Reykjavik: Events

The Christian Lent celebrations that precede Easter are undertaken in Reykjavík in traditional Icelandic style, with Sprengidagur (Shrove Tuesday) marked by the loud slurping of pea soup and salted mutton. Food also dominates February's Þorrablót : originally a Norse feast, today it gives Icelanders an excuse to make like Vikings and snack on the more gruesome traditional dishes (boiled sheep's eyeballs, anyone?).

The first day of summer is officially at the start of June, but the citizens of Reykjavík let their anticipation get the better of them and stage a carnival to celebrate Sumardagurinn Fyrsti well ahead of schedule in late April. When Sjómannadagurinn (Sailors' Day) rolls around in the first week of June, every pair of sea legs in the country gets to take a day off to toast themselves with a glass or two of brennivín (burnt wine), a schnapps-style drink also known as svarti dauði or 'black death'.

Other big events on the calendar are Gay Pride in late August, which draws the second-highest attendance of all the city's celebrations, and Menningarnott (Culture Night), an evening of cultural events, with musicians and drunks on every street corner, and a massive fireworks display to round it all off.