12 Best Sights in City Center West, Reykjavík

The shimmering queen of the country's performing arts scene and home of both the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Icelandic Opera, this venue is an amazing modern labyrinth of stunning concert halls, event spaces, and places to dine or purchase designer souvenirs. Many of the city's most popular annual events, such as Airwaves, Sónar, and the Reykjavík Fashion Festival, are now hosted inside these glorious glass-paneled walls. Eldborg, the main hall, is a marvel of visual and acoustic design that wouldn't be out of place in a Star Wars movie.

Established in 1984, there are now more than 100 members creating work in the Icelandic Printmakers Association community. This is their gallery, studio, and event space, which is located inside of the Reykjavik Art Museum and has a bustling calendar of exhibitions, workshops, and studio hours.

Also known as Hafnarhús, this former warehouse of the Port of Reykjavík now houses the city's main art museum. The six galleries occupy two floors, and there's a courtyard and "multipurpose" space. The museum's permanent collection includes a large number of works donated by the contemporary Icelandic artist Erró. There are also regular temporary exhibitions. Admission is free with the Reykjavík City Card.

Built in 1880–81, this is one of the country's oldest stone buildings. Iceland's Alþingi (Parliament) held its first session in AD 930 and therefore can lay claim to being the oldest representative parliament in the world. You can view its modern-day proceedings from the visitor's gallery here. Depending on the urgency of the agenda, any number of Iceland's 63 members of parliament, from five political parties, may be present.

A place of worship has existed on this site since AD 1200. The current small church, built 1788–96, represents the state religion, Lutheranism. It was here that sovereignty and independence were first blessed and endorsed by the church. It's also where Iceland's national anthem, actually a hymn, was first sung in 1874. Since 1845, members and cabinet ministers of every Alþingi (Parliament) have gathered here for a service before the annual session. Among the treasured items inside is a baptismal font carved and donated by the famous 19th-century master sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, who was half Icelandic.

Both Icelandic and international artists display their work at this gallery near the harbor. Exhibitions rotate constantly, and there are often events held at this location featuring local artists.

Now a focal point in Reykjavík's otherwise rambling city center, this square opens onto Austurstræti, a semi-pedestrian shopping street. A brook, now underground, drains Tjörnin Pond into the sea (hence the street's name).

Modern architecture and nature converge at Reykjavík's city hall, a building overlooking Tjörnin Pond. Inside is a visitor information desk and coffee bar with Internet access. A three-dimensional model of Iceland, over 819 square feet in size, is usually on display in the gallery, which often hosts various temporary exhibitions.

The core exhibit here features the remains of a Viking longhouse dating from around 871. Unearthed in 2001 during the construction of the Hotel Centrum, this remarkable find was preserved in situ and now occupies an oval-shaped basement designed specially to frame the excavation site. A large, backlit panoramic image, showing how Reykjavík might have looked during the age of settlement, encircles the longhouse, and an illuminated strip installed in the surrounding walls marks the layer of tephra used to determine the approximate date of the remnants. Sounds and aromas add a multisensory dynamic to the experience, while high-tech media installations provide historical insight into life in Iceland's Saga Age.

At this museum you can explore thousands of photographs from both amateur and professional photographers, dating back as far as 1860. This is a unique opportunity to explore more than a hundred years of Reykjavík—and Iceland—through a variety of perspectives.

This natural pond by the City Hall is popular among ice-skaters in winter and attracts birds (and bird lovers) year-round. Visitors are discouraged from feeding the birds during nesting season, as it attracts seagulls who like to feast on young waterfowl.

The city's Customs House—a bureaucratic necessity, especially for an island nation—is decorated with an impressive mosaic mural. The piece of art depicts scenes from the local harbor and was designed by Gerð Helgadóttir. There isn't a ton to see inside, but the mural is worth a visit in itself.