Lotte World

This huge complex includes an amusement park, an ice-skating rink, a cinema multiplex, department store, folk museum, shopping mall, hotel, restaurants and more. Kids and adults alike love Lotte World, and couples can arrange to meet at Lotte’s own Trevi Fountain. Visit at the weekend to see a free traditional show at nearby Seoul Norimadang at 3pm. Lotte World Adventure & Magic Island is a mainly indoor Korean version of Disneyland, complete with ‘flying’ balloons, 3D films, laser and music shows, screen rides, fantasy parades and thrill rides that go down very fast or round and round and up and down very fast. The scarier the ride, the longer the queue on busy days. The outdoor Magic Island is in the middle of Seokchon Lake, and that part may close in bad weather. The carousel has been popular with dating couples since it starred in the TV drama series Stairway to Heaven. Theindoor ice-skating rink is in a fairyland setting, but watch out for tiny speedsters training to become future Winter Olympic champions. Nearby is a bowling alley next to a pool hall. Or why not don a flak jacket and steel helmet and fire off some rounds in the shooting range ? The Folk Museum uses imagin­ative techniques like dioramas, scale models and moving waxworks to bring scenes from Korean history to life. The price is included in the day-pass ticket for Lotte World Adventure & Magic Island. Outside is the Charlotte Theatre, which presents big musical shows such as Cats. There are the usual shops, fast-food outlets and restaurants including Pizza Hut, Marché and Sizzlers. The Lotte Department Store has upmarket fashions but reasonably priced food in its basement food court, most of it freshly made on the spot. Choose from nine real fruit juices, and then decide between the lobster, a-meal-in-a-pumpkin or asking an Indian chef to toss a savoury, paper-thin roti onto the hotplate.