Shopping in Reykjavík
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Kolaportið Flea Market
Held in a huge industrial building by the harbour, this weekend market is a Reykjavík institution and definitely worth a visit, particularly in these economically challenged times. Browse through piles of secondhand clothes, music, antiques and children’s toys, or pick up Icelandic fish delicacies including cubes of hákarl.
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12 Tónar
A very cool place to hang out is 12 Tónar, responsible for launching some of Iceland’s favourite new bands. In the three-floor shop you can listen to CDs, drink coffee and maybe catch a live performance on Friday afternoons.
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Vín Búð
Alcohol is prohibitively pricey in all bars and restaurants. The only shop licensed to sell alcohol is the government-owned liquor store Vín Búð, which has six branches across Reykjavík including this one, the Austurstræti branch (562 6511) and one in Smáralind Shopping Centre (544 2112).
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Handknitting Association of Iceland
Traditional handmade hats, socks and sweaters are sold at this knitting collective, or you can buy yarn and knitting patterns and do it yourself. There’s a smaller branch ([tel] 562 1890; Laugavegur 64; [hrs] 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-5pm Sat Jul & Aug, shorter hr winter), which sells made-up items only.
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Hans Petersen
Reykjavík has plenty of photo shops, but prices for film are astronomical. Hans Petersen is the best place to go for slide or print film, photographic equipment and processing. There are other branches near the Nordica Hotel on Suðurlandsgata and in the Kringlan and Smáralind Shopping Centres.
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Kringlan Shopping Centre
For brand-name clothing by Prada, Hugo Boss and other top names, trawl along Laugavegur or head to the Kringlan Shopping Centre. While you're here, check out the huge mural by the artist Erró. There are also cafes, restaurants, banks, telephones, a cinema and a crèche.
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Borgartún
The government-owned liquor store Vín Búð is the only shop licensed to sell alcohol here. It has a branch on the way towards Laugardalur at Borgartún which is open 11am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and Saturday, and 11am to 7pm Friday.
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Liborius
The complete opposite of Naked Ape's jolly technicolour designs are clothes designed by artist Jón Auðarson, whose 'Dead' range was popular with celebs from Metallica to Scarlett Johanssen. This is his new shop; stop by to see what he's getting up to next.
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Austurstræti
The government-owned liquor store Vín Búð is the only shop licensed to sell alcohol here. Its most central branch is on Austurstræti which is open 11am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and Saturday, and 11am to 7pm Friday.
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Nornabúðin
Voodoo is generally associated with the steamy Mississippi delta, but Nornabúðin sells Icelandic voodoo dolls - perfect for wreaking havoc on your enemies, although you may need a dictionary to work out what damage you're doing.
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Rammagerðin
This 60-year-old tourist shop is the oldest and biggest. Besides the usual trinkets (coffee-table books, souvenir mugs and plastic Viking helmets), it has a large range of knitwear and a handmade glass and ceramics section.
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Smekkleysa Plötubúð
Bad Taste records is the label that launched The Sugarcubes, and they’re still producing new music. Their shop has moved around a lot in recent years, and had just reopened on Laugavegur at the time of research.
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Fríða Frænka
This place is a two-storey treasure trove of everything from antique furniture to ’60s plastic kitsch. Items are piled precariously in tiny side rooms – the art-installation effect adds to the experience.
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Kraum
Fish-skin clothing, silver jewellery, driftwood furniture and ceramic seabirds, much of it created by up-and-coming young Icelandic designers, fill two storeys of Reykjavík’s oldest house.
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Kirsuberjatréð
This women’s art collective sells weird and wonderful fish-skin handbags, music boxes made from string and (our favourite) beautiful coloured bowls made from radish slices!
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Aurum
Guðbjörg at Aurum is one of the more interesting designers; her whisper-thin silver jewellery is sophisticated stuff, its shapes often inspired by leaves and flowers.
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Útilíf
Climbing, camping, cycling and fishing equipment and repairs are available from Útilíf, in Kringlan and Smáralind shopping centres and in the small Glæsibær arcade.
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Naked Ape
Drop into this 2nd-floor boutique-gallery for ultracool T-shirts and hoodies, mostly in bright graffiti-like colours, designed by a bunch of artist-friends.
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Skífan
Reykjavík’s biggest music chain store has lots of choice, bargain-bin offers, and listening headsets so you can try CDs before you buy.
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ELM
Black-and-cream women’s fashion – the designs are unmistakeably Icelandic, with sharp, eccentric but very flattering cuts.
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Beggubúð
Beggubúð is a shop laid out as it was in 1906 and is one of the new additions to the Hafnarfjörður Museum.
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GuSt
Classy women’s clothing, made from wool and fish leather and cut in that indefinable Icelandic style.
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Kringlan
Reykjavík’s biggest shopping centre, 1km from town, has 150 shops. Take bus S1-4, S6, 13 or 14.
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Guðbrandur Jósef Jezorski
Tasteful silver and gold jewellery incorporating little lumps of lava and Icelandic stones.
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Bónus, Laugavegur
The cheapest supermarket, with brances at Laugavegur 59 and Kringlan shopping centre.
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