For nearly a thousand years, until the tenth century, Gyeongju was the capital of the kingdom of Silla, and the whole city is a museum with traffic lights. Round the modern centre the old kingdom lies in plain sight: great grass-covered burial mounds in a park in the middle of town, the pond of Anapji where the court held feasts, the stone observatory of Cheomseongdae, one of the oldest of its kind in East Asia, and the forested hills of Namsan scattered with rock-carved Buddhas. UNESCO listed these areas together in 2000, and the pieces are spread around town rather than gathered in one compound.
The mention of petroglyphs on the label is a reminder that people were carving rock long before Silla, and this part of Korea's south-east is rich in such carvings. Silla itself unified most of the peninsula in the seventh century, and its tombs have given up gold crowns and glassware that show how far its trade reached along the Silk Road.
On a bike, Gyeongju is a pleasant, mild-mannered city to ride. The streets are broad and the pace is slow, with low height limits on new buildings to protect the historic skyline, and the hills east of town have quiet, curving roads past Bomun Lake, where cherry trees bloom in early April and draw dense crowds. Further on, the road to Bulguksa temple and the Seokguram grotto, a separate World Heritage site, climbs through forest with tight bends. Coastal roads to Gampo and the East Sea give long views and fresh fish, and roads are generally smooth and well signed.
Gyeongju has all the fuel and food you could want, and the local speciality is the Gyeongju bread, a small sweet pastry filled with red bean paste, sold hot in paper bags. The best times are spring and autumn, when the weather is dry and the leaves turn; summer is hot and humid and the monsoon rains can be heavy. Many sites close on set days and charge small entrance fees, so check before you set off, and wear shoes you can walk in.