During WWII Hvalfjörður contained a submarine and warship station and over 20,000 American and British soldiers passed through. This museum houses artefacts from that time and a small cafe, and has a campground (1500kr per person) with a swimming pool.
War & Peace Museum
West Iceland
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.94 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…
21.24 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…
12.77 MILES
Housed in an imaginatively restored warehouse by the harbour, the must-see Settlement Centre offers fascinating insights into the history of Icelandic…
20.83 MILES
This fascinating archaeological ruin-museum is based around a 10th-century Viking longhouse unearthed here from 2001 to 2002 and other Settlement-Era…
20.52 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…
18.23 MILES
The world’s oldest parliament, Althingi (pronounced ál-thingk-ee; also called Alþing) was uniquely situated at this monumental site where two tectonic…
20.29 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…
17.98 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…
Nearby West Iceland attractions
0.62 MILES
The church at the Saurbær farmstead is worth a look for its beautiful stained-glass work by Gerður Helgadóttir. It is named for Reverend Hallgrímur…
10.81 MILES
At the head of Hvalfjörður, and up Botnsdalur valley, lies Glymur, Iceland’s highest waterfall (198m). From the trailhead, it’ll take a couple of hours to…
12.74 MILES
Þorgerður Brák was Egil's nursemaid, thought to be a Celtic slave. In one of the more dramatic moments in Egil's Saga, she heroically saves Egil's life …
12.77 MILES
Housed in an imaginatively restored warehouse by the harbour, the must-see Settlement Centre offers fascinating insights into the history of Icelandic…
12.77 MILES
This small municipal museum has an engaging exhibit on the story of children in Iceland over the last 100 years. It's told through myriad photographs and…
12.88 MILES
The Settlement Museum has marked sites featured in Egil’s Saga with cairns, including Skallagrímsgarður, the burial mound of the father and son of saga…