Best Time to Visit Suwon

Spring and autumn: the sweet spots

April, May and October all rate Excellent, and May and October score highest overall. In April you'll get cool, fresh days that suit a long walk along the Hwaseong Fortress wall, the UNESCO-listed 18th-century wall that circles the old town. Cherry blossom usually shows up in early April, so expect more local day-trippers at weekends.

May is warmer and a little wetter, but still pleasant. It's good for the Haenggung-dong neighbourhood, where small cafés and craft shops fill the lanes below the fortress. October is the driest of the three and the best for hiking up Mt. Paldalsan, which sits right beside the fortress. Autumn colour is lovely, and the evenings are crisp enough for a bowl of galbi (grilled marinated ribs). Suwon is famous for it.

Summer: hot, wet and sticky

June is still fine for sightseeing, though it gets warmer and rain creeps up. Then comes the monsoon, called jangma. July is the wettest month by far, with rain on 19 days and very little sun. August is nearly as bad, with rain on 18 days and the highest temperatures of the year, at 29°C.

Hate sticky afternoons? Skip these two months. If you can't, plan around indoor spots like the Suwon Hwaseong Museum, Starfield Suwon mall, and the Suwon Cheongsa shopping and eating streets. Fortress walks are best saved for the gaps between downpours. September stays warm and showery, but crowds thin and the fortress feels calmer.

Winter: cold, dry and quiet

From December to February, it's cold, with lows below freezing and highs from 1°C to 4°C. January is the coldest month, and it's also the driest, with 18 mm of rain. Days are often clear, though. Fortress walls look crisp against the sky, and you'll often share them with very few people.

Winter suits you if you want a cheap, quiet city break and don't mind bundling up. Warm up with a bowl of seolleongtang (milky beef bone soup) or a hot street snack like hotteok, a sweet filled pancake. Suwon is also an easy train ride from Seoul, so many visitors pair the two. March is still chilly and a bit grey, but spring is close.

Events and crowds

Holiday weekends bring crowds. Lunar New Year (Seollal) and Chuseok, the autumn harvest holiday, are busy with Korean families, though some shops close for a day or two. In autumn, the Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival draws visitors to the fortress area with parades and performances. Check the dates for the year you're going, since they shift.