Reykjavík Entertainment

  1. 101 Hotel Bar

    Frankly, we fear being ejected as riffraff from this beautiful granite-and-white-leather cocktail bar. Based inside the ultra-cool 101 Hotel, its long, thin, sleek, chic space is favoured by local glamourpusses and celebrities. Although it gets rammed to the rafters at weekends, it also closes early (at ) - dress to the hilt, and get on down there.

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  2. Bar 11

    This bar has calmed down in the last couple of years: it's now more of a place for groups of younger blokes to have a matey beer. It has a great jukebox (a rare thing in DJ-obsessed Reykjavík) and table football upstairs.

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  3. Barinn

    At the time of writing the jury was still out on Barinn. Its previous incarnation was a laid-back bluesy-grungy kind of place, but it's since been revamped and has yet to find its crowd. Its all much whiter and brighter, with chalkboard menus, bistro food and weekend DJs. Drop by to see how it's shaping up.

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  4. Café Amsterdam

    At the time of writing, Reykjavík was reeling with shock as one of the city's oldest venues went bankrupt and a second pronounced that it no longer wanted to stage live bands! But the Reykjavík scene is robust and strangely organic, and other venues are already beginning to emerge.

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  5. Café Cozy

    The only gay café-bar in town is Café Cozy, near Ingólfstorg.

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  6. Café Oliver

    One of Reykjavík's newest café-bars, Oliver is the most in-vogue place for brunch, and for partying late in superstyle. DJs pump out the tunes on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with long queues snaking back from the doors.

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  7. Celtic Cross

    If Víking beer isn't doing it for you, head for a pint of Guinness at Celtic Cross, done up like a funeral parlour and with bands in the basement at weekends.

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  8. Dillon

    Beer, beards and the odd flying bottle…after changing hands the other year, atmospheric Dillon has turned into more of a RRRRROCK pub. There are occasional live concerts, and an unusual DJ in white-haired white-wine-and-rum-swilling 'rokkmamman' Andrea Jonsdóttir, a kind of female Icelandic John Peel.

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  9. Dubliner

    If Víking beer isn't doing it for you, head for a pint of Guinness at Dubliner, with live music every night from .

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  10. Glaumbar

    This American-style sports bar is young, brash and boisterous, with a huge video screen showing matches, deafening music, and weekend DJs. It's where very drunk people tend to end up at dawn, thanks to its late opening hours (to ).

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  11. Grand Rokk

    This down-to-earth pub was once a great live-music venue, but in a recent shock-horror statement the owners announced that they're going to install large-screen TVs upstairs and turn it into a sports bar.

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  12. Háskólabíó

    Cinema at the university; sometimes shows arts films.

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  13. Hressingarskálinn

    Hressingarskálinn 'Hressó' to its friends, this spacious L-shaped café-bar serves a diverse menu til daily (everything from porridge to plokkfiskur ; mains. At weekends it loses its civilised veneer and concentrates on beer, bar and dancing till ; a garden out the back provides fresh air. There's also usually a DJ or live music on Thursday night. Wireless hotspot.

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  14. Hverfisbarinn

    Although it's been around for years now, Hverfisbarinn is still a strong runner for the title of Reykjavík's most popular club. Attracting a stylish, studenty crowd, it has long queues at weekends. It's decorated in cool Scandinavian style, there's cheap Carlsberg and live music on Thursday from , and DJs do their stuff till late on Friday and Saturday.

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  15. Iceland Symphony Orchestra

    The orchestra will move to flashy new harbourside premises in 2009, but for now it's based at the Reykjavík University cinema. There are around 60 classical performances per season, normally on Thursday at .

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  16. Icelandic Dance Company

    The Icelandic Dance Company is in residence at Reykjavík City Theatre.

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  17. Íslenska Óperan

    The Icelandic Opera has a busy programme of international operas. Lunchtime concerts cost around Ikr1000 and evening shows Ikr2900 to Ikr4800 .

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  18. Kaffi Brennslan

    All kinds of folk frequent Brennslan, an unpretentious Art Deco café-bar - conventional types mix with the avant-garde. It entices a 20s and 30s crowd with beers from 20 countries, but it never gets so packed that you can't move.

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  19. Kaffibarinn

    This old house, with the London Underground symbol over the door, contains one of Reykjavík's coolest bars; it even had a starring role in cult movie 101 Reykjavík . At weekends you'll need a famous face or a battering ram to get in. At other times it's a place for artistic types to chill with their Macs. Wireless hotspot.

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  20. Laugarásbíó

    Cinema near the City Hostel.

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  21. MSC Iceland

    The only specifically gay club in Reykjavík is a men-only leather bar, MSC Iceland .

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  22. NASA

    The biggest nightclub in Reykjavík, NASA is a stripped-pine affair filled with Prada-clad crowds. It plays chart music and club anthems, and is also a venue for live bands - email for upcoming music. Admission is around Ikr1000 .

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  23. Nelly's

    By serving the cheapest beer in town (around Ikr900 for 1½L), publike Nelly's naturally pulls in a young, studenty crowd. There's a cheerful atmosphere, DJs and live bands play regularly, it opens until at weekends, and there are daily offers on alcohol.

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  24. Ölstofan

    Locals come to this no-nonsense bar specifically to avoid all that dancing rubbish. You turn up to drink beer and relax. It's one of the few drinking holes in the capital without music.

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  25. Pravda

    Based in an old police lock-up, Pravda is full of cutting-edge design, and has four bars and one of the city's largest dance floors. It hosts the longest-running club night in Reykjavík - a drum-and-bass (bumba & bassi) night on the first Thursday of the month - and thrives on a 20s-30s clientele. Admission is around Ikr500 after midnight.

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