iceland-reykjavik-6.pdf

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REYKJAVIK

REYKJAVÍK

Reykjavík

The world’s most northerly capital combines colourful buildings, quirky people, a wild night-

life and a capricious soul to devastating effect. Most visitors fall helplessly in love, returning

home already saving to come back.

The city’s charm lies in its many peculiar contrasts, which, like tectonic plates clashing

against one another, create an earthquake of energy. Reykjavík offers a bewitching combi-

nation of village innocence and big-city zeal. It’s populated by darkly cynical citizens who

are nevertheless filled with unstoppable creativity and enthusiasm. In summer the streets

are washed by 22 hours of daylight; in winter they’re scoured by blizzards and doused in

never-ending night. Reykjavík is a city that treasures its Viking past but wants the future –

the very best of it – NOW!

You’ll find all the cultural trappings of a large 21st-century European city here: cosy cafés,

world-class restaurants, fine museums and galleries, and state-of-the-art geothermal pools.

Reykjavík has also become infamous for its kicking music scene and its excessive Friday-night

runtur,

a wild pub crawl round the small, superstylish clubs and bars.

Add to this a backdrop of snow-topped mountains, an ocean that wets the very toes of

the town, air as cold and clean as frozen diamonds, and incredible volcanic surroundings,

and you’ll agree that there’s no better city in the world.

TOP FIVE

Swig coffee in a quirky

café

(p89), or treat

yourself to some top-quality

Icelandic

seafood

(p88), in Reykjavík

Join the

runtur

(p93), a wild pub crawl

through Reykjavík’s tiny but oh-so-cool

bars and clubs

Enjoy the geothermal pools at

Laugardal-

slaug

(p71),

Nauthólsvík Beach

(p71) and

of course the

Blue Lagoon

(p111)

Hear spooky stories on a

ghost walk

(p80)

round the city’s haunted places

Immerse yourself in Icelandic culture at the

National Museum

(p75), the brand-new

exhibition

Reykjavík 871 +\-2

(p75) or the

family-friendly

Saga Museum

(p75)

POPULATION: 180,000

Blue Lagoon

Reykjavík

Nauthólsvík

Beach

REYKJAVÍK

R E Y K J AV Í K • • H i s t o r y

lonelyplanet.com

HISTORY

Ingólfur Arnarson, a Norwegian fugitive, be-

came the first official Icelander in AD 871.

Myth has it that he tossed his

öndvegissúlur

(high-seat pillars) overboard, settling where

the gods washed them ashore. This was at Rey-

kjavík (Smoky Bay), which he named after

steam rising from geothermal vents. Accord-

ing to 12th-century sources, Ingólfur built his

farm on Aðalstræti, and excavations have un-

earthed a Viking longhouse there – see p75.

Reykjavík remained just a simple collection

of farm buildings for centuries to follow. In

1225 an important Augustinian monastery

was founded on the offshore island of Viðey

(p100), although this was destroyed during

the 16th century Reformation.

In the early 17th century the Danish king

imposed a crippling trade monopoly on

Iceland, leaving the country starving and

destitute. In a bid to bypass the embargo,

local sheriff Skúli Magnússon, the ‘Father

of Reykjavík’, created weaving, tanning and

wool-dyeing factories – the foundations of the

city – in the 1750s.

Reykjavík really boomed during WWII,

when it serviced British and US troops sta-

tioned at Keflavík. Since the 1950s Reykjavík

has become unstoppable, throwing itself pas-

sionately into the 21st century. In a neat bit of

historical irony, the Vikings’ ‘Smoky Bay’ is

now known as the ‘smokeless city’ due to its

complete adoption of geothermal energy.

stræti at a jaunty diagonal, the artists’ street

Skólavörðustígur ends at the spectacular mod-

ernist church Hallgrímskirkja.

Two-laned Lækjargata cuts straight across

Bankastræti/Austurstræti. To its west are the

old town squares Austurvöllur and Ingólfs-

torg. At the northern end is Lækjartorg bus

terminal, the other important city bus stand.

To the northwest lies Reykjavík’s working

harbour. Tjörnin lake is to the south.

Maps

The tourist information centres are on the

ball, and will provide you with a free city plan

with your route marked on it probably while

you’re still pondering where you want to go.

Most plans contain city bus maps, but you

can also pick up the excellent Strætó bus-

route map from Lækjartorg and Hlemmur

bus stations.

The largest selection of road maps and trek-

king maps is in the bookshops listed in the

following section.

INFORMATION

Bookshops

Reykjavík’s two big bookshops have a superb

choice of English-language books, newspapers,

magazines and maps.

Eymundsson

(Map p72;

511 1130; Austurstræti 18;

9am-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-10pm Sat, 1-10pm Sun)

Mál og Menning

(Map p72;

515 2500; shopping@

edda.is; Laugavegur 18;

9am-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-

10pm Sat & Sun)

ORIENTATION

The city is spread out along a small penin-

sula, with Reykjavík Domestic Airport and the

long-distance bus terminal BSÍ in the south-

ern half, and the picturesque city centre and

harbour occupying the northern half. The

international airport is 48km away at Keflavík

(a special airport bus provides connections to

the centre of Reykjavík). The camp site and

hostel are around 2km east of the centre, in

the Laugadalur valley.

The city centre is very compact, and con-

tains most of Reykjavík’s attractions. The

main street is Laugavegur. At its very fur-

thest eastern end is Hlemmur bus terminal,

one of the two main city bus stations. Mov-

ing westwards, this narrow, one-way lane

blossoms with Reykjavík’s flashiest clothes

shops, bars and eateries. It changes its name

to Bankastræti, then Austurstræti as it runs

across the centre. Running uphill off Banka-

Also try:

Bókin ehf

(Map p72;

552 1710; Klapparstígur 25-27;

11am-6pm Mon-Fri, noon-5pm Sat) Great second-hand

bookshop run by exactly the right kind of eccentric!

Bóksala Stúdenta

(Map pp68-9;

570 0777; www

.boksala.is; Hringbraut) University bookshop.

Iða

(Map p72;

511 5001; Lækjargata 2a;

9am-

10pm) Tourist shop and bookshop combined.

Cultural Centres

A-Hús Intercultural Centre

(Alþjóðahús; Map p72;

530 9300; www.ahus.is; Hverfisgata 18) Advice bureau

for immigrants, with occasional events held downstairs in

Café Cultura (see p90).

Alliance Française

(Map pp68-9;

552 3870; www.af

.is; 2nd fl, Tryggvagata 8) Book and video library, and

regular programme of films, lectures etc.

Norræna Húsið

(Nordic House; Map pp68-9;

551

7030; www.nordice.is; Sturlugata 5;

8am-5pm Mon-

Fri, noon-5pm Sat & Sun) Scandinavian cultural centre.

lonelyplanet.com

R E Y K J AV Í K • • I n f o r m a t i o n

REYKJAVÍK

GAY REYKJAVÍK

Reykjavík is a very tolerant place; its bar and club scene is so integrated that segregated gay

bars disappear almost before they’ve opened.

The gay and lesbian organisation

Samtökin ’78

(Map p72;

552 7878; office@samtokin78.is; 4th

fl, Laugavegur 3;

office 1-5pm Mon-Fri)

provides information during office hours and doubles as

an informal gay community centre with a drop-in

café

(

8pm-11pm Mon & Thu year-round, sometimes

also Sat late Jul-Aug)

. Created especially for gay, lesbian and bisexual visitors to Iceland, www.

gayice.is is an English-language website with great information and upcoming events.

The only gay café-bar in Reykjavík is

Café Cozy

(Map p72;

511 1033; Austurstráeti 3; snacks from

Ikr300;

10am-1am Mon-Fri, 8am-5.30am Sat & Sun)

, near Ingólfstorg. The only specifically gay club

in Reykjavík is a men-only leather bar,

MSC Iceland

(Map p72;

562 1280; Bankastræti 11;

from

11pm Sat)

There are several good gay-friendly guesthouses close to the centre – see Tower Guesthouse

(p84) and Room with a View (p84). Reykjavík has a lively Gay Pride celebration – see p81 for

more information.

Discount Cards

The

Reykjavík Tourist Card

(24/48/72hr Ikr1200/1700/

2200)

is available at various outlets including

the tourist offices. The card gives you free

admission to Reykjavík’s swimming pools,

galleries and museums (Árbæjarsafn, ASÍ

Art Museum, Ásmundarsafn, Culture House,

Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir, National Gallery

of Iceland, National Museum, Reykjavík 871

+/-2, Reykjavík Zoo, Sigurjón Ólafsson Mu-

seum, and museums in Hafnarfjörður). It’s

worth it if you make use of the buses and

swimming pools but might not be good value

if you’re just visiting museums and galler-

ies, since many of them are free one day per

week anyway.

Internet Resources

Some good websites for information on Reyk-

javík:

Culture in Iceland

(www.culture.is) Cultural events in

Reykjavík.

Grapevine

(www.grapevine.is) English-language news-

paper’s website, with lively news and reviews.

Reykjavik.com

(www.reykjavik.com) Straight-down-

the-line English-language magazine website containing

current events and reviews.

Visit Reykjavík

(www.visitreykjavik.is) Official tourist-

office website.

Laundry

Most people rely on their hostel, hotel or

guesthouse for laundry.

Úðafoss

(Map p72;

551 2301; Vitastígur 13;

8am-

6pm Mon-Thu, to 6.30pm Fri) This central dry-cleaner also

does laundry (Ikr1375/1925 for 1kg/5kg).

Emergency

For an ambulance, the fire brigade or the police,

dial

112.

Landspítali University Hospital

(Map pp68-9;

543 2000; Fossvogur) It has a 24-hour casualty

department.

Left Luggage

Most hotels have left-luggage facilities, as do

the camp site and youth hostel.

BSÍ bus terminal

(Map pp68-9;

591 1000; Vatns-

m�½rarvegur 10;

7.30am-10pm) Luggage storage

Ikr150/700 per day/week.

Internet Access

The cheapest internet places are Reykjavík’s

libraries (see right). Many hotels and guest-

houses have free internet access; the youth

hostel and several private tourist offices have

rather overpriced services. If you’ve brought

your laptop with you, many cafés have free wi-fi

access where you can tap away for the price

of a coffee.

Ground Zero

(Map p72;

562 7776; per 15/35/60min

Ikr200/300/500; Vallarstræti 4; 11am-1am Mon-Fri, noon-

1am Sat & Sun) Reykjavík’s only dedicated internet café,

full of game-playing teenagers.

Libraries

The following offer books, novels and periodi-

cals in English, French and other languages,

and internet access for Ikr200 per hour.

Aðalbókasafn

(Map p72;

563 1717; www

.borgarbokasafn.is; Tryggvagata 15;

10am-9pm Mon,

to 7pm Tue-Thu, 11am-7pm Fri, 1-5pm Sat & Sun) Excel-

lent main library, in the heart of Reykjavík.

Kringlusafn

(Map pp68-9;

580 6200; www

.borgarbokasafn.is; cnr Borgarleikhús & Listabraut;

REYKJAVÍK

R E Y K J AV Í K

lonelyplanet.com

REYKJAVÍK

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