Sightseeing in Reykjavík

Sightseeing in Reykjavík takes about a day on foot, which surprises people who expect a capital. Hallgrímskirkja anchors it — seventy-four metres of concrete shaped after the basalt columns at Svartifoss, with a lift to the tower and the best view of the coloured roofs below. Down at the water sit Harpa, the concert hall with the honeycomb glass facade, and the Sun Voyager sculpture, which is a dreamboat rather than a Viking ship, whatever the postcards say.

The museums are small and worth the time. The National Museum runs from settlement to independence in two hours; the Settlement Exhibition is built around a longhouse wall found under the street in 2001 and left exactly where it was dug; and the Perlan has a real indoor ice cave carved from glacier snow. Walking tours in Reykjavík usually cover the old harbour, the parliament and the pond in ninety minutes, and the guides are frank about how recent most of the city is.

What most visitors actually mean by sightseeing in Reykjavík lies outside it. The Golden Circle, the south coast waterfalls, Þingvellir and the Blue Lagoon are all half- to full-day trips leaving from the BSÍ terminal or hotel pickups. If you have one day, take the coast; if you have two, do the Circle as well. The city itself will not take more than the afternoon you give it.