Looking for a fabulous road trip? Then, our slow-travel Daegu road trip itinerary is just the thing! A detailed look at our relaxing and enjoyable weekend in Daegu. These are the perfect two days for couples or friends looking to spend a day around food, art, and nature.
Traveling To Daegu
We often take road trips rather than trains or busses so that we can enjoy the journey as much as the destination. A little while ago, we took a weekend trip Daegu to celebrate US Labor Day weekend. The trip was one we will not soon forget. Daegu was filled with great food and beautiful spaces. This is a city that should get more attention than it does.
Friday: Leave Late Friday Rather Than Rush on Saturday
We left Friday night and stopped off at Daejeon for dinner and dessert. Pyeongtaek to Daegu is a long drive and if you leave on Friday you won’t have to stress on Saturday. Instead, can stop and enjoy a relaxing meal and coffee on the way to Daegu so that Friday feels like date night. On this trip, we chose to stop off in one of our favorite parts of Daejeon and feast on schnitzel and cake before continuing on to Daegu.
Schnitzle
07042113232
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Korean German Fusian. The schnitzel was lovely, the goulash was spicy, and the fries are sweet. A touch of Korean and a lot of Germanic flavor.
Hangul Address
대전 동구 철갑2길 16
Gwansa Chon Coffee
070-7798-8686
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This coffee shop specializes in their drinks and offers only two types of dessert. Located in an old house that they kept dark and earthy with cool tables. You can buy their roasted coffee beans to take home.
Hangul Address
대전 동구 수향길 47
Saturday: Officially Begin Your Slow Daegu Tour
Did some city hiking today. We both love to just wander a city the first day – to get bearing, to take in sights and sounds, to exercise so we can eat all day;). Here are some of our favorite storefronts and signage. My favorites: “It’s okay if it’s not perfect. It’s okay if you’re a bit clumsy.” and “Mayonnaise”. Daegu has a very hip feel that we love.
Our walking destination was the Modern History Museum of Daegu. Along the way, we passed by this cool church and walked through the Gyeongsang Gamyeong Park while we waited for the Museum to open.
Daegu Gyesandong Catholic Church
This church was built in the early 1900s by Catholic missionaries. You are able to go and pray or sit quietly inside.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 서성로 10
Gyeongsan Gamyeong Park
A stunning, small park that easy to walk through and near other interesting sites.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 경상감영길 99
The Daegu Modern History Museum had just the right amount of city history and culture. We didn’t expect to see Helen Keller and Marilyn Monroe there, but we did!
Daegu Modern History Museum
053-606-6430
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A fun look at the modern history of Korea.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 경상감영길 67
After our morning walking tour, we had worked up an appetite. So, we headed for coffee and food after the museum. Since we spent our summer stateside and, oh, how we missed the cafe culture of Korea while away. This trip to Daegu had us taking full advantage. We send a special thanks to Mansion 5 for fresh food with amazing flavor. Will be back for sure. I (Brian) had an amazing salmon bowl, while chad enjoyed a citrus shrimp salad. We then split tteokboki (think spicy tomato soup with rice and fish cakes) and avocado gimbap (think Korean sashimi). So good and not heavy for the walking we were going to do that day.
Mansion5
53-421-1225
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Beautiful mix of modern and traditional architecture providing a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy a coffee, juice, ade, dessert, or brunch item (poke bowls, paninis, gimbap, salads). Bread and desserts made in-house.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 중앙대로79길 28
After Lunch we checked out the Yangnyeongsi Museum of Oriental Medicine. We missed the chance for a medicinal foot bath, but we had fun learning a little about the philosophy of Oriental Medicine.
Yangnyeong Herb Medicine Museum
053-253-4729
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Old herbal medicine market turned into a museum.
Hangul Address
49 Dalgubeol-daero 415-gil Jung-g
On the recommendation of our Airbnb host, we stopped by the old house of the poet Sang-hwa Lee. He wrote activist poetry during the Japanese occupation, trying to inspire and give hope to Koreans around the peninsula. This house was his last residence before dying of cancer. A sweet lady approached us and gave us a personal tour of the house as she was a local guide. This has happened at several locations – feel blessed that people are willing to talk and share their passion for their history.
Poet Sang-hwa Lee’s Old House
053-256-3762
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This national, activist poet wrote poetry to inspire his countrymen when Japan has annexed his country.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 계산동2가
After enjoying our time learning about a local poet, we headed to the traditional market. We love checking out the hustle and bustle of the traditional markets in each city we visit. Great food and eye-popping visuals.
Seomun Market
Has a little bit of everything in this market: food, clothing, beautify supplies, etc.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 달성로 50
However, we can never go too long without trying a new cafe. Somyeong Coffee Bar enticed us with their Nougat Glacé and we weren’t disappointed. It was a tiny shop and worth the stop.
Somyeong Coffee Bar
053-3254-9757
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This little hipster cafe has a wide range of drinks with a set menu and another one that changes daily. They have two desserts - a cheese cake and a French ice cream bar.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 중앙대로68길 30 1층
While walking to see some street art, we spotted this window display and had to check it out. Inside is a stationary store full of various colors and patterns of masking tape. And what this store owner/artist can do with masking tape is amazing! Rolled Paint is able to create beautiful scenes and images of people out of tape – even down to the shading. It blew our minds and inspired us to want to get back to our creative roots. If you are in Daegu, please stop by and check out her store.
Rolled Paint
0507-1332-6855
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Hangul Address
대구 중구 봉산문화길 92
Our next stop was an alley full of street art dedicated to the musician Kim Gwangseok. There are streets like this all over Korea: street art with cafes and photo ops; carnival games; arcades; and street food.
Just finding the art around the Daegu made this weekend perfect.
These were some of my favorites from a random Daegu alley.
After all the walking and art, we need to eat so went back to a place we had seen because of its name: Picky Child Dining. We had arancini for apps, bolognese tagliatelle, and a chicken steak truffle risotto. Hit the spot, but we weren’t done – dessert was next!
Picky Child Dining
507-1404-3408
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Along the culture road in Daegu, this Italian spot offers arancini, which are a staple Italian food in Italy, but not often found in Korea.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 봉산문화길 43
Finished the evening’s culinary activities with crème brûlée and chocolate hazelnut doughnuts from Black Bear Donuts
Black Bear Donuts
0507-1340-1194
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Stunning western style donuts with strong flavors. Regular size and mini size available.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 봉산문화1길 20
Then, we capped off the evening with a Ferris wheel ride over the city and with me overcoming my fear of heights on the ride and the skywalk. We then made it back to our Airbnb and got a 360 view of the city from the rooftop garden.
Spark Land
053-230-2010
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On top of a building, this amusement arcade has bumper cars, ferris wheel, one ride, and photo ops.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 동성로6길 61
Sunday: From Mountains to Cafes
We said goodbye to our AirBnB in the morning and headed for the hills. We decided to hike up Apsan and check out the observatory by the cable car. Unfortunately, most of the observatories were under construction and we we going to take the cable car down, but didn’t realize we needed to buy the ticket at the base, so we did a little off road hike back down to our car. There was some stress, but a beautiful hike nonetheless.
Apsan Cable Car
053-656-2994
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Situated in Nam-gu, Daegu, Apsan Observatory is a view point overlooking the entire downtown Daegu area. The structure blends the urban and natural landscapes, as well as their history and future. Many tourists as well as Daegu residents come to the observatory as it is also an educational place to teach the meaning of Daegu to the citizens. Hiking Course * Anjiranggol Valley Entrance - Anilsa Temple - Apsan Observatory (2.5 km, approx. 1 hr) * Keungol Valley Entrance - Cable Car - Apsan Observatory (3.2 km, approx. 40 min) Tour Course Information Apsanjarak-gil - Apsan Star-sign Experience Lecture Hall - Apsanmat Dulle-gil - Apsan Cafe Street - Anjirang Gopchang Town Age Limit for Activities Open to visitors ages 7 and older Parking Facilities Use public parking lot Facility Utilization Fees [Apsan Cable Car] Round-trip Individuals - Adults 10,500 won / Children 7,500 won Groups - Adults 9,500 won / Children 6,500 won One-way Individuals - Adults 7,500 won / Children 5,500 won Groups - Adults 6,500 won / Children 4,500 won * Children (ages 4-elementary school students) / Groups (30 people or more) * Daegu City Tour users: 20% discount for round-trip fare (only available for same day ticket-holders) Restrooms Available
Hangul Address
대구광역시 남구 앞산순환로 574-114
We needed to refuel after the hike, so we went to @edl_brunch_house – it was perfect. The croissant sandwich surprised and delighted me: shrimp, arugula, cranberries, scrambled egg, citrus dressing, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Loved it. The seasonal ade was also amazing.
E.D.L. Brunch House
053-253-1219
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This little brunch house has a vintage throw back feel with great ades, foods, and desserts.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 봉산문화길 80
After we ate we couldn’t resist one more visit to Rolled Paint. We are too captivated by the work there. That art, my friends, is all done with various masking tapes. The artist, @rolled_paint , has some amazing art, sells her prints and tape, and even has a book (which we bought) on how to make your own art. Please stop by this shop if you are ever in Daegu!
When on vacation, you can never eat too much. We absolutely had to walk over and stop by Truly Baker as we hadn’t had a fresh bagel in forever. However, we split one bagel, a NY with jalapeño nut cream cheese. LOVED that flavor cream cheese – could have bought a whole tub. The bagels were more Montreal style – flat – instead of the Jersey/NY bagels I grew up with. Still good, though.
Truly Baker
053-254-3378
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Delicious regular and rainbow bagels with a nice selection of spreads and a bagel sandwich.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 봉산문화1길 32
We did some adulting and bought a bed frame (not pictured or listed) and then stopped by the Bullodong Ancient Tombs Park that was just down the street. It’s such a beautiful park with over 200 tombs from the 5th and 6th centuries.
Bullodong Ancient Tombs Park
Ancient burial grounds on the outskirts of Daegu, nestled before the mountain range with over 200 tombs. Picnicking and hiking trails available.
Hangul Address
대구광역시 동구 불로동 산5
Finally, before heading out, we wanted to check out two food places that were recommended by a friend. First up was dinner at Hi Thai where we had the best green papaya salad and chicken panaeng curry in Korea.
Hi Thai
0507-1405-0562
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Cute little Thai restaurant to satisfy your craving for pad thai or curry.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 공평로 53
Our last stop was Farm Table Cafe for soufflé pancakes. The recommended orange tiramisu pancakes were sold out, so we opted for the chocolate and granola, which had plenty of chocolate and cream to bath our pancakes in before each bite. After savoring the evening we made the trek back home.
Farm Table
053-256-7436
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Cafe with drinks and three types of desserts: soufflé pancakes, German pancakes, croffles.
Hangul Address
대구 중구 동성로4길 109
After all the adventures, we were happy to get home to our beautiful city of Pyeongtaek.
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Chad Card holds a Master’s of Arts in Second Language teaching and a Master’s in Near and Middle Eastern Studies. He works for the Department of Defense (DODEA) as an ELA educator. Mr. Card travels extensively in South Korea and internationally. His passion includes studying languages, culture, and diversity.
Brian Rich holds a Master’s in Clinic Social work and a Bachelor’s in English Teaching. Mr. Rich is an experienced social work clinician who transitioned into education and works for the DODEA.
Together, Brian and Chad work as Cultural Liaisons and Content Creators developing travel itineraries focused on arts and culture across South Korea. Their love of learning, culture, and life is evident in all of their work.
