GERALD'S SCORECARD
BEST BAR
Kex Hostel Bar
8.7/10
BEST RESTAURANT
Dill Restaurant
9.2/10
BEST MOMENT
Northern Lights Hunt
9.9/10
Reykjavik is the world's most extraordinary small city. Population 130,000. More live music venues per capita than any city on earth. Geothermal pools you can swim in at midnight in winter. And, if you're lucky, the Northern Lights dancing above the harbour while you drink Brennivín at a bar that used to be a biscuit factory.
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
The Northern Lights are not guaranteed — they depend on solar activity, cloud cover, and a degree of luck. But Reykjavik is one of the best places in the world to see them. The city turns off its street lights on clear nights when the aurora is active. Download the Aurora Forecast app before you arrive and check it every evening. If the lights appear, drive 20 minutes out to Þingvellir National Park. The silence, the darkness, and the aurora overhead is one of the great experiences of a lifetime.
THE BARS
Kex Hostel on Skúlagata is the best bar in Reykjavik. A former biscuit factory on the old harbour, converted into a hostel, bar, restaurant, and music venue. The live music programme is the best in Iceland. The Brennivín is served cold, with dried fish on the side. This is how Icelanders drink it. For craft beer, Mikkeller & Friends on Hverfisgata has the best tap selection in the city — including several Icelandic craft beers you won't find anywhere else.
THE FOOD
Dill Restaurant on Hverfisgata holds a Michelin star and serves New Nordic cuisine built around Icelandic ingredients — Arctic char, skyr, crowberries, and the extraordinary range of seafood from Icelandic waters. For something more casual, the Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog stand near the harbour has been serving the same lamb hot dog since 1937. Bill Clinton ate here in 2004. It costs 500 ISK. It's one of the great street food experiences in Europe.
THE BLUE LAGOON
The Blue Lagoon is 45 minutes from Reykjavik and it's worth every tourist that goes there. The geothermal water is 38°C, the silica mud is extraordinary for your skin, and the bar in the middle of the lagoon serves cocktails while you float. Book in advance — it sells out weeks ahead.
"Reykjavik is the only city where you can watch the Northern Lights from a geothermal pool while drinking Brennivín. That's not nothing."
— Gerald