

• Stone lantern stairway
• Arched bridge
• Main hall above the sea
• Seaside rocks
• Wishing candles

Arrive early: the stairways are narrow and the temple gets very crowded by late morning, especially at weekends.

Haeundae is Korea's most famous beach, a long curve of sand backed by a wall of high-rise towers. At its eastern end, the old coastal railway has become the Haeundae Blueline Park: small colourful sky capsules glide along an elevated track above the shore, and a slow beach train runs beside them past fishing harbours and coves towards Cheongsapo and Songjeong.

• Haeundae Beach
• Beach promenade
• Blueline Park sky capsules
• Beach train
• Fishing harbours

The sky capsules are popular and seats sell out on fine days; book a time slot ahead or ride the beach train instead.

Gwangalli's crescent of sand faces the Gwangan Bridge, a long suspension bridge across the bay that is lit in changing colours after dark. The beachfront is lined with cafés, bars and restaurants, and on warm evenings the sand fills with people sitting by the water watching the lights. It is the best place in Busan to end the day.

• Gwangan Bridge at night
• Gwangalli beachfront
• Gwangan seaside park
• Waterfront promenade

Walk the whole length of the beach for the changing angles on the bridge; the far ends are calmer than the middle.