"Historical Town in a modern day Korea " a Kyongju Travel Page by suhadis

If you decide to visit Gyeongju, you'd have to give it around 3 days. The moment you arrive at the train station or bus terminal, you'll realise how the quiet the town is. But don't be fooled, this town is home to 2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Gyeongju Historic Areas, and Bulguksa Temple / Seokguram Grotto. While the centre of town looks peaceful, the shopping and dining areas where the younger crowd goes to are actually away from the main streets, and quite near to the train station. Also, the resort areas are clustered around a lake area, and that's where the the high-rise hotels are at.

Buses are the way to go about in town, but unfortunately in the higher elevations, you have to rely on your own 2 feet! The Namsan belt (part of Gyeongju Historic Areas) is quite a hike up the low mountain and requires a whole day to accomodate for the time to hike up and down. But the views from the top is all the worth the climb. Consider going up early in the day so you could finish earlier to descend before sunset as there are no lights on the paths. The paths are also not paved and full of stones, so do wear proper walking shoes.

If you are not at all the hiking type, consider visiting Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto. They are accessible by bus from the town centre. Seokguram Grotto is located high up in the mountain behind Bulguksa, but there is a paid bus service, which i think is all the worth compared to hiking up! I took the path down from the Grotto to the temple and it was still quite a walk down, bearing in mind the steepness and distance. Do not take this option if the sun is setting as there are no lights on the path.