Budget · 3-hour walk · Reykjavik
Old Reykjavik in three hours
The church on the hill down the painted street to the concert hall, the sculpture and the old harbour.
The world's northernmost capital has a centre you can cross in twenty minutes, so this walk is short by design and built around two buildings: a church that looks like basalt columns and a concert hall clad in glass honeycomb. Everything is walkable in any weather, which in Reykjavik is the operative consideration.
The route, stop by stop
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Hallgrimskirkja
The tower lift gives the best view in the city. The design copies the basalt columns that form when lava cools.
35 min here Walk here → -
Skolavordustigur
The street down from the church, painted as a rainbow along its length and lined with design shops.
20 min here Walk here → -
Harpa
A concert hall in a glass honeycomb designed with Olafur Eliasson. Free to walk into and the interior is the point.
25 min here Walk here → -
Sun Voyager
A steel ship skeleton on the seafront, facing the mountains across the bay. Best in the low light that lasts most of the day here.
15 min here Walk here → -
Old Harbour
Whale-watching boats, fish restaurants and working trawlers sharing the same quay.
30 min here Walk here →
More in Reykjavik
Every walking route in Reykjavik, or the full Reykjavik guide for where to stay and what a day costs.