Capital of Iceland
Reykjavik town highlights for a short trip
Short summary:
Reykjavik is the capital and by far the biggest city in Iceland. It is famous for its openness to all people and cultures as well as its museums and culture. Click on the links below for quick access to each section.
Reykjavik is the capital and by far the biggest city in Iceland. It is famous for its openness to all people and cultures as well as its museums and culture. Click on the links below for quick access to each section.
Hallgrímskirkja church
Reykjavik famous church Hallgrímskirkja
Location: HERE
Islandic name: Hallgrímskirkja
Hallgrímskirkja ist probably the most famous landmark of Reykjavik. With 74.5 m (244ft) it is the second highest building of the country and known for its unique triangle shape, that gets colorfully illuminated at night.
The inside of the church is quite impressive as well. There is an elevator (buy tickets in the gift shop) that takes you up the bell tower. To get to the very top, you will have to take a few stairs after using the elevator. The bell rings every 15 minutes and can be very loud if you stand right next to it.
Unfortunately, there is only a small balcony on one side of the tower that allows for a very nice open view over the city in one direction. For the other directions, yon need to look / photograph through some narrow windows in the tower.
Second stop in Zone 2 of Iceland round trip
Rainbow strip / street in Reykjavik
Location: HERE
Islandic name: Rainbow street in Reykjavik
Rainbow Street (Regnbogavegur) is a colorful street located in the Reykjavik neighborhood of Öskjuhlíð. The street is known for its brightly painted houses in different colors, creating a rainbow-like appearance. It is a popular tourist destination and a symbol of the city's creative and colorful spirit. The houses on Rainbow Street were originally painted in different colors as part of an urban renewal project aimed at revitalizing the neighborhood and adding a playful touch to the cityscape. The street is located near several other popular tourist attractions, including Perlan and the Reykjavik Botanic Garden, and is a popular spot for taking photos and exploring the city.
The street officially going by the name Skólavörðustígur is a pedestrian area that is famous for the rainbow stripes painted on the ground. It symbolizes the city’s openness to everyone. It is not a coincident that it leads towards the Hallgrímskirkja church as Icelanders have mastered the art of being religious and open-minded at the same time and they want to show the world that this does not need to be a contradiction.
Apart from this political message, it is also just very playful and a bit further down the same road, there is a jumping game and race tracks painted on the ground as well.
The street is also the center of shopping and dining in Reykjavik – so you have everything in one place here.
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur Hot Dog Stand
Famous Hot Dog station in Reykjavik - Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur
Location: HERE
Islandic name: Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur
Arrival:
The Hot Dog Stand with the unpronounceable name is famous for selling the best Hot Dogs in the country. It looks quite unspectacular but already exists since 1937 and locals swear that you can’t get a better Hot Dog anywhere! The sausage is made of lamb meat, which is typical for Iceland – just look at the number of sheep roaming the country! And even Bill Clinton already had a Hot Dog here – so surely it must be good, right?
We also ate here and yes, it was good. But as we didn’t eat any other Hot Dogs in Iceland, we can’t really compare the quality to others. Worth a visit anyways and with around 4 EUR / USD definitely a cheap and quick snack – dining and food in general can be quite expensive in Iceland.
Picture linked to bbp.is
Fourth stop in Zone 2 of Iceland round trip
Perlan visitor center
Location: HERE
Islandic name: Perlan
Perlan is a large, glass dome-shaped building situated on a hill overlooking the city and is one of the most distinctive landmarks of Reykjavik. Perlan was built as a visitor center that educates you about Iceland’s nature. We really liked the exhibitions about volcanos, water resources and glaciers. We learned some fascinating facts here – for example that most of Iceland’s glaciers will be gone by the year 2100 and that this will effectively lift the whole country out of the ocean, just because all the ice in the glaciers is currently pressing the land down. You can also learn a lot about geothermal activity and energy production. There are a lot of interactive displays, which are also fun for kids.
