Travel around seoul#7 (Han river Viewing Cafe)

Recently few more cafes on Hangang(han river)bridges have opened up in last few years, as cafes situated on the bridges, including Café gooroom(cloud) on Dongjakdaegyo(Bridge), River View Spring on Jamsildaegyo(Bridge) and River view 8th avenue on Gwangjingyo (Bridge), are becoming popular destinations to enjoy picturesque views of Seoul.
There are about 10 han river bridge cafes scattered around han river in seoul.
I'll introduce few of these unique cafes in han river

1. Cloud Cafe and sunset Cafe

Cloud Cafe and senset Cafe are located each at upstream and downstream of Dongjak Bridge. Both cafes occupy three floors of the building from 3rd to 5th, and outdoor observation deck is on 6th floor. The operating hour is from 10 am to 2 am from March to October during the high-demand season, and from 10 am to midnight from November to February during the low-demand season.

How to get there: I recommend you to take a bus no.502 or a subway to Dongjak station (line no.4). It takes only three minutes’ walk from where you get off. To Cloud café, go to exit no.1, and to Sunset café go to exit no.2. For drivers, there is a parking lot over a Dongjak Bridge, which charges 300 won per 10 minutes. If you park at other parking lot in Banpo Hangang Park, it costs 1000 won per 30 minutes, from Monday through Saturday, and 200 won per extra 10 minutes. For whole day, it costs 10,000 won. On Sunday and national holidays, it is free of charge.

cloud cafe at night




view from sunset cafe at night

 

2. River View 8th Avenue

Ok so this isn’t a cafe, but its pretty awesome. Most of the Han River cafes on this list like to go upwards to give you the best view, but Riverview 8th Avenue goes down to take you closer to the actual river. And its uniqueness doesn’t stop at it’s location under the Gwangjin Bridge. It’s a cultural center with live music performances (need reservations online - Korean language only) as well as glass floor panels to see the river under your feet. It was also one of the filming locations for the Korean drama Iris. Live music right on the Han River and Korean drama awesomeness?



How to get there: Gwangnaru Station (Line 5), Exit 2 or Cheonho Station (Line 8), Exit 2 – 15 minute walk.



small live music concert at River view 8th avenue



3. Cafe Arittaum(pretty) Yanghwa & Cafe Arittaum(pretty) Seonyu on Yangwha Bridge

Café Arittaum is actually a pair of cafes located on both sides of the bridge – Café Arittaum Seonyu and Café Aritaum Yanghwa. Café Aritaum Seonyu is on the west side of the bridge, facing downstream towards Seonyudo Park, and Café Aritaum Yanghwa is on the east side of the bridge, facing upstream towards Yeouido.

How to Get to the Cafe

There are several ways to reach Café Aritaum. You can take subway line 2 or 9 to Dangsan Station or subway line 9 to Seonyudo Station. You can also take subway line 2 or 6 to Hapjeong Station, and then take a bus that will drop you off directly in front of the café. The café doesn’t have their own parking lot, so if you plan on driving there, it’s recommended that you park in the Hangang Park parking lot. If you’re not getting dropped off right in front of the café, you’ll need to take the inclined elevator up to the bridge.