Reykjavik Art Museum
Iceland's largest art institution spread across three separate buildings, each in a different corner of the city.
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Founded in 1973, the museum runs over 20 exhibitions a year across three venues: Hafnarhús (a former harbour warehouse renovated in 2000), Kjarvalsstaðir by Klambratún park, and Ásmundarsafn in Laugardalur. It holds dedicated collections of Erró, Kjarval, and Ásmundur Sveinsson, plus the city's broader art holdings.
What to look for
- The permanent Erró collection, always on show at Hafnarhús
- Original harbour warehouse architecture deliberately preserved through the 2000 renovation
- The Hafnarhús courtyard, used for everything from rock concerts to poetry readings
Hafnarhús by the old harbour is the most recent of the three venues and a logical first stop.
Reykjavik Art Museum is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Reykjavik, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Reykjavik pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Reykjavik
- HallgrímskirkjaA 74-metre church modeled on Iceland's volcanic basalt columns — 41 years in the making, visible from nearly anywhere in the city.
- Icelandic Phallological MuseumOne exhibit needs a magnifying glass; another once measured 170 cm. Both are real.
- LaugardalsvöllurThe city that dreamed of a sporting venue in 1871 — when Reykjavík held just 2,000 people — finally opened a football stadium here in 1959.
- National Museum of IcelandA carved wooden door where a knight slays a dragon and gains a lion as his companion — and that is the headline object.
- Bessastaðir — Presidential ResidenceSnorri Sturluson farmed here in the 1200s. Turkish slave raiders attacked in 1627. Today the president of Iceland calls it home.
- Imagine Peace TowerA column of light rises 4,000 metres into the Arctic sky from a wishing well on a small island — Yoko Ono's memorial to John Lennon, running on geothermal power.