Every tour covers more or less the same ground. This is not a coincidence — the DPRK controls what foreigners see. But within that framework, a standard North Korea itinerary contains some genuinely extraordinary things.
Kim Il-sung Square is the heart of Pyongyang: a vast plaza on the Taedong River used for parades and mass demonstrations. On an ordinary day it is mostly empty, which makes it stranger and more impressive. The square faces the Grand People's Study House, a traditional-style roof on a modern building, and looks across the river to the Juche Tower.
The Juche Tower on the east bank of the Taedong is a 170-metre obelisk commemorating Kim Il-sung's philosophy of self-reliance. You can take a lift to the top for a panoramic view of the city. Worth it.
Mansudae Grand Monument is where every tour begins: two massive bronze statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on a hillside. You will be expected to bow and lay flowers. This is not optional. Take it seriously.
The Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum covers the Korean War from the North Korean perspective. The scale is impressive, the dioramas detailed, the narrative one-sided. A captured US Navy ship, the USS Pueblo, sits in the river outside and is part of the tour.
International Friendship Exhibition at Myohyangsan is surreal and unmissable: two enormous palace-like buildings in the mountains housing 200,000-plus gifts given to the Kim dynasty by foreign leaders and organisations. Gifts from Stalin, Mao, and a staggering number of African heads of state. You enter barefoot, walking on thick carpets, through rooms arranged by country. Nothing quite prepares you for it.
Kaesong offers the best historical content outside Pyongyang. The Koryo Museum occupies an old Confucian academy and has genuine artefacts from the dynasty. The Sonjuk Bridge and the tomb of King Kongmin are also standard inclusions.
The DMZ at Panmunjom — seen from the Northern side — is included on most extended tours. You will stand in the blue conference buildings that straddle the Military Demarcation Line, which technically puts you in South Korea for a moment. It is eerie and heavily staged and interesting.