Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
classical artists. He was a fisherman until his crew paid for him to study at the Academy of
Fine Arts in Copenhagen, and his wonderfully evocative landscapes share space alongside
changing installations of mostly Icelandic 20th-century paintings.
Icelandic Phallological Museum
MUSEUM
child Ikr1250/free; 10am-6pm)
Oh, the jokes are endless here, but though this unique museum houses a huge collection of
penises, it's actually very well done. From pickled pickles to petrified wood, there are 283
different members on display, representing all Icelandic mammals and beyond. Featured
items include contributions from sperm whales and a polar bear, miniscule mouse bits, sil-
ver castings of each member of the Icelandic handball team and a single human sample -
from deceased mountaineer Páll Arason.
The acquisition of Arason's 'specimen' was the subject of odd-ball documentary,
The
Final Member
(2012). Five other donors-in-waiting have already promised to bequeath
their manhood (signed contracts are mounted on the wall). Quirky sidenote: all displays
are translated into Esperanto. No credit cards.
National Gallery of Iceland
MUSEUM
10am-5pm Tue-Sun Jun-Aug, 11am-5pm Sep-May)
This pretty stack of marble atriums and spacious galleries overlooking Tjörnin offers ever-
changing exhibits drawn from the 10,000-piece collection. The museum can only exhibit a
small sample at any time; shows range from 19th- and 20th-century paintings by Iceland's
favourite sons and daughters (including Jóhannes Kjarval and Nína Sæmundsson) to
sculptures by Sigurjón Ólafsson and others. The museum ticket also covers entry to the
Ásgrímur Jónsson Collection
ART MUSEUM
