Akureyri: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Akureyri is the capital of the north, a town of about 20,000 at the head of the longest fjord in Iceland, and it feels more like a small city than a village. Everything worth seeing in the centre lies within a 2 km walk, from the concert house on the water up to the church and the botanical garden. Allow a relaxed morning or afternoon. It is often warmer and sunnier here than in Reykjavík, but bring a layer for the wind off the fjord.
A short history of Akureyri
Akureyri lies at the inner end of the Eyjafjörður fjord and is the largest town in Iceland outside the Reykjavík area, with about 20,000 inhabitants. Danish merchants were already active here in 1602, during the period of the Danish trade monopoly, but there were mainly warehouses, and the merchants went home for the winter. In 1786 Akureyri received the status of a trading town, yet fewer than 20 people lived there at the time. In the 19th century it grew thanks to herring fishing and the farmers' cooperatives. The botanical garden, one of the northernmost in the world, opened in 1912, and the twin-towered church above the centre was built in 1940.
The ten best sights in Akureyri
1AkureyrarkirkjaClimb the long stairway from the centre; inside, look for the window that came from Coventry
2NonnahúsThe childhood home of a children's author read across Europe; small, so half an hour is enough
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3Listasafnið á Akureyri
Free on some days and always worth a look; the café opens onto the art street, Listagil
4LaufásOne of the best-kept turf farms in Iceland, 30 minutes up the east shore; open in summer only
5IðnaðarsafniðOld machines from the factories that made the town; a surprise hit with anyone who likes how things work
6Húsavík Whale MuseumGo before the whale-watching boat, not after; the skeletons hanging inside explain what you will see
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7Lystigarður Akureyrar
Free and open all summer; a quiet hour among flowers you would not expect this close to the Arctic Circle
8GoðafossWalk both banks: the east side has the classic view, the west side gets you right to the edge
9DimmuborgirStay on the marked paths; the short loop takes half an hour, the long one to the Church about an hour and a half
10HverirKeep to the roped paths: the ground can be thin crust over boiling mud; the smell of sulphur is strong
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Akureyri →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Akureyri:
Free walking tours in Akureyri
Akureyri on foot
Akureyri is the capital of the north, a town of about 20,000 at the head of the longest fjord in Iceland, and it feels more like a small city than a village. Everything worth seeing in the centre lies within a 2 km walk, from the concert house on the water up to the church and the botanical garden. Allow a relaxed morning or afternoon. It is often warmer and sunnier here than in Reykjavík, but bring a layer for the wind off the fjord.
- Hof · The cultural house opened in 2010 as the home of the North Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and its round shape was designed to echo the curve of the fjord. The bus station sits right beside it, so it is also where most visitors arrive.
- Hafnarstræti · After the financial crash of 2008, the town changed the red lights of its traffic signals into hearts, to remind people to keep smiling through hard times. They are still there, and the pedestrian stretch of Hafnarstræti is the best place to spot them.
- Listasafnið á Akureyri · The art museum sits at the bottom of Kaupvangsstræti, the steep street the town calls Listagil, 'art canyon', where old industrial buildings were turned into galleries and studios from the 1990s.
- Akureyrarkirkja · The church was finished in 1940 to a design by Guðjón Samúelsson, the architect of Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík. The central window in the choir came from the old Coventry Cathedral in England, which was bombed that same year; it had been removed for safety before the raid.
- Lystigarður Akureyrar · Women of the town founded the park in 1912, and it later became one of the most northerly botanical gardens in the world, a few dozen kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. Thousands of plant species grow here, many from mountain regions of other continents.
- Nonnahús · Jón Sveinsson, called Nonni, grew up in this little timber house and left Iceland in 1870 at the age of 12, never to live here again. He became a Jesuit priest, and his books about an Icelandic childhood were translated into some 40 languages.
Goðafoss and Mývatn
East of Akureyri, Route 1 runs past the waterfall where Iceland gave up its old gods, and then on to Mývatn, a lake in the middle of an active volcanic zone. Craters, lava castles, a hot-water cave and a field of boiling mud lie within a few kilometres of each other. The drive is about an hour each way, and the stops fill a full day; finish in the nature baths. In summer the midges at Mývatn can be fierce, so a head net is worth buying.
- Goðafoss · Around the year 1000 the lawspeaker Þorgeir Ljósvetningagoði decided at the Althing that Iceland would become Christian. The story says that on his way home he threw the statues of his pagan gods into this waterfall, which is why it is called the 'waterfall of the gods'.
- Skútustaðagígar · These are pseudocraters, not volcanoes: about 2,300 years ago lava flowed over the wet marsh here, the water underneath flashed into steam and blasted up through the molten rock. Mývatn itself means 'midge lake', and the clouds of insects feed the birds and trout that made the lake famous.
- Dimmuborgir · The name means 'dark castles'. The towers formed when a lake of lava crusted over around wet ground and then drained away, leaving its hardened pillars standing. Icelandic folklore says the 13 Yule Lads, the trolls of Christmas, live here.
- Grjótagjá · People bathed in this hot spring inside a fissure for generations, until the Krafla eruptions of 1975 to 1984 heated the water far too hot. The cave later appeared in Game of Thrones as the hidden pool of Jon Snow and Ygritte.
- Hverir · This area lies on the rift where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart, by about 2 cm a year. The heat that close to the surface boils the groundwater into steam vents and mud pots, and the yellow crust is sulphur.
- Mývatn Nature Baths · The milky blue water comes from boreholes in the geothermal field next door and reaches the lagoon at about 36 to 40 °C. It is rich in minerals and alkaline, which is why it feels soft on the skin and why silver jewellery should stay in the locker.
Eyjafjörður, the side nobody photographs
Most visitors use Akureyri as a base for Mývatn and never look at the fjord around the town. Its shores have a Christmas house, a museum of the town's factories, a turf farm, a brewery and an island without cars. The route splits into two half-days, one up each shore, with the forest lagoon in between. It is sheltered country by Icelandic standards, but the island and the ferry pier can be windy.
- Jólagarðurinn · Iceland does not have one Santa but 13 Yule Lads, troll brothers who come down from the mountains one by one from 12 December, each with his own mischief, like the Spoon Licker and the Door Slammer. The house sells decorations all year and tells their story.
- Iðnaðarsafnið · For much of the 20th century Akureyri was the industrial town of Iceland, where the cooperative's factories spun wool, made shoes and processed the farm produce of the north. The museum keeps the machines and the stories of the people who worked them.
- Forest Lagoon · When engineers drilled the Vaðlaheiði road tunnel under the mountain across the fjord, they hit hot water that flooded the works. That water now feeds this lagoon among the pine trees, which opened in 2022.
- Laufás · Laufás was a church farm and parsonage for centuries, and the gabled turf farmhouse standing today was built in the 1860s. Its rooms are furnished as a well-off rural household of around 1900 would have had them.
- Árskógssandur · The village is home to Kaldi, one of the first microbreweries in Iceland, opened in 2006 by a local couple when beer had been legal in the country for less than 20 years. Beer was banned in Iceland until 1 March 1989.
- Hrísey · Hrísey is the second-largest island off the Icelandic coast after Heimaey, and it has only a few vehicles. Because there are no foxes or mink on the island, ptarmigan and other birds nest here in unusual numbers, often right beside the paths.
Getting to Akureyri and getting around
- Akureyri Airport · Flights to Reykjavík take about 45 minutes, and the airport is a few minutes from the centre
- Hof bus station · Long-distance buses leave from Hof; the town buses of Akureyri are free, so leave the car at the hotel
- Árskógssandur ferry · The small ferry to Hrísey crosses in about 15 minutes; leave the car on the pier, the island is for walking
Cheap eats in Akureyri
Akureyri has the best food choice outside Reykjavík, and the quick eats are proper Icelandic ones: the hot dog with everything, a bowl of soup, and soft-serve ice cream that locals eat even in the snow. Prices are high but no worse than the capital. Everything is in the centre, within a few minutes' walk of the church steps.
- Pylsuvagninn · Hot dog stand in the centre, about 700-1,000 ISK
- Brynja · Soft-serve ice cream, about 600-1,200 ISK
- Berlín · Coffee and brunch on the main street, about 1,500-3,500 ISK
- Kaffi Ilmur · Cake and soup in an old house, about 1,200-2,800 ISK
- Kristjánsbakarí · Bakery for snúðar cinnamon buns, about 500-1,200 ISK
- Bautinn · Classic family restaurant with a soup and salad bar, about 2,500-5,000 ISK
- Greifinn · Pizza and burgers, popular with families, about 3,000-4,500 ISK
- Leirunesti · Grill at the fjord bridge, burgers and fries, about 1,500-3,000 ISK
Museums in Akureyri
- Nonnahús · Childhood home of the author Nonni
- Iðnaðarsafnið · Machines and stories from the factory town
- Listasafnið á Akureyri · Icelandic and visiting art at the foot of Listagil
- Minjasafnið á Akureyri · The town and the fjord from settlement to today
- Laufás · A turf farm furnished as around 1900, summer only
- Húsavík Whale Museum · Whale skeletons hanging over your head
Nature and day trips near Akureyri
- Goðafoss · The waterfall of the gods, 30 minutes east
- Dimmuborgir · Lava castles and the home of the Yule Lads
- Hverir · Boiling mud and steam vents
- Skútustaðagígar · Pseudocraters on the shore of Mývatn
- Lystigarður Akureyrar · A botanical garden near the Arctic Circle
- Krossanesborgir · Bird reserve of rocky hills and ponds at the edge of town
Things to do in Akureyri with kids
- Sundlaug Akureyrar · Big outdoor pool with water slides and hot tubs
- Jólagarðurinn · Christmas all year, with the Yule Lads
- Forest Lagoon · Hot pools in the trees; check the minimum age
- Kjarnaskógur · Forest with big playgrounds and trails, five minutes from town
- Hrísey · A ferry ride and an island with no cars
- Húsavík · Whale watching on a big oak boat
Where to eat in Akureyri
- Rub23 · Fish, sushi and meat with house spice rubs; book ahead
- Strikið · Dinner on an upper floor with a view over the fjord
- Múlaberg · Bistro at Hótel KEA, in the centre
- Bautinn · Lamb, fish and burgers in an old corner house
- Greifinn · Easy family dinner, pizza to steak
Frequently asked questions about Akureyri
What is there to see in Akureyri?
The top sights in Akureyri are Akureyrarkirkja, Nonnahús and Listasafnið á Akureyri. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Akureyri?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Akureyri without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Akureyri?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Akureyri, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Akureyri on foot.
How do you get to Akureyri and get around?
The main ways are Akureyri Airport, Hof bus station and Árskógssandur ferry. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Akureyri, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Akureyri that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Akureyri for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.