Best Of North Iceland 2018: Best Museum/Gallery

Best Museum or Gallery

The Herring Era Museum

Snorragata 10, Siglufjörður

“The name doesn’t do it justice,” said one panellist, “but it’s truly a wonderful place to discover the history of the local community.” Síldarminjasafnið is an unexpected gem in the museum scene of the North, with a collection that pays tribute to the boom years of the Herring Era with pictures, texts, and countless artefacts recollecting Siglufjörður’s glorious fishing past.

Runner-Up:

The Húsavík Whale Museum

Hafnarstétt 1, Húsavík

Located in an abandoned slaughterhouse in the middle of Húsavík, this Whale Museum takes matters one step further than its Reykjavík counterpart. “They have an actual blue whale skeleton—no plastic involved,” one panellist stressed. A crucial hub for a town that’s made whale watching a business in itself, the Museum also has courses to teach visitors about the oceans.

Newcomer:

Into The Arctic

Strandgata, Akureyri

The new kid in town, Into The Arctic, rests right at the Akureyri harbour, enjoying a spectacular view over Eyjafjörður. The museum hosts the collection of an Icelandic explorer Vilhjálmur Stefánsson, and a plethora of taxidermied animals, maps, diaries, and maritime paraphernalia that give a unique insight into life in the Arctic.