All About the City of Reykjavik
Reykjavík is the capital of Iceland and the northernmost capital in the world. It’s a lively city full of museums and restaurants and nurtures innovative art and music scenes. What Reykjavik lacks in a population (just over 120,000 people) it more than makes up for in personality and charm. This is your complete guide to Reykjavik.
Where is Reykjavik?
Reykjavík is located on Faxafói Bay in southwest Iceland. The city was settled in 874 AD by Ingólfur Arnarson and his family. Reykjavík, or smoky bay in Icelandic, is so named for the “smoke” or steam the first settlers saw rising from the many geothermal springs in the area.
How do you say Reykjavík?
While it can seem like a mouthful to the non-Scandinavian language speaker, it’s easy enough once you know some basic rules of Icelandic. “Ey” is pronounced like the long “a” in rake. The letter “j” has yuh sound, and “í” is said like “ee” in English. Put all that together, and you get rake-yuh-veek. Reykjavík.
When to Visit Reykjavik
All-year-round. Iceland doesn’t have very drastic seasonal changes, but daylight hours do vary in the extreme depending on the time of year. At the height of mid-winter, Iceland only gets about 4 hours of daylight while in midsummer, it is bathed in 24 hours of daylight (depending on cloud cover). Although it never gets really hot in the summer, it can get relatively warm. Temperatures average 13.3ºC (55.9ºF) in July and −3.0ºC (26.6ºF) in January. Icelandic weather is notoriously unpredictable, so it is possible to experience these extremes at any time of year.
What to Do in Reykjavik
Walk on down to Reykjavík's City Hall and buy a City Card. This card gets you free access or a discount, to many museums and restaurants and free admission to Reykjavík's swimming pools and on city buses.
With this card in hand, you can:
Visit the dozens of museums, go for a swim in one of the local pools, and eat and drink at the local restaurants and bars. It’s also lovely to walk around downtown Reykjavik and visit with the local cats, pop into a bookstore, café, or one of the many small art galleries located around the city.
Where to Visit
Perlan - Gives visitors a bird’s eye view of the city with its 360º observation deck, a museum that features exhibitions of Iceland’s natural wonders, including an ice cave and a northern lights planetarium show.
Harpa - Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre is an ode to the Icelandic landscape on the harbor, mimicking the shape of columnar basalt and the colors of the northern lights. This venue is also home to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Icelandic Opera.
Höfði - Visit this historic site that played host to the 1986 summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Hallgrímskirkja - This iconic church on a hill is hard to miss. Head to the top of the tower for an amazing view of downtown.
Old Harbour - With views of the harbor and Mount Esja, this area is home to a number of shops, cafés, museums, and bike rental shops, and is the base for whale and puffin watching tours.
What to Wear
Layers. Rule number one for dressing in Iceland is to wear layers and always be ready for rain. In Reykjavik, you can experience all the seasons in one day. A good rule of thumb is always to wear three layers— whatever it is you want to wear plus:
● Sweater/Jumper
● Water-resistant outer layer
Those more susceptible to cold may want to add wool leggings and a thermal undershirt in the winter. Warm socks, fairly water-resistant shoes (or hiking boots for outdoor activities), gloves, and a hat are also a must even in summer.
Why does the hot water smell?
Reykjavik’s hot water comes from both deep boreholes, which naturally contain varying concentrations of sulfur (the first source of the smell), and geothermal plants. To remove oxygen from the water, a small amount of hydrogen sulfide (the second source of the smell) is added. Removing oxygen from the water helps prevent corrosion of the city’s water pipes.