Reykjavik walking route: a real half-day on foot

The route, stop by stop

Start at Harpa concert hall on the harbour at 10am — the glass facade is worth 15 minutes even without a concert. Walk west along Saebraut to the Sun Voyager sculpture (10 minutes). Cut inland up Frakkastigur to Hallgrimskirkja — the tower lift costs 1,400 ISK and gives you the postcard shot over the coloured rooftops. Down Skolavordustigur (the rainbow street) to Laugavegur for coffee at Reykjavik Roasters or Kaffibrennslan around noon.

Continue west on Laugavegur to the pond (Tjornin), loop around it clockwise past the City Hall and the Free Church. The National Museum is a 10-minute detour south if you want an hour indoors. Finish at the Old Harbour for lunch at the Sea Baron (Saegreifinn) — lobster soup for 2,500 ISK, unchanged for years.

If you have the afternoon too

Add the Whales of Iceland exhibition at the harbour (life-size models, good for a rainy hour), the Maritime Museum next door, or walk another 25 minutes west to Grotta lighthouse on the tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula — the best free sunset spot in the city and a decent aurora location on clear nights. Sleep central 101 Reykjavik so you can walk home from dinner.