Touring Around Reykjavik

We decided to get the Reykjavik City Card for 48 hours. You have the option of 24 hours for ISK 3800, 48 hours for ISK 5400 and 72 hours for ISK 6500. The card gets you free admission to quite a few museums, free admission to the swimming pools in Reykjavik and free transportation on the buses. You also get a free ferry ride to Vioey, free admission to the zoo and discounts at certain restaurants.

We bought our card at the Official Tourist Information Centre in the Raohus (City Hall) on Lake Tjornin. The waterfall out front was frozen as was the pond.

Interesting sculpture just outside the Raohus.

40 different species of ducks, swans and geese call Lake Tjornin home. 

Near the Raohus is the Settlement Exhibition.

The exhibition is one large room with relics from the oldest habitation in Reykjavik, dating back to 870 AD. Portions of the longhouse were unearthed and preserved. There's not much and it takes just 1 hour to tour the museum and that's at a very slow pace. If you don't have the City Card, it's not worth the ISK 1600 admission.

Nearby is the Reykjavik Museum of Photography. Admission is ISK 1000--also covered by the City Card. This is a couple rooms of photographs and takes all of 10 minutes to see. Definitely not worth $10. The most interesting thing about the museum is that it is on the top floor of the City Library and the stairwell made for an interesting picture. The photos of Icelandic children that lined the stairwell was more interesting than the photos in the main exhibit.

Moving on to the Hafnarhus Art Museum, just a minute from the Museum of Photography. The ISK 1600 is also covered by the City Card. The admission price covers 2 other art museums but they're further out of town. The Harnarhus is the modern art museum and is set over 2 floors. It takes 20 minutes to see the entire museum. The most interesting room contained the comic book paintings of Erro, Europe's most notable pop artist.

It was another short walk to the Park Arnarholl. At the top of the small hill is a statue of Ingolf Arnarson, the first settler of Iceland.

From the park, it was clear that Reykjavik is in the middle of a huge building boom.

On the waterfront is the Harpa, Reykjavik's concert hall and cultural center.

Statue in front of Harpa.

A short distance along the waterfront is the Sun Voyager Statue. It's a beautiful view with the snow-capped mountains in the background.

We were able to see all these sites before lunch and we started at 9 am.

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