Reykjavik · MUSEUMS
On a horizontal-rain afternoon a museum is not a fallback, it is the plan. The 15 below cover the National Museum, Perlan's ice cave under the dome and the aurora centres, with entry prices and which tickets skip the queue.
Explore Perlan in Reykjavik, with a real ice cave, volcano show, northern lights planetarium, interactive exhibits, and 360-degree views.
“Exceptional shows and exhibits. Very informative and views from platform were superb. Highly recommend trip for all.”
See Reykjavík by hop-on hop-off bus, then explore Perlan’s ice cave, volcano exhibits, and 360-degree city views.
“The Perlan museum is now one of my favorite museums in the world. What an experience! I strongly recommend it.”
See 23 life-size Icelandic whale species, watch moving documentaries, and use a multilingual audio guide at Reykjavik’s Whales of Iceland museum.
“I wish the museum had more actual artefacts rather than just recreations.”
Explore Icelandic history from Viking settlement to modern life at Reykjavík’s National Museum, with 2,000 artifacts, audio guides, and temporary exhibits.
“Great opportunity to get to know a bit more about Iceland’s history.”
Explore Aurora Reykjavík with aurora films, 360° VR, myths, science, and camera tips before your own Northern Lights hunt.
“Good introduction to Northern Lights but it is a fairly small museum, good location in the centre of town”
Explore Iceland’s volcanoes, earthquakes, magma plume, eruption films, and rooftop views at the interactive Lava Centre near Hvolsvöllur.
“The rooftop observatory was a FANTASTIC wrap-up of the overall exhibit to get a clear understanding of the nature of the volcanic activity on Iceland!”
Explore four ancient man-made caves near Hella, hear Icelandic stories, and learn why this short, chilly tour appeals to history fans.
“Fascinating, informative, beautiful, and enjoyable! Where warm, comfy clothes. You start inside their building, where they sell warm drinks, some snacks, and memorabilia. There are restrooms. Then you walk the property to experience 4 caves. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable & entertaining. The walking part is short, but be prepared to stand for a bit while inside the caves.”
Explore Reykjavik’s Phallological Museum, home to 300 specimens from 120 species, plus penis-themed waffles, cocktails, and local beer.
Sail from Reykjavik to Faxafloi Bay for whales and dolphins, then explore 23 life-size models at the Whales of Iceland museum.
“Our Tour Guide Oskar did a really great job at finding minky whales, explaining everything to us and entertaining us. Highly recommend this tour. Afterwards we went to the whale museum where you can see whales (models) up close and get an impression how large they really are and learn a lot of interesting facts :)”
Step into Iceland’s Viking age at Reykjavik’s Saga Museum, with lifelike figures, multilingual audio, costumes, and hands-on family fun.
“Great origin/making of story of the museum. Fantastic staff especially the guy in the gift shop. Interesting exhibit with 30-minute guided audio tour. Outstanding figures with crazy realistic eyes. Worth it and not too busy in the middle of a beautiful October Monday.”
Explore Iceland’s story from settlement to modern times at Reykjavik’s National Museum with a mobile ticket and free Culture House access.
“Very nice history. I have learned many things about Iceland this trip. Only criticism would be to have a sort of path on the floor and the flow was a bit uncertain”
See how Iceland turns geothermal heat into power and hot water at Hellisheiði, with interactive exhibits, audio guide, Carbfix, and mountain views.
“I learned so much about the uncredible ways that Iceland uses it's unique environment to benefit the community and be at the forefront of natural resource conservation. As a stem science teacher, I absolutely loved all the information I can share with my students. And the interactives were excellent! Thank you!”
Explore Iceland’s volcanoes at Lava Centre with eruption films, earthquake simulations, live maps, black-sand science, and wide views.
Explore Icelandic saga scenes in lifelike wax, hear Viking stories in seven languages, then dress up with period-style clothes and weapons.
“The audio was ok but there was a lot of waiting around for the next step”
Explore Iceland’s first settlers and Egill Skalla-Grímsson through two audio-guided exhibits at The Settlement Center in Borgarnes.
“There are two parts to the tour, with an upstairs and downstairs. There’s a very helpful person at the beginning to give you your headphones and an iPod mini that has the tour in many languages. The upper floor with a history of Iceland was interesting but a little difficult to follow. The tour below with the saga was much more dramatic and entertaining. This is a nice stop if you were visiting the country for the first time.”
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