Editor’s note: Iceland is a place that has long been near the top of my travel wish list. And now, after a gap, TRT writer Sam Spector finally fills in his experience in this awesome country with this piece about the capital. He had previously written about the Golden Circle, and about southern Iceland. For ALL of Sam’s truly incredible writing, click here to visit his index page.

Often when traveling to European capitals, you easily need at least five days to see all the attractions; however, it is not just visiting the museums and castles that takes time but just sitting in traffic and trying to navigate getting from one side of a sprawling city like Paris to the other. Yet, one of Europe’s capital cities has only 130,000 residents and is accessible by foot, and still has a lot to see and do, and that is the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik. With an increasing number of cities offering flights directly from the United States to Reykjavik, and it serving as approximately a halfway point between the United States and mainland Europe, more people are seeing this quaint, but fun, island nation and its largest city. Icelandair is also, like Turkish Airlines with Istanbul and TAP with Portugal, offering multi-day layovers in case you want to stop in Reykjavik to or from elsewhere in Europe.

Reykjavik’s airport is in a coastal suburb of the city called Keflavik. It is in this area that Reykjavik’s – and perhaps all of Iceland’s – most famous attraction is, the Blue Lagoon. Being the “Land of Fire and Ice”, Iceland is full of numerous geothermal pools, but this is the most famous one. With the Blue Lagoon being close to the airport, even if you have only a five-hour layover in Reykjavik, you can do this one thing with there being shuttles to and from the airport! Upon arrival at the Blue Lagoon, you will walk down a pathway that is completely built up with lava rocks on the side piled up about ten feet in height, as the lagoon is in a five km wide lava field. I cannot recall another place on earth that felt more as though I was on the moon than here. This lagoon is not natural and was only created in the early 1980s by runoff water from a nearby geothermal power plant. While some locals and tourists disparage the Blue Lagoon for being human made and being an overpriced tourist trap, and while Reykjavik has many more authentic geothermal baths that are frequented by locals, I was surprised to find that I loved it. There is a large tourist center with plenty of amenities for travelers, and the lagoon itself is mesmerizing with its milky blue hue that is caused by the silica particles in the water being hit by sunlight, not to mention the steam that comes off the pool, whose temperature is consistently around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When going into the Blue Lagoon, spa-goers will be given a white mud mask that they can smear onto their faces and then swim throughout the expansive lagoon where there are numerous sitting areas and bars that you can swim up to, as well as footbridges to go under. Not only is going to the Blue Lagoon fun, but it is also warm, relaxing, and truly feels otherworldly surrounded by steam and lava rock with bright blue water. This experience is one not to forget.

While Reykjavik’s main tourist attraction might be outside the city, the downtown of Reykjavik has so much to do. First of all, the city is one of the safest in the world. If you do not believe me, ask the prime minister, who often walks to work, or go to the prime minister’s office, where there is no visible security. You can easily walk from one side of the main part of downtown to the other in about 20 minutes, and it seems that all the locals know each other. One of the main places to go is Laugavegur Street, the main street that goes through the town. It is bustling with shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as numerous Icelandic-style buildings, many of which have street art and murals on them. Icelanders, and especially those in Reykjavik, pride themselves on their progressive culture and politics and along this main strip, you will find intersecting with Laugavegur Street “Rainbow Street”, a pedestrian street that is entirely painted the colors of the rainbow flag as an expression of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

At the top of Rainbow Street is perhaps the most famous building in the city, the Hallgrimskirkja Church. At 244 feet tall, the church is the second tallest building in Iceland. It has curved spires and wings, making it look almost like a spaceship, but the design was inspired by the unique geological formations in Iceland. When studying its architecture, you can see the resemblance of glaciers, trap rocks, and mountains, and inside, the organ is made to remind the faithful of Iceland’s basalt columns. Inside the church, there is a large and beautiful nave, and you can pay to go to the top of the spire, but like other Lutheran-style churches, there is little decoration. The Hallgrimskirkja has been an important symbol of the identity of Reykjavik and the entire nation since its completion in 1986. You can see much of what I described on one of the tip-based, free walking tours, which is very worthwhile and gives you a perspective of life from a local.

Reykjavik is also home to museums such as the Perlan Museum, which features the landscapes of Iceland and has a glass domed revolving restaurant on top, giving views to diners, and the Settlement Exhibition near the Old Town Square that touches on the Viking roots of Iceland. Near the Old Town Square is where many of the best restaurants in town are. At a number of these restaurants are phenomenal seafood, and also great lamb dishes from the famous Icelandic sheep that are seen wandering throughout the countryside (every year, they have a festival where locals go and gather the sheep up). However, my one complaint about Iceland is that it is very expensive, especially when it comes to restaurants (a burger cost me about $30), and so these restaurants can be fairly pricy, though well worth it. If you are on more of a budget, look for a modest hotdog stand that has been labeled by some “the best hotdogs in Europe” or go to one of the many great fish and chips restaurants along the waterfront. One of the best meals that I had in Iceland was also the cheapest, and that was at Svarta Kaffio, a soup restaurant, where, for about $20, you will be served soup in a bread bowl. Each day, the chef makes a vegetarian and a meat-based soup with fresh ingredients, and nobody, not even the staff, knows what the chef will make until that morning.

Along the waterfront are numerous offers to go whale or puffin watching on a boat. One of the landmarks is the Sun Voyager sculpture, a stainless-steel Viking ship that is an ode to the sun and shimmers in its light. The sculpture was unveiled in 1990 as a tribute to the city’s bicentennial. In Reykjavik’s beautiful harbor is an art piece of an eight-meter-tall grass mound that has a spiral pathway up it to a wooden shack where fish is hung to dry. Aside from being a unique piece of urban art, walking out to the mound, called the Thufa, gives beautiful views of the harbor and city. Also along the waterfront, make sure you visit the Kolaportid Flea Market, filled with numerous antique shops and local handicrafts. If you want to buy one of Iceland’s famous wool sweaters, this is the place to get it, as well as any other souvenirs you might desire.

Reykjavik the city has plenty to do to fill a couple of days, but it is also a great jumping off point to other destinations for day trips. In the winter, you can see the aurora borealis, and in the other times of the year make a tour of the Golden Circle (see my article on that), and driving north to the Snaefellnes Peninsula, where Game of Thrones was filmed on its stunning coastline. The peninsula is also home to the most photographed mountain in Iceland, Kirkjufell, a 463 meter green hill protruding from the ground. In front of the hill is a pathway that leads along a river, eventually ending up at a stunning shot of the hill with a waterfall in front of it that looks like it is more AI than reality in both person and photos alike.

Reykjavik is a town that is not that big but has something for everyone: foodies, museumgoers, nature lovers, spa enthusiasts, shoppers, and those who love cosmopolitan places and small towns. With flights only about five hours from the Northeast and seven hours from the Western United States, the world’s northernmost capital is accessible for even a few day getaway, and is a place that you should add to your travel list!

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