Reykjavik has a compact, walkable downtown with charming museums and restaurants.

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In the compact, friendly city of Reykjavik, Iceland, locals take an afternoon timeout to soak and socialize in steamy, geothermal pools. After all, this is a country with a bathing culture. 

Beyond nature’s hot tubs, there’s much more to explore indoors and outdoors in this walkable city of 139,000 people. 

For an overview of the country, start at the National Museum of Iceland. Norse Vikings settled on this wild island in the 9th century, calling themselves chieftains of their various provinces.  

Christianity arrived around the year 1000, and chieftains clashed in a civil war in the 1300s. Iceland came under Danish rule in 1380 for the next 500 years.  

Icelanders still seem to chafe under the former rule of both Denmark and Norway, and tout their independence, gained in 1944. 

The overriding theme of Iceland’s history is that its people must adapt to thrive. They use what they have, be it fish skin for windows or a cow’s skull for a milking stool. They respect their natural resources. They have to: Iceland is one of the world’s most active volcanic regions. 

Striking museums and buildings 

Learn about the country’s restless geology at the Perlan, a science museum built atop six hot-water tanks that store geothermal water. A film of an erupting volcano gives an up-close look at a red-orange river of lava.  

In the Perlan’s planetarium, the Northern Lights come alive in an all-surround show. Bundled-up visitors can walk through a real ice cave, too. 

Reykjavik’s Hallgrims Kirkja, the largest church in Iceland, looms and dominates the skyline. Atop its 243-foot tower, visitors get a panorama of the city, ocean and mountains.  

Another striking building is Harpa, a one-of-a-kind concert hall and home to opera, big band and jazz concerts. Designed by Olafur Eliasson, it looks like an organized jumble of kaleidoscopic glass bricks and steel that mirror the city’s light and changing weather. 

No tourist should miss the Icelandic Phallological Museum, probably the only one in the world dedicated to the male organ. After stifling their giggles, visitors can study the anatomy of whales, elk, bulls, giraffes and more, collected over 40 years, interspersed with phallus-related art.  

After browsing the exhibits, one of which showcases Viagra, visitors can buy penis-shaped key chains, toothbrushes and earrings in the gift shop. 

After a day of sightseeing, it’s time for a soak. Iceland’s famous Blue Lagoon tops many travel lists. But the oceanside Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik is a fierce competitor.  

In this lagoon-spa, bathers can move through seven stages, including the warm lagoon, cold plunge, ocean-view sauna, cool drip and spray and steam room. 

When you waddle out, not only do you feel like a soggy wet noodle, but you’re a step closer to being a true Icelander — at least in your mind. 

Day trips beyond the capital 

The island of Iceland has almost 5,000 miles of coastline, rivers, lava fields, glaciers, geysers, volcanoes and mountains to explore. Local companies offer tours for whale and puffin watching, fjord gazing and even geothermal power plant tours.  

Don’t bother trying to read a book or fixate on a smartphone on your motorcoach ride past lava fields, smoking or fiery volcanoes, spurting geysers, icy glaciers, pristine lakes and roaring streams.  

Just 30 miles east of Reykjavik, in the Silfra fissure, is Thingvellir National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only place in the world where people can swim between two continents. At this spot, the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, and water flows in from the Langjokull glacier through porous lava rock.  

Don’t be intimidated by the unpronounceable names of some of Iceland’s glaciers (Solheimajokull and Breidamerkurjokull, for instance). Whizzing in a snowmobile across an icy blue glacier clad in your thermal suit and helmet is the thrill of a lifetime. 

Part of Iceland’s intrigue is its variable weather, with the highest summer temperature around 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the winter temperature that plummets to -5 degrees.  

There are occasional warm days in winter and cool days in summer. Although there’s midnight sun in June, there’s only six hours of daylight per day in January, but the Northern Lights glow in winter. 

Icelandic food 

Fast food alert: There’s no McDonald’s in Iceland. Fresh seafood is the star here. Geothermal-powered greenhouses and glacier water supply fresh fruits and vegetables year-round.  

Icelanders boast that their lamb is the best-tasting in the world because the hormone-free animals graze on wildflowers and herbs all summer. Lamb soup, lamb stew, lamb chops and smoked lamb pop up on many menus. 

But it’s cod that “is our real national hero, what kept us alive,” historian Por Bjarnson told me, adding, “in three Cod Wars with the British, we won all of them.”  

The bloodless Cod Wars of the 1950s through 1976 were a series of confrontations between Iceland’s Coast Guard and the Royal Navy over fishing rights in the North Atlantic. In addition to cod, haddock, ling, wolffish, monkfish and Arctic char are popular here. 

A special delicacy is hakarl, fermented shark. In the days before refrigeration, Icelanders cured and dried shark meat for four to five months.  

After you try it, ask a local to explain a shark’s urinary system (hence the aromatics). The taste gives the diner a jolt. Locals advise following it with Brennivin, their version of schnapps. 

Besides the fresh food and eye-popping views, it’s the people of Iceland who make it worth the trip. In fact, the people are so nice, one local said, “We stop for ducklings.”