Iceland Tips

Of course Reykjavik has a great night life, but it does start late.

Suggestions of sites outside of the city for you to do are:
-The three must sees known as the Golden Triangle- Gullfoss, Geysir and Þingvellir. It will take a couple of hours and you'll need to book a tour or hire a car. Check it out on the web and perhaps organise before you go.
-The Blue Lagoon, which I am sure you have heard of. It is between Keflavik airport and Reykjavik, so depending on how long you are there for you may want to stop in there a couple of hours before you need to head to the airport.

In town:
-Cafe Paris is a nice stop to have a drink or a snack and check out the Icelandic city life. Austurstraeti 14
-Reykjavik Art Museum (Listasafn Reykjavikur) and National Gallery of Iceland (Listasafn Islands)
-Go to the market by the water. Try a few of the food things they have for sale there and perhaps the putrefied shark if you dare, but even the smell is know to make some people sick.


I would strongly suggest dropping into Hotel Borg (Austurvöllur Square, Reykjavík) for afternoon tea. Very stylish and very old fashioned and for many decades this was "the" place to be seen in Iceland. Even just go in for a nosey, it's worth it. I have many friends in and around Reykjavík so if you need/want a local guide just let me know! A hint though - if you are tempted to buy an Icelandic jumper, dont go for one of the tourist shops in the centre. Instead go to the Icelandic Womens Handknitting Cooperative on Skólavörðustígur (the street leading up to Hallgrimskirka).

Foodwise - you must try skyr (thick and uniquely Icelandic yoghurt). Minke whale, puffin etc are all good too but Icelandic lamb is fab. Most Reykjavíkúrs head out to the off license on Bankastræti and get tanked up before hitting the clubs. Sightseeing - you must do the Golden Circle as suggested by Mark - Þingvellír, Geysír and Gullfoss. Pre-booking on a tour is the easiest but if you hire a car, take road 435 past the geothermal power stations to Þingvellír. You will see a line of steam puffing out off the ground - this is the where Europe and N America are, thankfully, moving apart. Þingvellír itself sits right on the rift and, for mostly aesthetic reasons, this is where the Víkings chose to have their annual assembly - the world's first parliament. The Icelandic government still meet here on special occasions.