36 Hours in Reykjavik: Things to Do and See
The New York Times
Iceland conjures up volcanoes and vast empty spaces, and fair enough — but Reykjavik has a personality all its own. If you’ve got just 36 hours, the city rewards you more than you’d expect.
Day 1: Embrace the City’s Soul
Start on Laugavegur, the city’s main shopping street. The colourful boutiques and artisanal shops make for good browsing, and there are cafés every few steps. Stop at a local bakery for a cinnamon roll — a small thing, but a genuinely Icelandic pleasure.
From there, walk up to Hallgrímskirkja. The church takes its shape from Iceland’s basalt lava columns, and it’s hard not to stop and stare. Ride the tower lift for a panoramic view over the city’s rooftops and the mountains beyond — worth every minute of the queue.
The National Museum is a short walk away and well worth a couple of hours. The collection covers Icelandic life from the Viking Age to the present day, and it’s the kind of place where you keep finding one more thing to look at.
For dinner, head to one of the seafood restaurants the city does so well. The fish is genuinely fresh, the preparations tend to be clean and modern, and Iceland’s craft beer scene has grown enough that you’ll have decent options to pair with your meal.
Day 2: Nature at Your Doorstep
On your second morning, get in a car and head for the Golden Circle. First stop: Þingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly pulling apart. The rift valley is dramatic, the trails are excellent, and the history — this is where Iceland’s parliament first gathered — adds another layer to the landscape.
Continue to the Geysir geothermal area. The Strokkur geyser erupts every few minutes — a column of boiling water thrown skyward without much warning. It never really gets old, and photographers tend to linger longer than planned.
End the day at Gullfoss, the “Golden Falls.” The scale of the water crashing through the canyon is something photos don’t quite prepare you for. If the light is right as the sun drops, you’ll catch rainbows over the falls — one of those moments that feels almost too Icelandic to be real.
A Final Toast
Before you leave, find one of Reykjavik’s cosier bars and order a shot of Brennivín, Iceland’s signature schnapps. Talk to whoever’s at the bar. It’s the right way to close out 36 hours in a city that, in a short time, tends to stick with you.
Reykjavik punches well above its size — part creative city, part gateway to some of the most dramatic scenery on earth. Thirty-six hours is never quite enough, but it’s a very good start.
