Showing 1-20 of 20 results
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Árbæjarsafn
Quaint old buildings have been uprooted from their original sites and rebuilt at the open-air Árbæjarsafn, a kind of zoo for houses, 4km from the city centre. Alongside the 19th-century homes are a turf-roofed church, and various stables, smithies, barns and boathouses - all very picturesque. There are summer arts-and-crafts demonstrations, and it's a great place for kids to let off steam. Take bus 12.
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Árni Magnússon Institute
Árni Magnússon Institute Árni Magnússon devoted his life to saving Icelandic manuscripts. If you're interested in seeing them for yourself, contact the instute.
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Ásgrímur Jónsson Museum
If you want to see more of Ásgrímur Jónsson's work than is found at the National Gallery, the National Gallery also owns the Ásgrímur Jónsson Museum, open by appointment only.
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Culture House
Creeping into the darkened rooms of the Culture House is a true thrill for saga lovers. A permanent exhibition covers saga history: from a Who's Who of Norse gods to a fascinating account of Árni Magnússon, who devoted his life to saving Icelandic manuscripts, and died of a broken heart when his Copenhagen library went up in flames. Two hushed display rooms contain the original vellums.
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Einar Jónsson Museum
If the Einar Jónsson sculpture garden appeals to your inner Goth, you'll find gleaming white-marble sculptures on similar themes inside the fascinating Einar Jónsson Museum. The building itself was designed by the artist and contains his austere penthouse flat, with unusual views over the city.
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National Gallery of Iceland
Surreal mud-purple landscapes are intermingled with visions of trolls, giants and dead men walking at the National Gallery of Iceland. Iceland's main art gallery, overlooking Tjörnin, certainly gives an interesting glimpse into the nation's psyche. As well as a huge collection of 19th- and 20th-century paintings by Iceland's favourite sons and daughters (including Ásgrímur Jónsson, Jóhannes Kjarval and Nína Sæmundsson), there are works by Picasso and Munch.
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National Museum
Displays at the National Museum are well thought out and give an excellent overview of Iceland's history and culture. The strongest section delves into the Settlement Era, with swords, silver hoards and a great little bronze model of Thor on display. However, the museum's most treasured artefact is a beautiful 13th-century church door, carved with the touching story of a knight and his faithful lion!
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Norræna Húsið & Gallery
Close to Reykjavík University, Norræna Húsið is a Scandinavian cultural centre with a gallery, a library of Scandinavian literature, a pleasant café, and regular Nordic-themed concerts, lectures and films. The gallery features works by contemporary Nordic artists.
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Perlan
Looking like half of Barbarella's bra, Perlan is a tourist complex based around the huge hot-water tanks on Öskjuhlíð hill. It's about 2km from the city centre (take bus 18 from Hlemmur). The main attraction at Perlan is the Saga Museum.
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Reykjavík 871 +/-2
The city's newest exhibition Reykjavík 871 +/-2 is based around a single 10th-century Viking house but shows what miracles can be achieved when technology, archaeology and imagination meet. Through 21st-century wizardry, a fire leaps from the hearth, while around the walls ghostly settlers materialise to tend crops, hunt, launch a boat, and bury their dead. Go and marvel while it's all pristine!
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Reykjavík Art Museum
The Reykjavík Art Museum is split over three sites - Hafnarhúsið, Ásmundarsafn and Hafnarhúsið. One ticket admits you to all if you visit on the same day.
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Reykjavík Museum of Photography
Despite its grand name, the Reykjavík Museum of Photography is really just an exhibition room above Reykjavík City Library. It's definitely worth dropping in, though - its quintessentially Scandinavian exhibitions are free and usually thought-provoking. If you take the lift up, walk down the stairs, which are lined with funny old black-and-white photos.
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SAFN Gallery
Reykjavík has many small contemporary art galleries. SAFN Gallery is one of the best: this tall wooden building contains three floors of conceptual art - beer cans in perspex and floating teacups - created by home-grown and international artists.
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Saga Museum
The endearingly bloodthirsty Saga Museum, at Perlan, is where Icelandic history is brought to life by eerie silicon models and a soundtrack of thudding axes and hair-raising screams. Don't be surprised if you see some of the characters wandering around town, as moulds were taken from Reykjavík residents (the museum's owner is Ingólfur Arnarson, and his daughters are the Irish princess and the little slave gnawing a fish!).
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Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum
The Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum is a peaceful little place showcasing the varied works - portrait busts, driftwood totem poles, abstract football players - of sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson (1908-82). A salty ocean breeze blows through the wooden rooms, which also contain Reykjavík's only shoreside café. On Tuesday from mid-July to August there are classical concerts at . Buses 12 and 16 pass close by.
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Víkin Maritime Museum
Based appropriately in a former fish-freezing plant, the small new Víkin Maritime Museum celebrates the country's seafaring heritage, focusing on the trawlers that transformed Iceland's economy. Much of the information is currently in Icelandic only, but silent film footage of trawler crews in action is worth a look.
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