Words by

The Reykjavík Grapevine

@rvkgrapevine

Photo by

Art Bicnick/The Reykjavík Grapevine

You’ve had your five a day (veggies/beers/panic attacks), now you gotta stay active. Whether it’s to get a dose of culture, hopping on a day tour or splashing around in your municipal pool, you can’t go wrong with our picks for Best Activities.

Best Place to Watch the Sunset

Sun Voyager

Sæbraut

The Sun Voyager (Sólfarið) is one of Reykjavík’s most-visited tourist spots, a metallic sculpture of a longboat located next to Sæbraut, a quick jaunt from the Harpa concert hall. You would be hard-pressed to find a more fitting name for a spot to watch a maximalist explosion of pink and purple hues across our frostbitten sky. There is a major seasonal difference in Icelandic sunsets, with the sun barely setting in the summer and at completely different times of day than you will get in mid-January. But whether you catch the old orb actually laying to rest, we promise that you won’t be disappointed by the show.

Runner-Up:

The Grótta Lighthouse

Seltjarnarnes

Photo by Art Bicnick

The Best Of Reykjavík 2024 panel agreed that the hype about the northern lights had gotten slightly out of hand. While the elegant ribbon of the northern lights can be a sight to behold, the locals will never scoff at the chance of catching a near 360 degree view of the sunset reflected in the gunmetal grey sea around the Grótta lighthouse. It’s easy to think about what these colourful shows must have meant to the first inhabitants of this barren rock of mostly muted colours. So honour our ancestors, get up there and snap a picture of yourself dancing to Doja Cat or something. It’s the least you could do.

Runner-Up:

Þúfa

Grandi

Photo by Art Bicnick

Get in your steps and some art while gazing over the sea at sunset. The Þúfa art installation in the harbour by Grandi is a manmade tussock created by artist Ólöf Nordal. The large grassy dome is surrounded by a spiral walkway leading to the top (and eventually back down again) where visitors will find a shed for drying fish. It’s a pretty beautiful vantage point from which to watch the sunset, plus it’s situated at a point where you can turn away from the sun and look back at Harpa and the rest of the Reykjavík to soak up just how beautiful it looks bathed in orange and pink light.