Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Víkin Maritime Museum
MUSEUM
adult/child Ikr1200/free; 10am-5pm Jun-mid-Sep, 11am-5pm Tue-Sun mid-Sep-May)
Based appropriately in a former fish-freezing plant, this small museum celebrates the
country's seafaring heritage, focusing on the trawlers that transformed Iceland's economy.
Your ticket also allows you aboard coastguard ship
Óðínn
by guided tour (11am, 1pm,
2pm and 3pm, reduced hours during winter, closed January and February). The boat is a
veteran of the 1970s Cod Wars, when British and Icelandic fishermen came to blows over
fishing rights in the North Atlantic.
The on-site
cafe
(Grandagarður 8;snacks Ikr800-1890)
offers relaxing views of the boat-
filled harbour, and has a great sunny-weather terrace. The museum is planning a facelift by
2016, at which point it may close for renovations.
Saga Museum
MUSEUM
9am-6pm)
The endearingly bloodthirsty Saga Museum is where Icelandic history is brought to life by
eerie silicon models and a multi-language soundtrack with thudding axes and hair-raising
screams. Don't be surprised if you see some of the characters wandering around town, as
moulds were taken from Reykjavík residents (the owner's daughters are the Irish princess
and the little slave gnawing a fish!).
There's also a room for posing in Viking dress, a documentary about the making of the
museum (look for
Icelandic Idol
-winner Kalli Bjarni in the audience) and cafe Kol og
Salt.
Whales of Iceland
MUSEUM
Ikr2800/1550; 10am-7pm May-Sep, to 6pm Oct-Apr)
Ever stroll beneath a blue whale? This brand-new museum houses full-sized models of the
23 whales found off Iceland's coast. The largest museum of this type in Europe, it also dis-
plays models of whale skeletons and has a cafe and gift shop.
