About the Free walking tour
Early yesterday morning we dropped off our campervan at CampEasy and our bags at our Reykjavik hotel. What to do to get a first taste of a new city? We like to go on walking tours! The good news is City Walks Iceland puts on free walking tours of the city centre every day so we booked the free Reykjavik walking tour for 1:30PM.
The tour was great! Sara, our guide, is a local and a historian – she studied with Iceland’s president, so pretty good credentials. She was entertaining and told some really fun and interesting stories about the city and country.
about Reykjavik
It’s a very charming little city, and reminds me of a smaller Halifax. The buildings are low and colorful, and there are cool sculptures and street art all over the place. There’s also a lot of construction, as the city grows.
This city is one of the most visited: one of the fun facts from the tour is that the number of tourists to the country has exploded; 3 years ago they had less than half a million and this year they have 1.7 million. It’s noticeable. Could also be that we hit the city on a weekend only, who knows?
There are tons of bars and restaurants here, and everything is very expensive, but we knew that coming in. We think about how expensive things are now (i.e. $12-$15 for a beer; $30 for fish and chips; $5 for a coffee) and Sara told us 10 years ago it was all double the price. Maybe explains why more tourists are here now?
Reykjavik has a long and quirky history: Sara told us stories about Icelandic protests with pots and pans (no violence), how the crime rate is super low and people’s wallets are often recovered at the police station’s lost and found with nothing missing, and about how Icelanders believe in elves. It was a really fun and informative tour and we never would have learned half the stuff walking on our own. When you come to Iceland, definitely do the Reykjavik free walking tour! Here are other ideas for affordable things to do in Reykjavik when you visit.
Other things to do in reykjavik
Reykjavik is on water and you can go on a whale watching tour. Also, walk around and explore the street art and try the food!
Did I miss anything? Let me know what you enjoyed in Iceland’s main city in the comments.
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Walking tours are always a favorite way to see a city and learn the history.
Thank you for sharing this! I just booked a flight a Iceland yesterday.
Glad you found it helpful, Jade! Iceland is great but the steep costs make it so important to plan ahead. Have fun!
I love Reykjavik! It’s so colourful and vibrant! I hope I can visit again one day!
Such a great idea to start exploring the city with a free walking tour. It must be amazing to learn from the local about the original sculptures. Street art in Reykjavik really looks impressive!
I love that Reyjavik offers free walking tours! What a fabulous way to explore the city from a local’s perspective!