Discover Reykjavik

About Reykjavik

Reykjavík is the world's northernmost capital and one of its smallest — only about 140,000 people, but home to two-thirds of Iceland's entire population. Despite the size, it punches dramatically above its weight culturally: the country produces more writers, musicians, and books per capita than almost anywhere on Earth. The iconic Hallgrímskirkja, the soaring 74m basalt-inspired concrete church on a hill at the top of town (designed to evoke Iceland's stepped lava columns), is the city's defining silhouette; take the lift up the tower for a panorama of multicoloured tin-roofed houses cascading down to the harbour. Down at the waterfront, the Harpa concert hall is a stunning hexagonal-glass piece of post-2008 architecture, and the Sun Voyager sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason (1990) is the most photographed Instagram spot in town. The unmissable Reykjavík Art Museum, the rotating exhibitions at the Settlement Exhibition (an excavated Viking longhouse beneath a modern hotel), and the National Museum cover the history. Reykjavík's bar and music scene is excellent (try the live shows at Kaffi Mørð); the geothermal Sky Lagoon on the city edge is the urbane competitor to the Blue Lagoon; and the whole city makes the best winter base for aurora-watching while staying in a proper place with great food.