©Egill Bjarnason/Lonely Planet
Top choice in Reykjavík
Sun-dappled tables fill a greenhouse in the Botanic Gardens and spill onto a flower-lined terrace at this lovely cafe specialising in wholesome local ingredients – some grown in the gardens themselves. Soups come with sourdough bread, while snacks range from cheese platters with nuts and honey to pulled-pork sandwiches. Weekend brunch, good coffee and homemade cakes round it all out.
Café Flóra is also open at the weekend in December.
25.55 MILES
The world’s oldest parliament, Althingi (pronounced ál-thingk-ee; also called Alþing) was uniquely situated at this monumental site where two tectonic…
24.01 MILES
Near the dramatic Almannagjá fault and fronted by a boardwalk is the Lögberg (Law Rock), where the Alþingi (Parliament) convened annually. This was where…
24.65 MILES
The Þingvellir plain is situated on a tectonic-plate boundary where North America and Europe are tearing away from each other at a rate of 1mm to 18mm per…
1.76 MILES
Reykjavík’s immense white-concrete church (1945–86), star of a thousand postcards, dominates the skyline and is visible from up to 20km away. An elevator…
2.41 MILES
Artefacts from settlement to the modern age fill the creative display spaces of Iceland's superb National Museum. Exhibits give an excellent overview of…
27.45 MILES
Housed in an imaginatively restored warehouse by the harbour, the must-see Settlement Centre offers fascinating insights into the history of Icelandic…
2.29 MILES
This fascinating archaeological ruin-museum is based around a 10th-century Viking longhouse unearthed here from 2001 to 2002 and other Settlement-Era…
2.06 MILES
With its ever-changing facets glistening on the water's edge, Reykjavík’s sparkling Harpa concert hall and cultural centre is a beauty to behold. In…
0.05 MILES
More than 5000 varieties of subarctic plants fill the city's botanic gardens, delivering a wealth of colourful seasonal flowers and plenty of birdlife,…
2. Reykjavík Zoo & Family Park
0.13 MILES
Sunny days see happy local families flocking to this children's park in Laugardalur. Don’t expect lions and tigers; think seals, foxes and farm animals in…
0.2 MILES
Laugardalur encompasses a verdant stretch of land 4km east of the city centre. It was once the main source of Reykjavík’s hot-water supply: it translates…
4. Reykjavík Art Museum – Ásmundarsafn
0.51 MILES
There’s something immensely playful about the vast collection of sculptures by Ásmundur Sveinsson (1893–1982) housed in the studio and museum he designed …
1.04 MILES
Sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson (1908–82) used this peaceful seafront building as a studio. Now it showcases his varied, powerful work: portrait busts,…
6. Reykjavík Art Museum – Kjarvalsstaðir
1.35 MILES
The angular glass-and-wood Kjarvalsstaðir, which looks out onto Miklatún Park, is named for Jóhannes Kjarval (1885–1972), one of Iceland’s most popular…
1.38 MILES
Miklatún Park is home to the angular glass-and-wood Kjarvalsstaðir museum, named after Jóhannes Kjarval (1885–1972), one of Iceland’s most popular…