Free and Cheap Things to do in Reykjavik

When I first wrote this list, the króna had just collapsed and a museum ticket cost less than a coffee. Those days are gone. Almost everything that used to be free in Reykjavik now has a ticket price, and some prices have gone up more than tenfold. You can still have a good day in the city on very little money, though. Most of the best of it is outdoors and costs nothing, and a hot pool is still the cheapest two hours of happiness in Iceland.

Prices below are adult prices as of 2026. Kids under 18 get into most public museums free.

Free

Walk the old harbour and Grandi

Start at Harpa, the glass concert hall on the water, and walk east along the shore to Sun Voyager (Sólfar), the steel Viking-ship-like sculpture. Take the photo; everyone does. Then turn around and head west past the whale-watching boats into the Old Harbour and Grandi district. At the very tip of Grandi is Þúfa, a grass-covered mound by the artist Ólöf Nordal with a winding path to the top and a view back over the harbour to Mount Esja. It's free and it's my favourite quiet spot in the city.

On the way, pick up a hot dog from Bæjarins beztu on Tryggvagata, which has been selling them since 1937. Not free, but close to the cheapest hot meal in town.

Tjörnin and City Hall

Tjörnin (the pond) sits in the middle of the old town. Feed the ducks, watch the swans, and walk around it through Hljómskálagarðurinn park. City Hall (Tjarnargata 11) stands right on the water.

Hallgrímskirkja and the Einar Jónsson sculpture garden

The big white church at the top of Skólavörðustígur is Reykjavik's landmark, and tickets are only sold for the tower, not the church itself. It's open 10:00-17:00 from September and 9:00-20:00 in summer, though access is limited during services and concerts.

Next door, the garden behind the Einar Jónsson Museum has 26 bronze sculptures and is open to everyone, year-round, free. Most people walk straight past it.

Reykjavik Botanic Garden

Out in Laugardalur, the Botanic Garden (Grasagarðurinn) grows over 3,000 plant species and costs nothing to visit, any time of year. It's best in summer when the café is open. The Family Park and Zoo and Laugardalslaug, the city's biggest pool, are right next to it, so you can make a day of the neighbourhood.

Browse Kolaportið

Kolaportið, the indoor flea market at Tryggvagata 19, is open Saturdays and Sundays 11:00-17:00. Walking around is free, and so is trying on a lopapeysa (Icelandic wool sweater). The food market section is the place to look for Icelandic delicacies like hákarl (fermented shark). More on the Kolaportið market.

The free walking tour

The free My Reykjavik tour I recommended years ago no longer seems to exist. Its old web address now points to an unrelated restaurant list. The one to join now is CityWalk's free walking tour: two hours, about 2 km, starting at Austurvöllur (the square in front of Parliament) and finishing at City Hall. It runs every day (the week I checked, departures were at 10:30 and 13:30), and you pay what you think it was worth at the end. Book a slot online; bookings open about five days ahead, and walk-ins can be turned away. They run it in all weather, with more indoor stops in winter.

Cheap: under 1,600 ISK

A city pool

Icelanders swim year-round, and the city pools are where you'll see how locals actually live. A single adult entry is 1,500 ISK. Kids 10-17 pay 400 ISK and under-10s swim free with a guardian. That gets you the pool and the hot tubs, for as long as you like. Shower without your swimsuit before you get in. More on Reykjavik city pools and hot spring pools in Reykjavik.

Hallgrímskirkja tower

The lift to the top of the tower is still the best view of the city. Tickets are 1,500 ISK for adults and 200 ISK for kids 7-16, with a discount for students, seniors and disabled visitors. Buy them in the church shop on your left as you enter. Last entry to the tower is 16:45 in winter. More on Hallgrímskirkja.

Reykjavik Museum of Photography

This used to be free and is now 1,400 ISK, the cheapest museum ticket in town. It's at Tryggvagata 15 and shows changing exhibitions from its archive of Icelandic photographs.

The Einar Jónsson Museum

If the garden hooks you, the house and studio inside cost 1,500 ISK.

Worth paying for

These are no longer cheap, but they're the ones I'd still spend money on.

Aðalstræti: the Settlement Exhibition

If you only go to one museum in Reykjavik, I still say make it this one. It's built around a Viking-age longhouse excavated right where it stands, under the main street. It was 600 ISK when I first wrote about it. Now it's 3,100 ISK, open daily 10:00-17:00. More on the Settlement Exhibition.

The saga manuscripts

The Culture House no longer shows the manuscripts. They're now at World in Words in the Edda building (Arngrímsgata 5), the only place in Iceland to see them, for 2,500 ISK (1,200 ISK students and seniors). It's closed Mondays. The old Culture House at Hverfisgata 15 is now the National Gallery's House of Collections, showing Icelandic art at 2,500 ISK.

Reykjavik Art Museum

All three buildings (Hafnarhús, Kjarvalsstaðir and Ásmundarsafn) used to be free. Now one 2,550 ISK ticket covers all three for 24 hours. Hafnarhús stays open until 22:00 on Thursdays. More on the Reykjavik Art Museum.

Is the City Card worth it?

The Reykjavik City Card costs 6,100 ISK for 24 hours, 8,500 ISK for 48 hours and 10,500 ISK for 72 hours. It covers 17 museums (including the paid ones above except World in Words; the church tower isn't included either), eight city pools, unlimited Strætó buses in the capital area and the Viðey ferry. It doesn't cover the airport bus.

The maths: Aðalstræti (3,100), the Art Museum (2,550) and one swim (1,500) already add up to 7,150 ISK, so a single busy day on the 24-hour card saves you about 1,000 ISK, more if you ride the bus. If you're only going to swim and walk, skip it. Under-18s get free museum entry with any adult card. More on the Reykjavik City Card, and see museums in Reykjavik for the full list.

Keeping the rest of your costs down

The bigger savings are in food and drink. Buy groceries, pick a guesthouse with a kitchen, and have your beer at happy hour. See dining on a budget in Reykjavik, self-catering in Iceland and how to budget for a trip to Iceland.

Photos by: jamie.silva, michael clarke stuff