Reykjavik
The world’s most northerly capital combines colourful buildings, quirky people, a wild nightlife and a capricious soul to devastating effect.
Reykjavík offers a bewitching combination of village innocence and big-city zeal. 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.
Reykjavík has such an enormous creative pulse. It’s so amazing what’s happening high up here in the north in terms of cultural life. Art, design, fashion, music, you name it. If you want to know what the fashion in mainland Europe will be in a few years, take a look at Reykjavík!
Also unique to Reykjavík is the proximity of nature. Where else can you stay in a major city, enjoy all the good things like really good food, good hotels, interesting museums, lively nightlife and be able to drive about 15 minutes and take a walk surrounded by nothing else than silence, lava, moss and a few birds? Or you drive 20 to 30 minutes and go for a mountain-hike, take a walk in a lava-cave, or go skiing or ride a snowmobile in the wintertime? You also can go out for a whole day and do the Golden Circle tour (Geysir hot spring area, Thingvellir National Park and Gullfoss waterfall)
Reykjavík and Icelandic nature can also be very beautiful in other seasons than summer. A lot of outstanding cultural festivals are taking place in the city all year round. Of course, the summer season is special with nature in many shades of green and its long, never ending days. But there is more. From late September, when the nights get longer and it’s getting a bit colder, you have a good chance to see some Northern lights. It is breathtaking, spectacular, like a symphony in light performed in nothing less than the wide open sky. And there are wonderful days in the winter. When everything is covered with snow and ice, the sun shines and the sky and the sea show this wonderful clear ice-blue or greenish colour and you breath in the clean, fresh ocean air, that can be very beautiful. And of course spring, when the light comes back and nature awakens, is a beautiful season.
