Iceland Culture

Reykjavik is a nice city. Everyone i've talked with, was friendly and helpsome. The city itself is growing, so they build a lot. There still some of the nice culture. It's not a big city, but i city worth visit. If you're there, go on a bus trip out to the waterfalls and see the fantastic nature that iceland is made off. Don't forget the "blue lagoon".

Man is this place expensive! But every bit worthy of admission. Go to the hot springs. You will not regret it. The night life is awesome here. Stay at the Salvation Army Hotel if you are not picky. It is dirt cheap compared to the rest of the hotels and it is literally crawling distance from the majority of the pubs/clubs. The others are a bus ride into the action. Oh and the locals love American culture.

Reykjavik is as amazing and remote and charming as Iceland ... but in a different sort of way... while it is the world's northern-most capital and has lots of Iceland reflected in it ... it is a cosmopolitan city where more than half the country's population resides... so its a far cry from the desolate ice and lava covered bleakness - or the incredible natural richness - of much of Iceland... you can still see icebergs and lava fields not too far from Reykjavik, but the city proper is like any other smallish, safe and cosy capital... bustling with restaurants, bars, cute cafes, shops, houses and guesthouses, and the lot... but the central city is quite easily navigable on foot... the area around the main tourist office (there are three in the city itself... there is something of an overload of tourist information and brochures in Iceland, now that it is pushing tourism as one of its three main industries apart from fishing and aluminium) is extremely historic and eminently walkable... I would advise you to stay somewhere around there if possible as everything then becomes very accessible...Laugavegur street is the main commercial street with shops and restaurants galore, and many of the lovely cafes and bars are located here... I particularly recomment Kaffe Rosenberg, just off Laugavegur, for the local gigs and generally cultured feel and the bright yellow painted organic cafe on Laugavegur for your informal cuppa over a read and an informal crowd... Friday and Saturday nights are to be experienced at least once for the wild wild 'runtur', when pretty young things go about bar hopping till the wee hours of the morning and their male counterparts exhibit every bit of the boorish Viking drunkeness that young Icelandic folks are famous for... despite the exhorbitant alcohol prices and smallish population (the whole of Iceland is 300,000 people or so)... the bars are full to the brim till the last call in the morning and you can interact with a lot of the local crowd.... of course Reykjavik has more sedate attractions too, like some wonderful museums and sights (check out the Settlement Museum, the imposing church and its central pond adjoining the city hall), any number of excursions into the country (including the famed Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon tours, or more exotic trips into Grimsey Islands or Greenland) and lots of good places to eat (highly recommend the famed lobster soup at Sea Barrons, the hot dogs at the stand near the coast that is reputed to have the best in Europe, and the many fish restaurants in the city), several events through the year but especially in the summer (was lucky to be there during the Reykjavik Jazz Festival with some lovely international and local performances spread across venues for days), and much more... but Reykjavik is an expensive place even if it relatively cheap to get to (on Iceland Express from much of Europe, for example) with everything, except electricity quite steep (it is a credit card country where everything from a small coffee or beer upwards can be paid with a card - avoid changing money if you can as there are steep commissions involved), but it is not that cold as one would think (especially in comparison to some other European capitals) and it is a thoroughly enjoyable and novel place...

Reykjavik is as amazing and remote and charming as Iceland ... but in a different sort of way... while it is the world's northern-most capital and has lots of Iceland reflected in it ... it is a cosmopolitan city where more than half the country's population resides... so its a far cry from the desolate ice and lava covered bleakness - or the incredible natural richness - of much of Iceland... you can still see icebergs and lava fields not too far from Reykjavik, but the city proper is like any other smallish, safe and cosy capital... bustling with restaurants, bars, cute cafes, shops, houses and guesthouses, and the lot... but the central city is quite easily navigable on foot... the area around the main tourist office (there are three in the city itself... there is something of an overload of tourist information and brochures in Iceland, now that it is pushing tourism as one of its three main industries apart from fishing and aluminium) is extremely historic and eminently walkable... I would advise you to stay somewhere around there if possible as everything then becomes very accessible...Laugavegur street is the main commercial street with shops and restaurants galore, and many of the lovely cafes and bars are located here... I particularly recomment Kaffe Rosenberg, just off Laugavegur, for the local gigs and generally cultured feel and the bright yellow painted organic cafe on Laugavegur for your informal cuppa over a read and an informal crowd... Friday and Saturday nights are to be experienced at least once for the wild wild 'runtur', when pretty young things go about bar hopping till the wee hours of the morning and their male counterparts exhibit every bit of the boorish Viking drunkeness that young Icelandic folks are famous for... despite the exhorbitant alcohol prices and smallish population (the whole of Iceland is 300,000 people or so)... the bars are full to the brim till the last call in the morning and you can interact with a lot of the local crowd.... of course Reykjavik has more sedate attractions too, like some wonderful museums and sights (check out the Settlement Museum, the imposing church and its central pond adjoining the city hall), any number of excursions into the country (including the famed Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon tours, or more exotic trips into Grimsey Islands or Greenland) and lots of good places to eat (highly recommend the famed lobster soup at Sea Barrons, the hot dogs at the stand near the coast that is reputed to have the best in Europe, and the many fish restaurants in the city), several events through the year but especially in the summer (was lucky to be there during the Reykjavik Jazz Festival with some lovely international and local performances spread across venues for days), and much more... but Reykjavik is an expensive place even if it relatively cheap to get to (on Iceland Express from much of Europe, for example) with everything, except electricity quite steep (it is a credit card country where everything from a small coffee or beer upwards can be paid with a card - avoid changing money if you can as there are steep commissions involved), but it is not that cold as one would think (especially in comparison to some other European capitals) and it is a thoroughly enjoyable and novel place...