Historic places in Reykjavík

Historic places in Reykjavík

1. See

   871±2

   The Settlement Exhibition

   Run by the Reykjavík City Museum, this exhibition in central Reykjavík was built around the oldest archaeological ruins in Iceland. As the name indicates, these ruins date to around the year 870. This interactive exhibitions brings you the early history of the area that today forms central Reykjavík.

   Daily 10:00-17:00·1000 kr, free for children under 18

2. See

   Austurvöllur

   A small park (or square, depending on definitions) in the heart of Reykjavík. It's many locals' favorite place to spend sunny days, either at one of the cafés lining the north of the square or simply having a picnic on the grass. The parliament and the national cathedral both stand by Austurvöllur.

3. See

   Icelandic Punk Museum

   Pönksafn Íslands

   A small museum devoted to the history of punk music in Iceland, located in a former underground public toilet facility. In the final room you can listen to Icelandic punk music through headphones, and there are guitars and leather jackets to try on and pose with.

   Mon-Fri 10:00-22:00, Sat Sun 12:00-22:00

4. See

   National Museum of Iceland

   Þjóðminjasafnið

   This museum, by the University of Iceland campus, takes the visitor through the history of a nation from settlement to today. Includes a café and a museum shop.

   General admission: 2500 kr, senior citizens and students: 1200 kr, children under 18: free

5. See

   Perlan

   The Pearl

   An iconic building on top of a wooded hill called Öskjuhlíð, to the southeast of the city centre. Perlan is built on top of five hot water storage tanks and offers fantastic views of the entire city from a viewing platform open to the public and from a rotating restaurant at the top. If the restaurant is too expensive for you (it is for most), there is also a small cafeteria on the same floor as the viewing platform. For the price of admission, one can view and interact with exhibits related to the geology, geological history, and natural history of Iceland. There are some shows related to these topics as well covered with the tickets.

   Open now · closes 9 pm

6. See

   Reykjavík Cathedral

   Dómkirkjan í Reykjavík

   The church beside the parliament is Reykjavík Cathedral, the mother church of the Church of Iceland, the country's national church and part of the Lutheran denomination. Similarly deceptive in size, it has been beautifully renovated both inside and out to reflect its original 18th-century architecture.

7. See

   Viðey

   Viðey is a large island in Kollafjörður, the fjord to the north of Reykjavík. It used to be inhabited, and in the early 20th century it had a small fishing village. Nobody lives there anymore apart from the birds, but it's a popular way to get away from the city without leaving it. During the summer, a café is operated in one of the houses on the island. The building was built for Skúli Magnússon, an 18th-century politician often called "the founder of Reykjavík" and designed by the same man as the royal palace in Copenhagen - although it is not quite of the same scale. Among its more modern architecture, Viðey is home to the Imagine Peace Tower by Yoko Ono (see below). To get to Viðey you must take a ferry from Sundahöfn, some distance from central Reykjavík (on bus route 5). The schedule and prices can be found here.

8. See

   Christ the King Cathedral

   Landakotskirkja

   The Catholic cathedral of Iceland.

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Reykjavík (CC BY-SA 4.0).