Things to Do in Kumsusan Palace Of The Sun

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun mausoleum visit

You'll spend three hours being herded through cloakrooms, air-showers and moving walkways before you reach the dimly lit chambers where Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state under rose-colored spotlights. The temperature drops a few degrees, you'll smell formalin mixed with chrysanthemums, and the only sound is the synchronized step of the military escort echoing off marble.

Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery

A short drive uphill, the cemetery hands you pine-scented air and a panoramic view over Pyongyang's apartment blocks. Bronze busts of anti-Japanese guerrillas sit in neat rows. Their polished foreheads gleam in the sun and cicadas buzz from the surrounding firs.

Pyongyang Metro extended ride

Descend 100 m underground via escalators so long your ears pop. The platforms look like underground ballrooms with chandeliers and marble murals that smell faintly of machine oil. Trains rattle in with a metallic screech and you can ride all 17 stations for the price of one ticket while commuters stare politely at your shoes.

Mansudae Fountain beer bar

Inside a cavernous hall opposite the Grand Monument, bartenders pour frothy Taedong River draft into metal tankards. The room hums with conversation and clinking glasses while the smell of yeast hangs in the air. You'll sit on long wooden benches next to off-duty soldiers and office workers nibbling dried pollack.

Moran Hill evening stroll

As the sun drops, locals converge on Moran's wooded paths; you'll hear accordions, guitar chords and sometimes spontaneous choir practice near the pavilions. The air cools under gingko trees and you can watch old men play badminton by floodlight while teenage couples share sunflower seeds on park benches.

Koryo Hotel on Changgwang Street - faded Soviet tower with karaoke in the basement and a revolving restaurant that turns

Yanggakdo Island Hotel - quiet at night, you'll hear the Taedong River slapping against the embankment and see fishermen at dawn

Sosan Hotel on the southern ring road - smaller rooms but the only place where the Wi-Fi lounge sometimes loads foreign sites

Pothonggang Hotel near the railway station - basic but central, morning smell of coal smoke drifts in from nearby chimneys

Ryanggang Hotel in east Pyongyang - renovated wings feel half-empty, echoing corridors and a rooftop bar serving instant coffee

Youth Hotel on Mirae Scientists Street - sleek silver block aimed at visiting students, corridors smell of fresh paint and cafeteria kimchi