Step into the Viking Age on Laugavegur Mink Viking Portrait at Laugavegur 11 offers a unique photo and cultural experience. Guests step into the Viking Age in a custom-built studio in downtown Reykjavík. Visitors wear handcrafted costumes, carry real weapons and are photographed by experts with film industry experience. The experience has topped TripAdvisor for over a decade and holds …
Old Icelandic Books
Unique access to Icelandic ancient books Old Icelandic Books offers a rare cultural experience where guests explore Icelandic ancient books and manuscripts in an intimate and hands-on way. The visit is based on one of the most remarkable private collections in Iceland, giving guests the chance to hold history literally in their own hands. The collector guides guests through the …
Dalir District
History and nature The Dalir District is a region where history and nature meet in a unique way. Here you can trace the footsteps of early settlers and the stories of the Icelandic Sagas, while also enjoying tranquillity, diverse outdoor activities and a warm local community. Dalir offers an experience that blends cultural heritage with natural beauty – a place …
Upper Árnessýsla Region
The Upper Árnessýsla Region is a place where nature, culture and adventure meet. Here you will find famous highlights and lesser-known gems, diverse activities and unique experiences suitable for all ages. Nature, culture and adventure Welcome to the Upper Árnessýsla Region, where natural beauty blends with captivating culture and unforgettable adventures. The area offers numerous interesting places to visit – …
Vatnsdalur and Þingeyrakirkja
Vatnsdalur (‘Lake Valley’) is located just south of the Ring Road. As well as being well vegitated, the valley is known for its countless hillocks, one of Iceland’s best salmon river and Vatnsdæla Saga, one of the sagas of the Icelanders. Vatnsdæla chronicles the lives of the valley’s original settlers from Norway and their descendants. Get to know the saga …
Herjólfstown Westman Islands
Herjólfstown is a small exhibition inside a replica of one of the first stone houses in Iceland and tells the story about the first viking family that settled in Westman Islands around the year 900. The exhibition is based on the sources, stories and hypotheses that have existed, some scenarios and stories are certainly fictitious, but still possible based on …
Oddi in Rangárvellir
Oddi in Rangárvellir is one of the main historical sites in Iceland, and there has been a church there since in the 11th century. The most famous of the Oddi clan was Sæmundur ‘the wise’ Sigfússon (1056-1133), who studied in Paris. Various legends have been created about Sæmundur. Then he was probably the first Icelandic historian that wrote a book …
Skálinn – Viking Center
In Skálinn – Viking Center, in the village of Þingeyri, you can play settlers and immerse yourself in their daily lives. Dress up in hand-stitched clothing from the Viking Age and bake bread over an open fire. In the reception hall, which has been decorated in Viking style, people have a unique opportunity to get to know the conditions and …
Viking World
The uniquely attractive Viking World houses the Viking ship, Íslendingur, built by the craftsman-captain, Gunnar Marel Eggertsson, who sailed it to New York in the year 2000. There are also three exciting exhibits and during summers, among other things is a ‘Settlement Zoo’ on the surrounding grounds. The Viking ship Íslendingur is an exact replica of the Gaukstad ship, and …
Hofsstaðir Historic Park
An impressive Viking-Age longhouse stood at Hofsstaðir from the Settlement period (AD 870-930) until the twelfth century. The historic park aims to give an impression of Hofsstaðir at that time: turf walls show the outer limit of the longhouse during its final phase, and remains of a large enclosure have been left untouched. Excavations were carried out at Hofsstaðir in …
Rimmugýgur Viking Club
Rimmugýgur is a club for people who are interested in the culture and battle skills of the Vikings. Is is the biggest Viking club in Iceland, established in the year 1997. They practice and prepare during the winter and tour festivals in Iceland and abroad during the summer. The club’s own festival in Hafnarfjörður is usually held in mid-June. In …
The Settlement Exhibition in Aðalstræti
Just below ground in Aðalstræti 16 in downtown Reykjavík, this open excavation uncovers the city’s Viking Age history. Discovered during building work in 2001, these archaeological remains turned out to be the earliest evidence of human settlement in the city, with some dating to before AD 871±2. Careful excavation revealed a 10th-century hall or longhouse, which is now preserved in …
National Museum of Iceland
Discover Iceland’s Cultural Heritage The National Museum of Iceland preserves and communicates 1,200 years of the nation’s history through living exhibitions, artifacts, and narratives that reflect the development of society from the settlement era to the present day. The permanent exhibition „A Nation is Born – Culture and Society over 1,200 Years“ In this popular permanent exhibition, visitors can explore …
Saga Museum
At the height of the Age of the Sturlungs, chieftain Gissur Þorvaldsson raises his axe, ready to kill his arch enemy, Sturla Sighvatsson. With a crazed look in her eyes, explorer Freydís Eiríksdóttir slaps a sword against her naked breast to scare hostile “barbarians” in Vinland away. Law-speaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði lies under his fur blanket, racking his brain for a …
The Commonwealth Farm
The stately farm Stöng used to stand in the fertile Þjórsárdalur valley, until a disastrous eruption from volcano Hekla in 1104 destroyed it. However, the longhouse was preserved under layers of ash. When it was excavated and studied by archaeologists, it provided valuable historical information about life during the Icelandic Commonwealth in 11th–century Iceland. The Commonwealth Farm which is located …
Thingvellir National Park
A Historic Heart of the Icelandic Nation Thingvellir National Park is one of Iceland’s most important historical sites. Here, the story of the nation and the land comes together in a unique way. The Alþingi, Iceland’s national assembly, was founded at Thingvellir in the year 930 and met here for nearly nine centuries. Many key events in Icelandic history took …
The Settlement Center
The Settlement Center in Borgarnes takes visitors on a magical journey through Egil’s saga and the story of Iceland’s settlement; two interesting exhibitions. The Egil´s exhibition is dedicated to Egill Skallagrímsson, poet, warrior, and one of the Icelandic sagas’ most colorful characters in the 10th century. The exhibition takes visitors through the magical and mythical storyline of Egil’s saga. Scenes …
Eiríksstaðir
Warm yourself up by the long fire in the reconstructed longhouse in Eiríksstaðir and listen to a storyteller in Viking clothing tell about the inhabitants. The place can be called the „cradle of new worlds“ because it was here that Eirik The Red built a farm and started a family with his wife Þjóðhildur. Eirik was later the first Norseman to settle …
The Leif Eiriksson Center
The Leif Eiriksson Center in Búðardalur in Dalir is edicated to explorer Leif the Lucky and his father Eric the Red. The exhibiton traces the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erik the Red, documenting their discoveries of parts of Greenland and North America. According to the tale, Leif arrived in America in the year 1000 AD, about …
Museum of Prophecies
What does the future behold? Have your fortune told at the Museum of Prophecies in Skagaströnd in Northwest Iceland and learn about Þórdís the fortune-teller, the place’s first named inhabitant. Þórdís was not only known for her supernatural abilities, but she was also the foster mother of Þorvaldur the far traveller, Iceland’s first missionary, and her name appears in a …
1238: The Battle of Iceland
Visit 1238 – The Battle of Iceland Virtual and Augmented Reality Museum, and participate in the largest battle in Iceland’s history. Step into history and participate in the Battle of Örlygsstaðir immersive exhibition that takes you through some dramatic and violent Icelandic Sagas in a new and exciting way! The VR museum is located in Sauðárkrókur in North Iceland, close …
Snorrastofa in Reykholt
Snorrastofa is an independent research centre established in 1995. The centre is located in Reykholt in western Iceland, the main residence of Iceland’s greatest medieval writer, poet, scholar and statesman, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241). Its main task is to instigate and conduct research on the medieval period in general, and Snorri and his works in particular. It is one of Iceland’s …