Reykjavík Overview

Overview

Iceland's capital is different from other European cities. It is the world's northernmost capital, and one of the newest, having established itself only in the late 19th century.Reykjavík offers all the pleasures of a modern European city and additionally an interesting old town, white-washed wooden buildings, and lines of brightly painted concrete houses. Almost all places of interest are within a walking distance of the old settlement. The Old Town is centered around the Tjörnin, a small pond on whose shores, Ingólfur Arnarson, founded the original settlement in 874.  It is here where both the Town Hall and Alþing, or National Assembly, is located. Contemporary Reykjavík starts east of the Old Town, and features the shopping high street, Laugavegur, and  Hallgrímskirkja, an imposing church resembling a chunk of volcanic basalt. The tower of the church is the city's most noticeable structure. Begun in the late 1940s and completed in 1974, the church is named after Iceland's best-known poet, Hallgrímur Pétursson. You can wander its stark, light-filled interior, then take a lift to the top of a 75m-high (246ft) tower which offers superb views of the city. On the lawn is a statue of Leifur Eríksson, triumphantly identified as the 'Son of Iceland, Discoverer of Vinland' (believed to be Newfoundland or Labrador).

Anybody interested in Norse and Icelandic culture should head for the National Museum, which houses objects of religious and folk relics, and tools dating from the period of Settlement. The most renowned is a church door, carved around 1200, which depicts a Norse battle scene, while residing in the basement are nautical and agricultural tools and models of early fishing boats and ingenious farm implements. Immediately behind the museum is the Árni Magnússon Institute, a must-see for Saga fans with a famous collection of works, including the Landnámabók and Njáls Saga.

Budget accommodation, cheap eats and bargain shopping are found in the Old Town area of Reykjavik. For entertainment, there is cinema, cultural performances and light shows (sagas, Settlement and Viking extravaganzas)and also "Runtur", which is a Northern equivalent of pub crawling!