Reykjavík
Around 20 quaint old buildings have been transported from their original sites to open-air Árbæjarsafn. Alongside 19th-century homes are a turf-roofed…
Must-see attractions in Greater Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Hljómskálagarður Park sits on Tjörnin's southeast corner and has a section dedicated to sculptures by five Icelandic women: Gunnfríður Jónsdóttir (1889…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
Iceland's first professional painter, Ásgrímur Jónsson (1876–1958) was the son of a farmer. He lived and worked here, and you can visit his former atelier…
Reykjavík
More than 5000 varieties of subarctic plants fill the city's botanic gardens, delivering a wealth of colourful seasonal flowers and plenty of birdlife,…
Reykjavík
Iceland’s main cathedral, Dómkirkja is a modest affair, but it played a vital role in the country’s conversion to Lutheranism. The current building (built…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
Gazing proudly into the distance outside Hallgrímskirkja church is a statue of the Viking Leifur Eiríksson, the first European to stumble across America…
Reykjavík
Reykjavík’s waterside Ráðhús is a beautifully positioned postmodern construction of concrete stilts, tinted windows and mossy walls rising from Tjörnin…
Greater Reykjavík
Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower (2007) is a ‘wishing well’ that blasts a dazzling column of light into the sky every night between 9 October (John Lennon’s…
Greater Reykjavík
This peaceful park is filled with lava grottoes and is apparently one of the favourite places of the huldufólk (hidden people) – the álfar (elves),…
Greater Reykjavík
The western end of Viðey Island is dotted with 18 pairs of massive basalt columns. The work of environmental artist Richard Serra, they're designed to…
Greater Reykjavík
In the 19th-century, merchant Bjarni Sívertsen lived in this beautiful home. He was the most important man in Hafnarfjörður and the house is decked out…
Greater Reykjavík
In this beautifully designed museum you'll find excellent rotating modern-art exhibitions and a notable permanent collection of 20th-century Icelandic…
Greater Reykjavík
Just up from Viðey's harbour sits Viðeyarstofa, Iceland's oldest stone house. Icelandic Treasurer Skúli Magnússon was given the island in 1751 and he…
Greater Reykjavík
No, not a house without books, but the former home of Harry and Douglas Bookless, Scottish brothers who ran a fisheries operation here in the early 1900s…
Reykjavík
This modern theatre with a hands-on lava exhibit in the foyer screens a 55-minute pair of films in English (hourly) about the Vestmannaeyjar volcanoes and…
Natural History Museum of Kópavogur
Greater Reykjavík
Iceland’s unique geology and wildlife are showcased here. Highlights include an orca skeleton, a good collection of taxidermied animals and Mývatn lake’s…
Reykjavík Museum of Photography
Reykjavík
This gallery room, high above Reykjavík City Library, is well worth a visit for its top-notch exhibitions of regional photographers. If you take the lift…
Greater Reykjavík
A nature reserve since 1950, this suburban open space 18km southeast of the city centre is great for walking among Sitka spruce and the Rauðhólar (Red…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
Miklatún Park is home to the angular glass-and-wood Kjarvalsstaðir museum, named after Jóhannes Kjarval (1885–1972), one of Iceland’s most popular…
Reykjavík
This dynamic centre for emerging and established contemporary artists, live music and other performances has a new space in the renovated Marshall House…
Museum of Design & Applied Art
Greater Reykjavík
All elements of Icelandic design ranging from unique furniture to knitwear, shoes and album art are celebrated at this small museum. There's also a Kraum…
Reykjavík
Learn about the classical tales explaining the Northern Lights, and the scientific explanation, then watch a 35-minute surround-sound panoramic high…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
A statue of Iceland's first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, takes pride of place at Árnarhóll, a greensward that is also a central gathering place for parades…
Greater Reykjavík
With its tiny rooms, tin walls and everyday items dotted around (sewing baskets, armchairs), Siggubær provides an insight into life for a fisher's family…
Reykjavík
The statue in the centre of Austurvöllur park is of Jón Sigurðsson, who led the campaign for Icelandic independence.
Reykjavík
This statue represents Skúli Magnússon, the ‘Father of Reykjavík’, who organised the city's early industry.
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
Artist-run and housed in a former basement apartment, this gallery features up-and-coming Icelandic artists.
Hafnarborg Centre of Culture & Fine Art
Greater Reykjavík
A contemporary gallery with bright and modern display spaces and rotating exhibitions of well-chosen art.
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
This small gallery shows an interesting array of Icelandic contemporary art.
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
A large, central space showcasing contemporary Icelandic art.
Greater Reykjavík
Reykjavík's largest green space is encircled by a 10km loop, which takes you past a water dam, small waterfalls and a river stocked with Arctic char,…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
Head to the Punk Museum to see Icelandic punk-rock history glued to the white tiles of a former underground public latrine. The exhibition is tiny and the…
Laugavegur & Skólavörðustígur
A total of 14 large flat-screens cover the walls in this vast two-storey exhibition hall. Each screen presents a three- to four-minute documentary,…
Reykjavík
You'll spot the University of Iceland just south of the city centre, near the National Museum.
Greater Reykjavík
Iceland’s first specially designed concert hall is built entirely from local materials (driftwood, spruce and crushed stone) and has fantastic acoustics…
Reykjavík
This working Catholic church was built in 1929 in the Gothic style on a hillock overlooking central Reykjavík. On Saturday the sermon of the 6pm service…
Greater Reykjavík
Built in 1906, Beggubúð was a household goods shop on the town's main street. It moved to its current site in 2008 and is laid out as it was in the early…
Reykjavík
Reykjavík's oldest timber house dates to 1762 and is now home to changing exhibitions charting the course of the city's history.
Reykjavík
Reykjavík University has a scenic campus near the beach and the domestic airport.
Icelandic Printmakers Association
Reykjavík
The Printmakers' Association sponsors occasional exhibitions of Icelandic art.
