10 Best Things to Do
Reykjavík brings colourful streets, a working harbour and a lively food scene within easy reach of one another. Spend a morning with Icelandic history, walk past Harpa’s glass façade and look across the bay towards the mountains. Geothermal bathing makes an inviting pause between outings, while restaurants range from welcoming neighbourhood tables to intimate tasting counters. Allow a few days for the city itself, with time for coastal walks and plans that can shift with the weather.
Visit Hallgrímskirkja
Skólavörðuholt, Iceland
Hallgrímskirkja rises above Reykjavík with a stepped concrete facade inspired by Iceland’s landscape. The church is both a city landmark and an active place of worship, so a visit should leave room for the life of the building as well as its architecture. Step inside to see the spacious interior and organ, then consider the separately ticketed tower for a view across the rooftops. Clear weather gives the panorama its greatest reach, but the building itself rewards attention in any season.
Architecture and a view over the city
Explore Harpa
Waterfront, Iceland
Harpa’s glass facade changes with the light, reflecting the harbour, sky and city around it. Designed with artist Ólafur Elíasson and Henning Larsen Architects, the concert hall is worth visiting for its public spaces as well as its performances. Walk around the exterior, then look for the shifting patterns inside. A concert or guided tour adds another layer to the visit, while the waterfront setting makes it easy to combine Harpa with a longer stroll along the shore.
Glass architecture and live music
Discover Iceland’s nature at Perlan
Öskjuhlíð, Iceland
Perlan introduces Iceland’s landscapes through interactive displays, an indoor ice cave and a planetarium show about the northern lights. The glass dome sits above former water tanks on Öskjuhlíð, giving the building a distinctive shape and the observation deck a broad city view. It is a useful first stop for understanding the country’s geology, glaciers and wildlife, or an engaging indoor outing when the weather is poor. The aurora presentation is a show, independent of conditions outside.
Interactive exhibits and a city panorama
Bathe at Sky Lagoon
Kópavogur, Iceland
Sky Lagoon offers an ocean-facing geothermal bathing experience in Kópavogur, just outside Reykjavík’s central area. The warm lagoon and coastal outlook are the main attraction, while the bathing ritual adds contrasting heat, cold, steam and a body scrub. The mood changes with the season and weather, from long summer evenings to darker winter skies. Choose it for a slower outing after sightseeing, and give yourself time to enjoy the setting rather than treating it as a quick stop.
Geothermal water beside the ocean
Visit the National Museum of Iceland
Suðurgata, Iceland
The National Museum of Iceland traces the country’s history through objects that connect major changes with everyday life. Its permanent collection moves from the settlement period towards contemporary Iceland, making it a useful place to build context before travelling farther around the country. Allow time to look closely at individual artefacts rather than rushing through the chronology. The museum works particularly well alongside the Settlement Exhibition, with one offering a national perspective and the other focusing on Reykjavík’s earliest streets.
The story of Iceland through objects
Explore the Settlement Exhibition
Aðalstræti, Iceland
The Settlement Exhibition is built around the remains of a tenth-century longhouse discovered beneath Aðalstræti in 2001. Preserving the archaeology where it was found gives the visit an immediacy that a conventional display cannot quite reproduce. Interpretation explains the lives of the earliest inhabitants, while the connected exhibition at Aðalstræti 10 follows Reykjavík’s later development. Choose it for a focused introduction to the city’s history, from a small settlement to the streets you walk through today.
Viking-age Reykjavík beneath the streets
See contemporary art at Hafnarhús
Old Harbour, Iceland
Hafnarhús occupies a former harbour warehouse, giving Reykjavík Art Museum a substantial home in the oldest part of the city. Its programme focuses on contemporary art, with works by Icelandic and international artists alongside the collection associated with Erró. The industrial building provides a different setting from the city’s smaller galleries. Check the exhibitions before visiting and choose what interests you, leaving time to continue through the nearby harbour streets when you return outside.
Icelandic and international contemporary art
Explore Árbær Open Air Museum
Árbær, Iceland
Árbær Open Air Museum brings together historic buildings from Reykjavík around an older farm, creating a village-like setting outside the city centre. Walking between houses reveals changing approaches to building, domestic life and work, with exhibitions that give individual rooms and objects a human context. It offers a different perspective from the grander national collections, particularly for visitors interested in ordinary lives. Check the programme for guided tours and allow time to move between the buildings outdoors.
Historic houses and everyday city life
Go whale watching with Elding
Old Harbour and Faxaflói, Iceland
Elding’s whale-watching trips leave from Reykjavík’s Old Harbour for the waters of Faxaflói, combining time at sea with guidance on the wildlife encountered. Boats have indoor seating as well as viewing areas, and passengers can visit the company’s Whale Watching Centre before or after the trip. Each sailing is different, so go for the experience of looking and learning rather than a promised sighting. It offers a useful change of pace from the city’s museums and streets.
Wildlife at sea
Walk the coast at Grótta
Seltjarnarnes, Iceland
Grótta lies at the western edge of Seltjarnarnes, where coastal paths, tidal flats and a white lighthouse offer a quieter view of the Reykjavík area. The nature reserve supports abundant birdlife, and the open coast gives a strong sense of the surrounding sea and weather. Walk the mainland paths for the scenery, with any crossing to the island dependent on tides and seasonal access. It is a good place for a slower outing away from the busiest central streets.
A lighthouse, seabirds and open skies