Reykjavík Downtown and Harbor Walk

The Hallgrimskirkja rises above the city in a jagged silhouette of basalt columns, its concrete tower tapering into a point that mimics the volcanic landscape of Iceland. Architect Gudjon Samuelsson designed the church in nineteen…

The asphalt of Skólavörðustígur displays a permanent, vibrant rainbow painted directly onto the street surface, leading the eye uphill toward the towering Hallgrímskirkja church. Originally created for Reykjavík Pride in twenty nineteen,…

The dark, glass-like surface of Tjörnin sits at the heart of the city, framed by a mix of colorful corrugated iron houses and steep-roofed stone buildings. This pond is the remnants of an estuary, slowly pushed back from the sea by…

The Alþingishúsið is built from hewn Icelandic dolerite, a dark, volcanic rock that gives the structure a somber, heavy appearance against the bright sky. Completed in eighteen eighty-one, it serves as the home of the national parliament.…

The small, red-painted hut near the harbor stands apart from the surrounding glass and steel buildings. This is Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, which translates to the town's best hot dogs. Since nineteen thirty-seven, the stand has served a…

Harpa Concert Hall features a glass facade composed of twelve-sided geometric modules that shift in color with the changing Icelandic light. Designed by Olafur Eliasson and Henning Larsen Architects, the building opened in twenty eleven,…

The Sun Voyager sits on the Reykjavík waterfront as a skeleton of a ship made from polished steel. Jón Gunnar Árnason created the sculpture to capture the spirit of an undiscovered land, a dream of hope and progress. In nineteen…