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National Museum of Iceland
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Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
What it is
Iceland's national museum, near the university in central Reykjavik, whose permanent exhibition traces the country from ninth-century settlement to the present.
Why travelers go
It is the only place that puts the landscape into a human timeline. Everything else in Iceland is geology; this is the eleven hundred years of people trying to live on it.
What is genuinely good
A single coherent chronological exhibition, outstanding medieval woodcarving and metalwork, free entry for under-18s, and a calm, uncrowded museum in a town that gets very busy.
Downsides and tourist traps
Small for the price. An unlovely building. A fifteen-minute walk from the centre that is genuinely unpleasant in horizontal rain, which is most of the year.
Best for
Anyone spending more than two days in Reykjavik, and families given free entry for under-18s.
Consider skipping if
You are in town for one night before a ring road trip. In that case the time is better spent outdoors.
Practical advice
Two hours is enough. Go on a wet day, which Iceland will provide. The cafe is closed at times, so do not plan lunch around it.
Tickets and reservations
Adults 3,300 ISK, students and seniors 1,600 ISK, free for children under 18 and for people with disabilities. Tickets can be bought online or at the door.
Getting there
A fifteen-minute walk south-west from Hallgrimskirkja, past the pond and along Sudurgata, or bus 1, 3, 6, 12 or 14 to the university.
Where it sits
Sudurgata, on the edge of the University of Iceland campus, a short walk from the Tjornin pond and the city hall, and about fifteen minutes from the main shopping street.
How long to allow
Two hours for the permanent exhibition.
Accessibility
Step-free with lifts to all exhibition floors, and free entry for people with disabilities.
The RuinMyTrip verdict
Worth the thirty-three hundred krona if you are in Reykjavik for more than a couple of days. Save it for the wet afternoon, which will arrive.
Sources
Every figure above was checked against these before publication. If one has since changed, tell us and we will correct it.
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Adult admission is 3,300 ISK; students and seniors pay 1,600 ISK. source
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Children under 18 and people with disabilities are admitted free. source
From the RuinMyTrip team
Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
The National Museum of Iceland charges 3,300 ISK for adults and 1,600 ISK for students and seniors, and admits children under 18 and people with disabilities free. It opens daily from 10:00 to 17:00. The permanent exhibition, Making of a Nation, runs from the settlement in the ninth century to the present in one continuous line, which is the right structure for a country whose entire recorded history fits…
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