Iceland’s capital city is both unique and charming. It is also both quaint and compact, needing only a few hours to visit Reykjavik’s main sites of interest at a leisurely pace and to get a feel for the city center’s vibe. Although many tourists don’t prioritize visiting the city given all the majestic natural landscapes that Iceland has to offer, it does have its fair share of attractions that are worthy of our time. Below we present our itinerary for our self-guided walking tour of Reykjavik.

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Self-guided walking tour of Reykjavik itinerary

This short walking tour requires a bit more than an hour of walking.

1 – We start at the bottom of Skólavörðustígur (aka the “Rainbow Street” – because of the beautiful rainbow-painted street surface), one of the better shopping streets in Reykjavik. But the intention here is to make our way up to Reykjavik’s centrepiece, Hallgrímskirkja, which is visible during the entirety of the gentle ascent up the street.

2 – The city’s main attraction is no doubt its imposing cathedral, Hallgrímskirkja. It is Iceland’s largest church and can be seen from almost anywhere in the city due to its central hilltop location. It took 41 years to build the church: construction started in 1945 and ended in 1986, but the landmark tower was completed long before the rest of the church was finished.

Not only is it an impressive and beautiful church, but its tower will provide you with fantastic views of the city. However, here you have to use an elevator, and as such accessing the tower is more expensive (1,000 kr, roughly 7 Euros) than in other churches across Europe. For more information about daily opening hours, check out the cathedral’s website.

Once you’ve enjoyed the vast city views, it’s time to make your way to the city’s waterfront to enjoy more stunning vistas.

4 – Reykjavik’s northern waterfront is a great place for a walk for great views across the Bay. It is also here that you will find one of Reykjavik’s most famous landmarks, the Sun Voyager. The Sun Voyager is a sculpture by Jón Gunnar Árnason and is described as a dreamboat or an ode to the Sun. It is as such also a fantastic place to watch the sunset.

5 – At the very western end of the waterfront, by the old harbour, you will find Reykjavik’s impressive concert hall and conference center, Harpa.

6- From here, you’ll make your way south toward Tjörnin lake.
You will find Tjörnin teeming with over forty different bird species. Feeding the birds at Tjörnin is a popular pastime for families, so popular in fact that the pond is often referred to in Icelandic as “stærsta brauðsúpa í heimi” (“The biggest bread soup in the world”). It’s also just a great place to enjoy the view. For a brief moment, you will completely forget that you are in the center of the city.

7 – At this point, we’ll assume you’re a bit hungry, and the best place to satisfy that hunger is at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur’s hot dog stand. An iconic installation in Reykjavik that’s been serving hot dogs since 1937. What’s an Icelandic hot dog you ask? It’s served in a warm, steamed bun topped with raw white onions and crispy fried onions, sweet brown mustard called pylsusinnep, and remoulade (a sauce made with mayo, capers, mustard, and herbs).
It became quite famous internationally after headlines showcased Bill Clinton stopping here for a hot dog in 2004. Two years later in August 2006, the British newspaper The Guardian selected Bæjarins Beztu as the best hot dog stand in Europe.

8 – Now that you were properly fed, make your way toward Laugavegur for easy and relaxed shopping. Laugavegur is one of the oldest streets in Iceland’s capital and is Reykjavik’s main shopping street, renowned for its boutiques with Iceland-designed high-end products, restaurants, and bars.

Anything else?

A – With more time on your hand, definitely check out Café Paris with its beautiful park-side outdoor seating, from which you can enjoy views of both the lovely Dómkirkjan and the impressive Parliament building.

B – Get a little bit lost. Explore some of the nearby streets where there are so many colourful buildings, quirky street art, and small nooks to be discovered.

C – Visit Perlan.
We’ll start by saying that Perlan, a museum that offers impressive views of the city, is somewhat farther out of the city center. It’s about a 25 min (mostly uphill) walk south from Hallgrímskirkja. If you have the time and don’t mind the effort (though you can also reach the Perlan via a bus that departs from Harpa or via the hop-on hop-off City tour bus), it’s a fantastic museum with several exhibits, including a real ice tunnel and a northern light show.

Well, that about wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our suggested self-guided walking tour of Reykjavik and that it will prove useful in helping you plan your trip to Iceland.

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