12 Best Sights in Akureyri, Iceland

There are 112 steps leading up to Akureyri’s main church, which, with its striking facade, is also one of the town’s most iconic buildings. Designed by state architect Guðjón Samúelsson, who also designed Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík, the church has provided a nice center point for the town since it was built in 1940. Interesting features include the windows, which illustrate moments in Iceland’s spiritual history. One window was believed to have been salvaged from Coventry Cathedral, which was destroyed during World War II.

Akureyri's excellent open-air pool is one of the best in the country. It features water slides, lap and wading pools, an indoor pool, hot tubs, and a steam bath.

Situated on the gentle slopes of Mt. Súlur, 3 km (2 miles) south of Akureyri town center, the impressive Kjarnaskógur woodland is one of Iceland’s most enchanting destinations. It is endowed with over a million trees and also features extensive trails and lovely recreational areas. Appealing in every season, the area is a magnet for local athletes as well as families who make great use of the beautifully designed play areas, barbecue facilities, and campground. During the dark winter months, its well-lit trails double as tracks for excellent cross-country skiing.

This well-preserved 1860s turf farmhouse and parsonage (and now museum) was built in a lovely meadow overlooking the sea. One of the larger examples of its kind in Iceland, Laufás presents an enchanting labyrinth of rooms, each with its own dedicated domestic function—including a “bride’s room,” which is unique to this particular dwelling. Coffee and kleinur (Icelandic doughnuts) are available at the visitors center, where you can also buy jam made from rhubarb grown on-site.

Located around 30 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Lystigarður Akureyrar is one of the most northern botanical gardens in the world and a paradise of trees, flowers, and shrubs. Established by local women in 1912, with the botanical area opening in 1957, today the garden is home to 430 native and 6,600 non-native plant species, including some rare arctic and exotic plants. It’s a short walk from the church on Eyrarlandsvegur.

A remarkable collection of “small things” is exhibited at this museum, which is dedicated to Sverri Hermansson, a local carpenter who took it upon himself at the age of seven to start collecting, well, stuff. Beginning with a set of pencils, Sverri ended up accumulating more than 20,000 unique items over 80 years—mostly tools and other instruments associated with his craft as a tradesman.

Located 5 km (3 miles) north of Akureyri, on the western shores of Eyjafjörður fjord, Gásir was the most important trading post in Iceland during the middle ages. Locals joke that it was the Keflavík of its time, but today it’s a heritage site that springs to life every year in the third week of July for a lively reenactment festival where people dress up in medieval Viking costumes, host fun old-fashioned activities, and sell all sorts of handcrafted wares.

Since it opened in 2010, this basalt-covered house of culture, which lights up with pretty colors in the dark, has become a landmark building and an impressive addition to the picture-postcard view of Akureyri. Apart from housing the local tourist information center, Hof is home to an acoustically sophisticated concert hall and has first-rate facilities for hosting conferences and other cultural events. Its casual restaurant, Gárun Bistro Bar, overlooks the harbor.

Kids will love this toy museum, but grown-ups might be even more taken with the fascinating collection of 20th-century dolls, toy cars, and superheroes that bring back childhood memories. Located inside the house of an old bookbinder and merchant named Friðbjörn Steinarsson, it doubles as a shrine to “the Independent Order of Good Templars,” of which he was a member.

This lovely black wooden house is the childhood home of beloved Icelandic children’s author Jón Sveinsson, and it's named after his most famous character and literary creation, Nonni. Built in the 1850s, the house is one of the oldest in Akureyri and is well preserved with all original furnishings, along with Jón’s bedroom and his personal effects. The walls are lined with illustrations from his many books, and there’s also a display of his works in translation.

The Icelandic Folk and Outsider Art Museum is an unconventional exhibition space in Svalbarðsströnd, a 10-minute drive from Akureyri town center. This museum owes its endearing qualities to an emphasis on artists outside the cultural mainstream. Its curators are known to scour the country looking for quality pieces from both known and unknown artists.