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[Iceland] Reykjavík City: Parking Guide, Hallgrímskirkja, Rainbow Street, Best Hot Dogs & Harpa

You can view the full day-by-day route and accommodation on Wanderlog here 🙂

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Accommodation: Ocean Front Villa

We stayed here for two nights. The villa is in Vogar, between the airport and central Reykjavík — the largest place we stayed on the whole trip. Getting there by public transport from the airport is doable but inconvenient (infrequent buses, one transfer); by car it’s very easy, and the drive into Reykjavík city center takes under an hour. If you want somewhere quiet with a view, this is a great option — and the photos online actually match reality, which isn’t always a given. One of my favorite stays.

Photo from Booking.com

The house has a real lived-in feel. The owner was helpful with recommendations beforehand. Walk straight out and you’re at the ocean — there’s a beautiful breakwater, and we ran into an adorable cat wandering around 🙂

Reykjavík City

Reykjavík’s city center is small. Walking between the main sights takes about 2–3 hours at a relaxed pace — everything is within walking distance once you’ve parked.

Parking

You can get to the city center from the airport by car, bus, or taxi. Once you’re in the city, buses are also an option. If you’re driving, I’d suggest parking somewhere cheap and then walking the rest.

Download Parka before you go — it uses your phone’s GPS to find nearby lots and shows whether you can pay directly through the app. You can also use a credit card at the physical machine.

Reykjavík city parking is divided into four zones, usually color-coded on maps — but I found the maps confusing. Just check the sign at the lot instead:

The price difference is real, and sometimes you can go from P1 to P2 just by turning a corner. Worth walking a bit further.

If using Parka: check in when you start parking, and check out when you leave — otherwise it keeps charging.

Hallgrímskirkja

Hallgrímskirkja sits at the highest point in the city center — that tall spire is visible the moment you enter Reykjavík. By European standards it’s a fairly young church: construction began in 1945 and was completed in 1986. It belongs to the Lutheran denomination, which you’ll encounter throughout Iceland.

The exterior design draws from Iceland’s basalt lava columns. Out front stands a statue of Leifur Eiríksson — considered the first European to reach North America — gifted by the United States in 1930 for the 1,000th anniversary of Icelandic parliament (dating from the founding of Þingvellir).

Inside, you can take an elevator up to the top for panoramic views — buy a ticket at the small gift shop in the foyer. There are also stairs from the elevator landing to go a bit higher.

The church’s most famous feature is its enormous pipe organ. It occasionally hosts concerts — check the schedule if you’re interested.

Rainbow Street (Skólavörðustígur)

Walking out of the church and continuing downhill takes you to Skólavörðustígur — a pleasant street lined with restaurants and souvenir shops. Most of what you find here you’ll also see elsewhere in Iceland, so if you’re comparing prices, don’t feel obligated to buy here.

The stretch that draws the most visitors is the rainbow: in 2015, the street was painted with the six colors of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag to celebrate Pride. Rainbow flags and symbols pop up all over Iceland — a nice thing to notice.

Icelandic Street Food

For our first proper meal out in Iceland, we picked Icelandic Street Food — popular with tourists and pretty well-known. It was busy when we arrived but we found seats. Free restrooms available inside. The walls are covered in paper currency from around the world — see if you can spot a New Taiwan Dollar 😉

We ordered the lamb soup and the shellfish soup. The lamb had good spice flavor without a strong gamey smell, and the portions were generous. The shellfish soup was very shellfish-y (sorry, that’s the best description I have 😄). You can choose:

The difference is that the regular bowl comes with the bread that would’ve formed the base of the bread bowl. Since the bread bowl is already quite filling, take stock of your appetite.

The main draw: unlimited refills — soup AND toppings. Also free waffles available at the counter. A solid choice if you’re hungry.

Tjörnin Lake

Tjörnin is about a three-minute walk to the right of the restaurant. It was a bit windy when we visited, so we didn’t linger — but it’s a nice stop for animal lovers. Ducks and waterfowl everywhere. Watch out: some of those ducks are aggressive 😄

One bit me right after this photo was taken

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

After the lake, we walked over to Reykjavík’s most famous hot dog stand: Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur. The name translates to “best hot dog in the city.” It’s famous partly because Bill Clinton ate here. The queue is long but moves quickly since there’s basically one menu item.

The hot dogs are made from a lamb, pork, and beef blend. They look unassuming, but the crispy fried onions on top are genuinely the highlight. Not a life-changing culinary experience, but if you have 10 minutes: recommended. You’ll have something to talk about with literally anyone else who’s been to Iceland 😉

Starbucks

We stopped at the Reykjavík Starbucks before heading to Harpa. Prices are slightly higher than in Taiwan but not shocking (the pastries being more expensive than local Icelandic bakeries does make me question things, but anyway). Good for a sit-down break.

Harpa

Harpa is one of Reykjavík’s defining modern landmarks — a concert hall, conference center, and arts venue that opened in 2011. The exterior is beautiful: the geometric glass panels reference basalt crystal formations and the rippling colors of the northern lights. The second-floor view out over the harbor is worth a few minutes, and each pane of glass catches the light differently.

Inside there’s a large gift shop. B1 has restrooms (usually paid, but were free on the day we visited — there may have been a conference). B2 has Volcano Express, if you want an indoor activity.

Sun Voyager

A short walk along the harbor from Harpa brings you to the Sun Voyager — a harbor-side sculpture where many people have photographed the aurora behind it. The setting is open and exposed, so dress warmly.

Icelandic artist Jón Gunnar Árnason began designing it to mark the 200th anniversary of Reykjavík, and it was unveiled in 1990. He described it not as a Viking ship but as “a dream boat” — an ode to the sun and undiscovered horizons.

Wrap-Up

Reykjavík is small but full of character. Street art appears on random corners, and friendly cats turn up when you least expect them. I’d recommend giving it at least half a day to wander properly and soak in the vibe.

Thanks for reading :D

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