From the top of the Juche Tower, the Taedong River bends through the city below and Kim Il-sung Square opens out on the opposite bank, with the Grand People's Study House behind it. It is one of the clearest views you will get of how central Pyongyang is arranged, and it costs a small fee to ride the lift up.
Pyongyang suits travellers who are comfortable seeing the city through organised guided tours, which is how most foreign visitors experience it. This guide covers the monuments, museums and performances you are most likely to be taken to, with notes on what to combine and when to go.
Top things to do in Pyongyang
1. Mansudae Grand Monument
The 20 m high bronze statue of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il stands on Mansu Hill, and the statue of Kim Jong-Il was added during the centennial celebration of Kim Il-Sung's birthday. This colossal display will most likely be the first thing you visit.
Locals expect visitors to show respect to the monument, and your tour group will most likely lay flowers on the statue pedestal, which are available on-site. Formal dress is expected, though not strictly required.
2. Juche Tower
This 170 m tall monument is dedicated to the Juche philosophy of Kim Il Sung. Do not miss the trip to the top, which offers a great view of the city.
The tower stands directly opposite Kim Il-sung Square on the Taedong River, so pair the two in a single stop. If you are staying at the Yanggakdo, the view from a top floor is similar and free.
3. Kim Il-sung Square
Pyongyang's main square is directly opposite the Juche Tower on the west bank of the Taedong River and is a common gathering place for military parades, dances and rallies. Attractions surrounding the square include the Grand People's Study House.
Because the square and the tower face each other across the water, it makes sense to see them together rather than on separate days.
4. Korean War Museum (Victorious Fatherland Liberation Museum)
The War Museum moved to a new building next to the previous museum in 2013. Large statues and captured US planes, tanks and other weapons are in front of the main building, and inside are dioramas and historical artefacts from the war, paintings of the leaders, and a memorial to national war heroes.
Expect to spend two to three hours here, so give it a half-day rather than squeezing it between other stops.
5. USS Pueblo
The USS Pueblo is an American naval vessel captured by North Korea in 1968. Although her crew was eventually released, the ship has been kept as a museum in Pyongyang, and it is still commissioned by the United States Navy.
The Pueblo is now part of the Korean War Museum and sits next to the main museum building, so visit it in the same trip as the museum.
6. Pyongyang Metro
This is the deepest metro system in the world, with large socialist realist murals on the platforms of the stations, each designed to embody a different ideal. A standard tourist visit will ride from the origin Puhung station to the Arch of Triumph, six stops on the Chollima Line.
It is possible to travel the full extent of the metro, although disembarking at a couple of stations remains restricted and the full tour takes several hours.
7. Arch of Triumph
The arch was designed to commemorate Korean resistance to Japan between 1925 and 1945 and eventual liberation from Japanese rule. It is modelled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and at 60 m high and 50 m wide it is the biggest victory arch in the world.
Kaeson Funfair is nearby, so the two can be combined in one outing.
8. Kaeson Funfair
This small amusement park near the Arch of Triumph has a handful of new rides. You and your guides cannot just wander around, as you will need a guide from the park to take you to each ride, but you will be put at the front of the queue for each one.
The guide keeps track of the rides you go on and you pay according to how many you went on at the end of your visit.
9. Arirang Mass Games (Arirang Festival)
A mass gymnastics and artistic performance with over 100,000 performers, making it, by the number of participants, the greatest show on earth. The performance runs through parts of August and September.
Because it only runs for part of the year, check whether your travel dates overlap before building a trip around it.
10. Pyongyang Circus (State Circus)
Closer to an acrobatics show than a traditional circus, it provides a variety of illusion and gymnastics acts, with a live orchestra and no live animals. The majority of the audience is local.
This is a good evening option if you want to spend time in a venue that is mostly filled by residents rather than tour groups.
11. Children's Palace
Nearly every city has its own Children's Palace, and Pyongyang has the largest. After classes in the morning, selected students spend the afternoon at the palatial building to practise their art or other special skills.
Children choose their area of specialisation in cooperation with teachers once they are old enough to attend, around 11, and continue with that skill every day until they graduate. Areas include ballet, rhythmic dance, gymnastics, computer programming, singing, musical instruments, chess, volleyball, basketball, embroidery and calligraphy.
12. Munsu Water Park
Opened in October 2013, this is a large water park complex in East Pyongyang with lots of water slides. It is open to foreigners on Saturdays.
Because access is limited to one day of the week, plan your itinerary around Saturday if you want to include it.
13. Ryugyong Hotel
This 105-storey building dominates the Pyongyang skyline with its 330 m height. Construction started in 1987 but came to a halt in 1992 during the country's economic crisis in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union, and construction by Egypt's Orascom Group resumed again in April 2008.
It remains unopened, so treat it as a landmark to see from elsewhere in the city rather than a place to enter.
14. Stamp Shop
Next to the Koryo Hotel on Changwang St, this shop sells a huge variety of DPRK postage stamps, with designs ranging from Olympic sports to Korean food to DPRK history. You can also buy postcards and postcard stamps.
Postage costs are lower on the second floor of the Koryo Hotel, so compare before buying your stamps.
15. Workers Party Monument
This monument is about the Workers Party of Korea. The hammer, sickle and brush stand for the workers, farmers and the intellectuals, and the ring around these symbols represents their unification. Entry is free.
It works well as a short stop on a day that already includes the Mansudae Grand Monument and the Korean War Museum.
If you only have one day
Morning: Start at the Mansudae Grand Monument, where your group will most likely lay flowers and where formal dress is expected. Continue to the Korean War Museum and the USS Pueblo next to the main building, allowing two to three hours for the museum.
Afternoon: Cross to Kim Il-sung Square and the Juche Tower opposite it on the Taedong River, and take the lift to the top of the tower for the view. Ride the Pyongyang Metro from Puhung station to the Arch of Triumph, six stops on the Chollima Line, then visit the Arch of Triumph itself and, if time allows, Kaeson Funfair nearby.
Evening: Finish at the Pyongyang Circus for the acrobatics, illusion and gymnastics acts with a live orchestra, in an audience that is mostly local.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a guide to get around Pyongyang?
Normally, tourists in Pyongyang are restricted to guided tours. Personal visitors to foreign residents are usually free to wander around, though they may also be placed under the care of a guide.
When can I see the Arirang Mass Games?
The performance runs through parts of August and September, so it is only available on trips that fall in that window.
Can I visit the Munsu Water Park on any day?
It is open to foreigners on Saturdays.
Is the Ryugyong Hotel open to visitors?
No. Construction started in 1987, halted in 1992 and resumed in April 2008, but it remains unopened.
Decide which of these you most want to build a trip around, check whether your dates line up with the Arirang Mass Games or a Saturday at the water park, and start planning from there.