7 Reykjavik Museums You Shouldn’t Miss

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Iceland is a very beautiful country. Stunning, in fact. The landscape is so unbelievably surreal it has to be seen to be believed. But the weather is unpredictable. So having a museum day is not a bad back up plan. Fortunately there are many Reykjavik museums you can happily spend a day (or two) exploring. Learn more about this magical island or visit a couple that show a bit of its quirky side too.

The cost of Reykjavik museums

I’m not going to lie to you, Iceland is not cheap. You may have heard that already once or twice. And it’s not just food that can blow the budget quick. Most of the Reykjavik museums you might want to visit will also cost a pretty penny. Or Krona, I guess, since we’re in Iceland. They are not like the free museums of London, England.

There may be the odd museum that is a little cheaper, but on average you’ll be looking at about 2500 ISK per museum visit. That’s around $20 USD. Which means that if you don’t want to break the bank you should probably research a bit before you go. That way you can prioritize the museums you’re most interested in.

Getting to the Reykjavik museums

Reykjavik is a very walkable city. It actually feels much more like a small town than a European capital. Which at least saves on transportation costs, as well as time to get around.

If you’re staying anywhere around the city center – which I fully recommend to really get the most out of your visit – the Reykjavik museums are mostly very accessible. A couple of them you might be better off taking one of the efficient and easy-to-use city buses.

Top Reykjavik museums to visit

Rain or shine, summer or winter, here are some of the top museums in Reykjavik you should make time for on your next visit.

The Settlement Exhibition

You want to see where Reykjavik all began? This is the museum for you. Start the journey underground along one of Reykjavik’s main streets. Here you’ll go back to the 9th Century when the first settlers came ashore. The Norse Vikings.

Part of The Settlement Exhibition is a 10th-Century hall, discovered in 2001. The museum has been built around it – much like the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, England. There’s even a viewing spot looking down from the street above.

After learning all about how the first settlers used the land to survive, the museum continues to progress through the centuries until present day. See genuine artifacts, read stories of Reykjavik’s development and how the city prospered after WWII.

This is a great place to get acquainted with life in Iceland, and what it means to be Icelandic. You can probably spend a good couple of hours here.

National Museum of Iceland

A similar idea to The Settlement Exhibition – without the Viking building remains, but including a lot more artifacts. The National Museum of Iceland is another good way to learn more about Iceland, to trace its history from Norse Viking settlement to modern day tourist hotspot.

Whereas The Settlement Exhibition focuses more on Reykjavik, the National Museum covers Iceland as a whole country. The museum is an interesting insight into the struggle for power of this now independent country, and the religious aspects of that struggle.

The museum is closed on Mondays, and you can enjoy a smartphone-enabled audio tour if you want to learn more. Pro Tip: I would recommend you choose between the National Museum of Iceland and The Settlement Exhibition rather than doing both as there is some crossover of information.

Saga Museum

The Saga Museum tells some Iceland’s most famous stories with the help of life-size scenes using mannequins. While the museum starts with similar backgrounds as the previous two museums about Iceland’s creation and settlement, it also includes some other legends and “sagas”.

The museum is a lot more interactive than most as the stories are told through an audio guide, available in a number of languages. You can learn about those who paved the way for new industries in Iceland, as well as stories of the occult. Find out how the Black Death made its way to Iceland and tales of religion on the island.

I’m not sure some of the figures are as lifelike as the museum claims them to be, but the stories are captivating and it’s a more interactive experience for kids. the gruesome tales make it more interesting than some museums. I mean, who doesn’t love a gory story with their museum visit?

National Gallery Of Iceland

I don’t know about you but if pressed, I don’t think I could name one Icelandic artist. Yet with a muse as unparalleled as this stunning country, there have to be some good ones. And it’s at the National Gallery of Iceland where you’ll find some of their best work.

The National Gallery is actually 3 separate museum locations – all for the one ticket price. Between them, scenic landscape paintings, visual arts and modern exhibitions fill the National Gallery.

The ever changing exhibits keep the museum fresh, and highlight work by International artists too. The striking white building of the art gallery opposite the banks of the lake downtown is also just a fantastic looking piece of architecture.

Árbær Open Air Museum

Taking the history of Reykjavik one step further is the Árbær Open Air Museum. Not content with the added three dimensional depictions of the Saga Museum, the Open Air Museum is like a real life village. Step back in time and see what it was really like in a developing Reykjavik.

Similar to the Beamish Living Museum in England historically dressed actors guide you around the once-working farm. Take a peek in the traditional houses and other buildings; spend time with the farm animals; and experience rural life in the 19th and early 20th Century Iceland.

Not only is this a fun day out, but it’s one of the cheaper Reykjavik museums there are in the city (or just outside in this case). And given the size of the museum you can probably spend a lot longer here than some of the others.

The Icelandic Punk Museum

In any other city a punk museum housed in a former public bathroom underground on a main street of the city might be the most unique museum you’d find. Not in Reykjavik, but we’re getting to that.

The Icelandic Punk Museum is very central in the city so really easy to get to. But it could almost be missed if it weren’t for the few signs adhered to the metal bars around the outside of this otherwise hidden museum. That and, of course, the distant hum of punk music rising from below.

The museum is small, as one might expect from a public toilet. But it tells the story of punk music in Iceland and is a pretty one-of-a-kind museum. Interesting fact: the museum was opened by front man from the British punk band Sex Pistols, Johnny Rotten.

The Icelandic Phallological Museum

If you thought the Icelandic Punk Museum was niche, you are going to be blown away by the Icelandic Phallological Museum. The museum is dedicated to penises. I honestly didn’t really believe this could be real until I started reading up on it. But sure enough, the museum exists. And what a place it is.

Fun fact: The cafe there sells alcoholic drinks and you can take them into the museum with you. Sip a phallus-inspired beer as you peruse the offerings of the weirdest museum in Iceland.

The museum has the world’s largest collection of penises – over 200 in total. Amusing and informative boards guide you around the museum and the specimens you will see. My favorite part of the info boards? The section marked “Oddities”. By the end of the museum you’ll be best friends with the rest of the people you meet along the way as you giggle your way through this fun museum.

Set some time aside for these Reykjavik museums

Don’t sell your Iceland vacation short, make sure you spend plenty of time in this magical country. Get outdoors and enjoy what Iceland is best known for – it’s incredibly unique landscape and gorgeous scenery. But don’t forget to indulge in Iceland’s past. Learn a little about what made it the forward-thinking and thriving nation it has become. The capital city of Reykjavik is a great place to start.

Whether you go for the more traditional or the more quirky of these Reykjavik museums, you’re bound to enjoy yourself. The museums are well thought out and capture the best of what makes Iceland such a remarkable place to visit.

But let’s be real, if you only have time for one of these museums, you know it’s going to have to be the penis museum. Where else are you ever going to say you’ve visited one of those? Happy museum visiting!

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