# Reykjavík: map, what to do and when to go

In Reykjavík, hot water comes from underground and heats the houses, and the neighborhood pool is where residents meet. The world's northernmost national capital, it has 140,000 people on a lava field, and the rest of Iceland starts twenty minutes away by car.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Reykjavík: Can you use Uber?** No: Uber-type apps don't operate in the country, and Hreyfill or BSR taxis are called by phone.
- **Reykjavík: How do you get from Keflavík Airport to downtown?** The Flybus and Airport Direct buses leave timed to each flight and cost around 4,000 to 4,500 kr per leg to the BSÍ terminal, with a transfer to your hotel for about 1,000 kr more; Strætó route 55 is cheaper and much less frequent.
- **Reykjavík: How long does the Golden Circle loop take?** The full loop takes 6 to 8 hours and covers 230 to 300 km.

## Downtown on foot
Start at Austurvöllur, between the 1881 parliament and the 1796 cathedral, and continue to city hall, built over Lake Tjörnin.
- Hallgrímskirkja
- Harpa
- Sólfar (Sun Voyager)
- Landnámssýningin, at Aðalstræti 16

## Museums, harbor and market
If it's Saturday or Sunday, open the day at Kolaportið, from 11am to 5pm, and try a cube of hákarl and flakes of harðfiskur at the food counter.
- Þjóðminjasafn Íslands
- Perlan
- Hafnarhús, part of the Reykjavík Art Museum
- Kolaportið

## Hallgrímskirkja
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-hallgrimskirkja
Reykjavíkurborg · Up to half an hour
Lutheran church atop Skólavörðuholt, designed by Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937 in the shape of basalt columns and built between 1945 and 1986. The tower is 74.5 m tall and has an elevator to the lookout; out front, the statue of Leifur Eiríksson was a gift from the United States in 1930, for the Alþingi's thousandth anniversary.
Check access

## Harpa
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-harpa
Reykjavík
Concert hall and convention center on the harbor front, opened in May 2011 after construction had stalled with the 2008 crash. The honeycomb glass facade is by Olafur Eliasson; entering and climbing the stairs is free, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra plays there.
Check access

## Sólfar (Sun Voyager)
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-solfar
Reykjavíkurborg · Up to half an hour
Steel sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason installed in 1990 on Sæbraut avenue, facing Esja. It's not a Viking ship: the artist described it as a dream boat and an ode to light.
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## Þjóðminjasafn Íslands
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-jo-minjasafn-islands
Reykjavík
The National Museum, next to the university, tells the country's history through about 2,000 objects, from settlement to the present. The centerpiece is the carved door from Valþjófsstaður, from the 13th century.
Check access

## Landnámssýningin, at Aðalstræti 16
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-landnamssyningin-em-a-alstraeti
Reykjavík · Up to half an hour
Settlement exhibit built around the ruins of a 10th-century longhouse, excavated on the spot in 2001, and a stretch of turf wall predating the 871 volcanic ash layer. It's the oldest thing visible within the city.
Check access

## Perlan
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-perlan
Reykjavík
Glass dome over six hot water tanks on Öskjuhlíð hill, with a 360° observation deck, an artificial ice cave about 100 m long and a planetarium dedicated to the northern lights, all on one ticket.
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## The geothermal pools
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-as-piscinas-geotermicas
The city's social institution: Sundhöllin (1937, by Guðjón Samúelsson), Vesturbæjarlaug and Laugardalslaug, with water around 29 °C and hot outdoor tubs from 38 to 42 °C. Admission costs 1,500 kr at all three.
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## Hafnarhús, part of the Reykjavík Art Museum
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-hafnarhus-do-museu-de-arte-de
Reykjavík · Up to half an hour
Harbor warehouse converted into a museum, holding the collection the painter Erró donated to the city in 1989. The other two venues are Kjarvalsstaðir, dedicated to Jóhannes Kjarval, and Ásmundarsafn, sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson's dome-shaped house.
Check access

## Höfði
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-hof-i
Laugardalur · Up to half an hour
A white 1909 house on Borgartún avenue, where the Reagan–Gorbachev summit took place. It isn't open to visitors and can only be seen from outside, from the surrounding lawn.
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## Kolaportið
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/islandia/#g-lugar-kolaporti
Miðborg · Up to half an hour
Weekend flea market in a warehouse by the harbor, open Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 5pm. It sells new and used wool sweaters, books, records, dried fish, and fermented shark at the food counter.
Check access

**Reykjavík: Can you use Uber?**
No: Uber-type apps don't operate in the country, and Hreyfill or BSR taxis are called by phone.

**Reykjavík: How do you get from Keflavík Airport to downtown?**
The Flybus and Airport Direct buses leave timed to each flight and cost around 4,000 to 4,500 kr per leg to the BSÍ terminal, with a transfer to your hotel for about 1,000 kr more; Strætó route 55 is cheaper and much less frequent.

**Reykjavík: How long does the Golden Circle loop take?**
The full loop takes 6 to 8 hours and covers 230 to 300 km. Þingvellir is 45 km away (about 50 min), Geysir 115 km, and Gullfoss 125 km.

**Reykjavík: What's the currency, and is the euro accepted?**
The currency is the Icelandic króna (kr, ISK), around 140 to 150 kr to the euro and 125 to 140 kr to the dollar in 2026, and the euro doesn't circulate.

**Reykjavík: What's summer like?**
Summer runs from June to August: highs of 11 to 15 °C, lows near 8 °C, and near-constant light; at the June 21 solstice the sun disappears for a little over three hours and the sky never really darkens, which disrupts the sleep of anyone not used to it.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 2 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/islandia/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/islandia/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/islandia.md