---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Reykjavik, Iceland | Wimup"
description: "The 10 best things to do in Reykjavik, ranked and mapped. Hallgrimskirkja, Harpa, Perlan, the Old Harbour whale boats, Sky Lagoon and the city pools."
url: https://wimup.com/city/reykjavik
type: City guide
updated: 2026-09-03
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Reykjavik

Reykjavik, Iceland · Europe · By Wimup Editorial, 15 min read

Reykjavik is a capital of about 140,000 people that behaves like a much larger one, because it holds everything Iceland has only one of. What makes it unlike any other European capital is what runs underneath it: the water in the taps and the radiators comes hot out of the ground.

## Quick answer

Three days covers Reykjavik, four if you want a day out of the city. Give the first to the centre: Hallgrimskirkja and the tower, then the Settlement Exhibition and the shore at Harpa. Day two goes to the water and the steam: a whale boat, a museum, a lagoon at sunset. Day three is the local version, which means a neighbourhood pool and the Grandi warehouses.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
- **Ideal length:** 3–4 days
- **Budget per day:** $150–260
- **Language:** Icelandic, a North Germanic language that has changed little since the sagas. English is spoken almost universally in the city
- **Getting around:** The centre on foot, Straeto buses beyond it, and a hire car only for trips out of the capital region
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://visitreykjavik.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Reykjavik

### 1. Hallgrimskirkja and the tower

Landmark church · Hallgrimstorg 1, 101 Reykjavik

The church on the hill is the city's compass, its facade copying the basalt columns at Svartifoss and its construction running from 1945 to 1986. The lift up the 74.5 metre tower is the only high vantage point downtown: coloured roofs below, Esja across the bay.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** Church free, tower 1,500 ISK adult
- **Best at:** First hour after opening
- **Tip:** Tower tickets are sold only in the church shop, with no advance booking, and last admission is half an hour before closing. Go early: the lift takes six people and the queue builds through the morning.

Links: [Website](https://www.hallgrimskirkja.is/en-gb?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Sky Lagoon

Geothermal spa · Vesturvor 44-48, 200 Kopavogur

The one to book if you have a single evening for hot water: fifteen minutes from the centre rather than fifty, with an infinity edge that drops out of sight into the North Atlantic. The seven-step Ritual behind it runs hot, cold, sauna, mist, scrub and steam, and takes about forty-five minutes.

- **Time:** 2–3 hr
- **Cost:** Ticketed, Saman or Ser
- **Best at:** Sunset
- **Tip:** Book a time slot before you fly. Icelandic bathing rules apply here as at every pool: shower without a swimsuit, with soap, before you go in.

Links: [Website](https://www.skylagoon.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Harpa concert hall

Architecture · Austurbakki 2, 101 Reykjavik

Half-built when the banks collapsed in 2008, and finished because stopping would have left a stump on the waterfront. Eliasson designed the facade as a honeycomb of glass that splits the light differently every hour. The public areas are free, and the box office often has mid-week tickets on the day.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** Free to walk in
- **Best at:** After dark
- **Tip:** The glass is lit from inside at night and the effect is best seen from the far side of the harbour on Saebraut, a five-minute walk from the Sun Voyager.

Links: [Website](https://www.harpa.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 4. Perlan and the Wonders of Iceland

Museum · Oskjuhlid hill, 105 Reykjavik

A glass dome sitting on six hot-water tanks, which is the most Reykjavik sentence in this guide: the city's thermal reservoir doubles as its science museum. A man-made ice cave, a room on the retreating glaciers, and a planetarium film that is the fallback when the sky refuses to cooperate.

- **Time:** 2 hr
- **Cost:** From 4,690 ISK adult
- **Best at:** Clear afternoon
- **Tip:** Last admission is ninety minutes before closing, so the late slot is tight for the full exhibition. The ice cave is genuinely cold: keep a jacket with you rather than checking it in.

Links: [Website](https://perlan.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. The National Museum of Iceland

Museum · Sudurgata 41, 102 Reykjavik

One building, twelve hundred years, told in order, and the single best hour before driving out of the city, because it explains what you are looking at when you get there. The objects are small and worth slowing down for. Under-18s go free.

- **Time:** 2 hr
- **Cost:** 3,300 ISK adult, under 18 free
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Check the winter timetable before you walk over: the museum has run shorter hours and a closed day outside the summer season in past years.

Links: [Website](https://www.thjodminjasafn.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 6. Whale watching from the Old Harbour

Wildlife · Aegisgardur 5, 101 Reykjavik

The boats leave a ten-minute walk from the centre, which is unusual: most whale watching starts with a drive. Faxafloi bay is shallow and plankton-rich, so minke whales and white-beaked dolphins are common and humpbacks turn up through the summer. Trips run year round.

- **Time:** 3 hr
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Morning departure
- **Tip:** The bay is open water and the swell builds through the day. Take a seasickness tablet an hour before, dress two layers warmer than the city, and stay on deck rather than in the saloon.

Links: [Website](https://elding.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 7. The Settlement Exhibition

Archaeology · Adalstraeti 16, 101 Reykjavik

In 2001 builders on Adalstraeti hit a wall, and a layer of ash above it dated the structure to 871. The tenth-century longhouse beside it was left where it was found and a museum built around it below street level, so you walk the outline of the hall with the hearth still in the middle.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** 2,900 ISK adult, under 18 free
- **Best at:** Rainy afternoon
- **Tip:** The ticket is part of the Reykjavik City Museum, which also runs the Maritime Museum on the harbour and the open-air museum at Arbaer, so it is worth checking what a combined ticket covers before you buy.

Links: [Website](https://borgarsogusafn.is/en/exhibitions/the-settlement-exhibition?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. The Sun Voyager on Saebraut

Sculpture · Saebraut, 101 Reykjavik

A steel boat skeleton on the shore path, and the most photographed object in the city after the church. It is usually called a Viking ship, which the artist rejected: he called it a dream boat, an ode to the sun. Best at either end of the day, as part of the walk out towards Laugarnes.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Sunrise or sunset
- **Tip:** Coaches stop here through the middle of the day. Walk out before nine or after nine in summer and you will have the shore to yourself.

### 9. Videy island

Island · Skarfabakki ferry pier, 104 Reykjavik

Ten minutes offshore and it feels an hour away: no cars, no shops, five kilometres of track around a flat green headland. Two artworks are why many people come, Serra's basalt columns and Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower, lit each year from 9 October to 8 December. Check the ferry timetable first.

- **Time:** 3 hr
- **Cost:** Ferry 2,500 ISK adult
- **Best at:** Summer afternoon
- **Tip:** There is no shelter on the western half of the island and the wind comes straight off the bay. Take water and a windproof layer, and note the time of the last return sailing when you land.

Links: [Ferry timetable](https://elding.is/videy-ferry-schedule-prices?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Laugardalslaug, the city's big pool

Geothermal pool · Sundlaugavegur 30, 105 Reykjavik

The neighbourhood pool is the Icelandic institution no lagoon replaces, and this is the largest: a 50 metre outdoor pool kept warm all winter, hot tubs at rising temperatures, a steam room and slides. Go in the evening, when the hottest tub is the closest thing the city has to a town square.

- **Time:** 2 hr
- **Cost:** 1,430 ISK adult
- **Best at:** Evening
- **Tip:** Shower naked with soap before entering, which is posted in every changing room and enforced by an attendant. It is not negotiable and nobody is looking.

Links: [Website](https://reykjavik.is/en/laugardalslaug-pool?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best restaurants in Reykjavik

Six kitchens that cover the whole range, from a seventeen-seat counter with a Michelin star to the hot dog stand by the harbour.

1. **Dill** (Tasting menu · Michelin star · Laugavegur 59): The first restaurant in Iceland to win a Michelin star, in 2017, and still the one that set the terms. New Nordic cooking built on Icelandic produce and preservation. [Website](https://www.dillrestaurant.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **OX** (Counter · Michelin star · Laugavegur 28): Seventeen seats around a counter behind a door most people walk past, one seating a night, one menu. A Michelin star, and it books out weeks ahead. [Website](https://ox.restaurant/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Sumac** (Grill · Levantine · Laugavegur 28): The room at the front of the same address as OX, and the easier table: Icelandic ingredients over fire with Levantine spicing, at a fraction of the price. [Website](https://sumac.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Grillmarkadurinn** (Grill · since 2011 · Laekjargata 2a): The city's landmark grill: Icelandic lamb, beef and fish over flame in a dark room of driftwood and stone. The dinner that suits a first night. [Website](https://grillmarkadurinn.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Snaps Bistro** (Bistro · Odinstorg · Thorsgata 1): A French and Danish bistro on Odinstorg, glass-roofed and loud in the best way, where locals go for moules and fish of the day. Book: it is small. [Website](https://www.snaps.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
6. **Baejarins Beztu Pylsur** (Hot dogs · since 1937 · Tryggvagata 1): A hot dog stand trading since 1937 and, by common consent, the cheapest good thing to eat in Iceland. Order eina med ollu, one with everything.

## Best bars & cafes in Reykjavik

Five rooms within a few streets of each other, covering the whole day from the first flat white to the last DJ.

1. **Kaffibarinn** (Bar · since 1993 · Bergstadastraeti 1): The small red house off Laugavegur has been the centre of Reykjavik nightlife since 1993: a cafe by day, a DJ bar by night, and where the runtur ends. [Website](https://www.kaffibarinn.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Kaldi Bar** (Craft beer · brewery bar · Laugavegur 20b): The Kaldi brewery's own bar on Laugavegur, pouring Czech-style beers from the north. A happy hour that is the difference between one drink and two.
3. **Port 9** (Wine bar · since 2016 · Veghusastigur 9a): Iceland's first dedicated wine bar, on a quiet lane between Laugavegur and the shore. Small enough that the person pouring will tell you what to drink.
4. **Reykjavik Roasters** (Coffee · roastery · Karastigur 1): The roastery that started Reykjavik's specialty coffee habit in 2008. The Karastigur corner shop is the original: a few tables and a record player. [Website](https://reykjavikroasters.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Mokka Kaffi** (Cafe · since 1958 · Skolavordustigur 3a): Trading since 1958, when its founders brought back the first espresso machine in the country. The waffle with jam and cream is the order. [Website](https://mokka.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best museums in Reykjavik

Five more collections worth an afternoon, three of them under the same city museum ticket and two under the same art museum one.

1. **Reykjavik Art Museum, Hafnarhus** (Contemporary art · three sites · Tryggvagata 17): The contemporary collection in a converted harbour warehouse, including the Erro donation. One ticket is valid 24 hours at all three houses. [Website](https://listasafnreykjavikur.is/en/hafnarhus-en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Kjarvalsstadir** (Painting · Klambratun · Klambratun park, 105 Reykjavik): A low modernist pavilion in Klambratun park, built around the work of the painter who taught Iceland to look at its own lava fields. Same 24-hour ticket. [Website](https://listasafnreykjavikur.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Reykjavik Maritime Museum** (Maritime · Grandi · Grandagardur 8): In an old fish-freezing plant on the Grandi quay, telling the story that paid for the modern country: trawlers, salt fish, the cod wars. [Website](https://borgarsogusafn.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Arbaer Open Air Museum** (Open air · city museum · Kistuhylur 4): A village of old Reykjavik houses moved to a farm site and rebuilt, with a turf church and a smithy. The clearest picture of the city before concrete. [Website](https://borgarsogusafn.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
5. **Einar Jonsson Museum** (Sculpture · since 1923 · Beside Hallgrimskirkja, Skolavorduholt): Iceland's first art museum, opened in 1923 in the sculptor's own house beside Hallgrimskirkja. The symbolist figures are strange, and the sculpture garden is free.

## Best pools & baths in Reykjavik

Four places to get into geothermal water for the price of a coffee, once the big lagoon is out of the way.

1. **Sundholl Reykjavikur** (Indoor and outdoor · since 1937 · Baronsstigur 45a): The city's oldest pool, opened in 1937 by the architect of Hallgrimskirkja, in the same pale ribbed concrete. Two minutes from Laugavegur. [Website](https://reykjavik.is/en/sundholl-reykjavik-pool?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Vesturbaejarlaug** (Neighbourhood pool · since 1961 · Hofsvallagata, Vesturbaer): The neighbourhood pool of the west side, open since 1961. This is where people who live here go, and the hot tubs are the local newspaper. [Website](https://reykjavik.is/en/vesturbaejarlaug-pool?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **Nautholsvik geothermal beach** (Beach · free in summer · Nautholsvik, 102 Reykjavik): A crescent of imported yellow sand where hot water is pumped into a lagoon behind a sea wall, so you can swim without hypothermia. Free in summer. [Website](https://reykjavik.is/en/nautholsvik-geothermal-beach?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Kvika footbath at Grotta** (Footbath · free · Seltjarnarnes, by Grotta lighthouse): A basin carved into the rock on the Seltjarnarnes shore, fed by a geothermal pipe. It sits on the darkest part of the peninsula, which is the local aurora spot.

## Best neighbourhoods in Reykjavik

The whole city fits in four districts, and three of them are within twenty minutes of the church on foot.

1. **Midborg, the 101** (City centre · postcode 101 · Central Reykjavik): The postcode that does the work: Laugavegur for shops and bars, Skolavordustigur climbing to the church, and the pond behind the city hall.
2. **Grandi and the Old Harbour** (Harbour · museums and boats · Grandagardur, 101): The working harbour that turned into the city's best afternoon: fish sheds now holding the Maritime Museum, breweries and design studios.
3. **Vesturbaer** (Residential · university · West of Tjornin, 107): The west side, between the pond and the sea: the university, the National Museum, small painted houses and the pool that anchors the district.
4. **Laugardalur** (Park · pool and gardens · East of the centre, 105): The green valley twenty minutes east: the big pool, the botanical garden, the family park and the national stadium. The hot springs are why the pool is here.

## Best day trips in Reykjavik

Five drives that start at the last roundabout and return the same evening, in rough order of how many people do them.

1. **The Golden Circle** (230 km loop · 6–8 hr · Thingvellir 45 km from the city): A 230 kilometre loop of six to eight hours: Thingvellir, where the plates pull apart in plain sight, the Geysir field, and Gullfoss dropping into its canyon. [Thingvellir National Park](https://www.thingvellir.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
2. **Reykjanes and the Blue Lagoon** (49 km · check conditions first · Grindavik and Svartsengi): A moss-covered lava desert with steam vents and a bridge over the rift between continents. It has erupted repeatedly since 2021 and access can change at short notice. [Safetravel conditions](https://safetravel.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [Met Office hazards](https://en.vedur.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
3. **The south coast** (Waterfalls · 2 hr each way · Seljalandsfoss, Skogafoss, Vik): Route 1 east to the waterfalls: Seljalandsfoss, which you can walk behind, then Skogafoss, then the black sand at Reynisfjara. The best single drive from the city. [Safetravel conditions](https://safetravel.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
4. **Snaefellsnes** (2 hr each way · full day · Snaefellsjokull National Park): The peninsula two hours north is Iceland in miniature: a glacier-topped volcano, a black pebble beach, fishing villages, and Kirkjufell.
5. **Reykjadalur hot river** (3 km walk each way · free · Hveragerdi): Above Hveragerdi, a marked path climbs three kilometres through a steaming valley to a river warm enough to lie in. Allow three hours on foot, and check the forecast.

## Best design & shopping in Reykjavik

Two streets, a weekend market and the outdoor label that started with oilskins for fishermen.

1. **Laugavegur** (Main street · shops and bars · 101 Reykjavik): The main street and the spine of shopping: wool, books, records, bars and half the restaurants here. Much of it is pedestrianised in summer.
2. **Skolavordustigur** (Design street · rainbow road · 101 Reykjavik): The street that climbs to the church, painted in rainbow colours, and the one to walk for design: jewellers, ceramics, knitwear and small galleries.
3. **Kolaportid** (Flea market · weekends only · Tryggvagata 19): Iceland's flea market, in a customs warehouse by the harbour, weekends only. Hand-knitted lopapeysur at a fraction of shop prices, and a counter selling fermented shark.
4. **66°North** (Outerwear · since 1926 · Bankastraeti 5): Founded in 1926 to make oilskins for Westfjords fishermen, and now the coat half of Reykjavik walks around in. Built for the weather you will actually meet. [Website](https://www.66north.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Festivals & annual events in Reykjavik (2026)

- **Winter Lights Festival** (Early February): Four days of light works, museum openings and pool events in the darkest part of the year, with more than 150 of them free.
- **DesignMarch** (April): The country's design festival takes over shops, studios and warehouses for four days, with open studios and a conference.
- **Reykjavik Arts Festival** (30 May to 14 June 2026): The city's oldest festival, founded in 1970: two weeks of music, theatre and visual art in Harpa and across the centre.
- **Reykjavik Pride** (August): A week of events ending in a parade to a concert on Arnarholl, with a crowd counted in the tens of thousands in a city of 140,000.
- **Reykjavik Marathon** (August): Marathon, half, 10 km and a fun run through the city and along the shore, on the morning of Culture Night. Streets close in 101.
- **Menningarnott, Culture Night** (Late August): The city's birthday party, marking the 1786 charter: hundreds of free events, waffles on doorsteps, fireworks over the harbour.
- **RIFF, Reykjavik International Film Festival** (24 September to 4 October 2026): Eleven days of independent film, with a new-directors competition and screenings that have run in a swimming pool and a cave.
- **Iceland Airwaves** (4 to 7 November 2026): The festival that introduced most of the world to Icelandic music, now in its third decade. Book beds early: the city fills.

## Must-try dishes in Reykjavik, Iceland

- **Plokkfiskur**: Poached cod or haddock broken up with potato, onion and white sauce, served with dark rye and butter.
- **Pylsa**: The Icelandic hot dog, made with lamb as well as pork and beef, ordered eina med ollu.
- **Kjotsupa**: Lamb soup, and the oldest recipe still in daily use: lamb on the bone with potato, carrot and swede.
- **Skyr**: A thick cultured dairy, technically a fresh cheese and eaten here since the settlement. Served with cream.
- **Rugbraud**: Dense, dark, faintly sweet rye bread, traditionally baked by burying the dough near a hot spring for a day.
- **Hangikjot**: Smoked lamb, hung over birch, boiled and served cold in thin slices with flatbread. The Christmas centrepiece.
- **Hardfiskur**: Cod or haddock dried in the wind until it tears into strips, eaten with salted butter.
- **Kleina**: A twisted, lightly cardamom-scented doughnut fried in fat, sold at bakery counters and eaten with coffee.

## Reykjavik transport & airports

- **Keflavik International Airport** (KEF): About 50 kilometres southwest, 45 to 50 minutes by road. The Flybus meets every arrival; Straeto route 55 is cheaper and slower. A taxi is expensive enough that almost nobody takes one. [Airport](https://www.isavia.is/en/keflavik-airport?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) · [Flybus](https://flybus.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Straeto city buses** (Straeto): One yellow network covers the whole capital region, and a single fare buys 75 minutes including transfers. Pay in the Klappid app. Frequencies are good on the trunk routes and thin in the evenings. [Website](https://www.straeto.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Reykjavik Domestic Airport** (RKV): A ten-minute walk from the centre, and where flights to the rest of Iceland leave from. Akureyri takes about 45 minutes. In winter, when a drive north can take a day, this is how to see the country. [Airport](https://www.isavia.is/en/reykjavik-airport?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Taxis and car hire** (Taxi): Taxis are metered, expensive and not hailed on the street: order by app or take one from the ranks. A hire car earns its keep only outside the capital region. [Hreyfill](https://www.hreyfill.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Reykjavik at a glance

- **Country:** Iceland
- **Region:** Southwest Iceland, on Faxafloi bay
- **Population:** 139,804 in the municipality on 1 January 2026, out of 394,324 in the country, with roughly two thirds of Icelanders living in the capital region
- **Founded:** Settled around 874 by Ingolfur Arnarson according to the sagas, and granted a town charter on 18 August 1786
- **Nickname:** The name itself: reykur, smoke, and vik, bay, for the steam the first settlers saw rising off the hot springs
- **Language:** Icelandic, a North Germanic language little changed since the medieval sagas. English is spoken almost universally in the city
- **Currency:** Icelandic krona (ISK). Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including on buses and at petrol pumps, and cash is rarely needed
- **Time zone:** GMT (UTC+0) all year. Iceland does not change its clocks, so it is an hour behind mainland Europe in winter and two in summer
- **Calling code:** +354, with no area codes anywhere in the country
- **Airports:** Keflavik International (KEF), 50 km southwest, for all international flights. Reykjavik Domestic (RKV), beside the centre, for flights within Iceland
- **Power:** 230 V, 50 Hz, plug types C and F
- **Emergency:** 112 for police, fire, ambulance and mountain rescue

## Interesting facts

- Reykjavik is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state, at about 64 degrees north, a little over two degrees south of the Arctic Circle.
- The name means smoky bay, and the smoke was steam: the first settlers saw it rising from the hot springs in what is now Laugardalur.
- Almost every building is heated by geothermal water piped in from outside town, and parts of the pavement downtown are heated the same way.
- The Althingi, founded at Thingvellir in 930 and moved here in 1845, is one of the oldest parliaments in the world.
- Beer was illegal in Iceland until 1 March 1989, which is why the anniversary is marked in the city's bars every year as Bjordagur, Beer Day.

## Watch

[Reykjavik Travel Guide](https://wimup.com/watch/reykjavik.md), 25:39

## Reykjavik travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Reykjavik?

Three for a first visit: one for the centre and the church, one for the harbour, a museum and a lagoon, one for a pool and the neighbourhoods. A fourth buys a trip out of the city, and that is where most people find the trip they remember.

### When can you see the northern lights in Reykjavik?

Roughly September to April, when the nights are long enough to be properly dark. Three things have to line up: solar activity, a clear sky and darkness away from streetlights. The Met Office publishes an aurora forecast at en.vedur.is. Grotta and Oskjuhlid are the darkest spots reachable on foot.

### Is Reykjavik expensive?

Yes, and there is no way to make it cheap. Budget 150 to 260 dollars a day per person once food, a museum and a drink are counted. Alcohol is the sharpest shock, taxed heavily and sold only in state shops outside bars. The good news is what costs nothing: tap water, the churches, and a city pool for the price of a coffee.

### Do you need a car in Reykjavik?

Not in the city, which is walkable end to end in half an hour. You want one for the day trips, and even then only if you are comfortable with Icelandic driving: wind that takes car doors off, gravel, and weather that closes a route within an hour. Check road.is the morning of any drive.

### What are the rules at Icelandic swimming pools?

You shower without a swimsuit, with soap, before you get in, and the diagram on the wall shows which parts. It is enforced by an attendant, it is why Icelandic pools use very little chlorine, and it is not negotiable. Beyond that: shoes off at the changing room, and treat the hot tubs as somewhere to sit and talk.

## Nearby guides

- [Akureyri](https://wimup.com/city/akureyri.md): Iceland · 10 picks
- [Sligo](https://wimup.com/city/sligo.md): Ireland · 10 picks
- [St Andrews](https://wimup.com/city/st-andrews.md): United Kingdom · 10 picks
- [All of Europe →](https://wimup.com/europe): 158 cities

Part of the [Iceland guide](https://wimup.com/country/iceland.md) · [Europe](https://wimup.com/europe.md)

## Sources

- [Reykjavik tourism board](https://visitreykjavik.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Hallgrimskirkja and the tower (official site)](https://www.hallgrimskirkja.is/en-gb?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Sky Lagoon (official site)](https://www.skylagoon.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Harpa concert hall (official site)](https://www.harpa.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Perlan and the Wonders of Iceland (official site)](https://perlan.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The National Museum of Iceland (official site)](https://www.thjodminjasafn.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Whale watching from the Old Harbour (official site)](https://elding.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Settlement Exhibition (official site)](https://borgarsogusafn.is/en/exhibitions/the-settlement-exhibition?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Videy island: Ferry timetable](https://elding.is/videy-ferry-schedule-prices?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Laugardalslaug, the city's big pool (official site)](https://reykjavik.is/en/laugardalslaug-pool?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Dill (official site)](https://www.dillrestaurant.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [OX (official site)](https://ox.restaurant/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Sumac (official site)](https://sumac.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Grillmarkadurinn (official site)](https://grillmarkadurinn.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Snaps Bistro (official site)](https://www.snaps.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kaffibarinn (official site)](https://www.kaffibarinn.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Reykjavik Roasters (official site)](https://reykjavikroasters.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Mokka Kaffi (official site)](https://mokka.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Reykjavik Art Museum, Hafnarhus (official site)](https://listasafnreykjavikur.is/en/hafnarhus-en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Kjarvalsstadir (official site)](https://listasafnreykjavikur.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Reykjavik Maritime Museum (official site)](https://borgarsogusafn.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Sundholl Reykjavikur (official site)](https://reykjavik.is/en/sundholl-reykjavik-pool?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Vesturbaejarlaug (official site)](https://reykjavik.is/en/vesturbaejarlaug-pool?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Nautholsvik geothermal beach (official site)](https://reykjavik.is/en/nautholsvik-geothermal-beach?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [The Golden Circle: Thingvellir National Park](https://www.thingvellir.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Reykjanes and the Blue Lagoon: Safetravel conditions](https://safetravel.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Reykjanes and the Blue Lagoon: Met Office hazards](https://en.vedur.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [66°North (official site)](https://www.66north.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Keflavik International Airport: Airport](https://www.isavia.is/en/keflavik-airport?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Keflavik International Airport: Flybus](https://flybus.is/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Straeto city buses (official site)](https://www.straeto.is/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Reykjavik Domestic Airport: Airport](https://www.isavia.is/en/reykjavik-airport?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Taxis and car hire: Hreyfill](https://www.hreyfill.is/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.