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TRAVELLER
1958
Start of the Cod Wars
with Britain, which last
until the late 1970s.
Iceland ultimately
extends its national
waters to 200 miles
from the island.
1980
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
is elected as Iceland’s
first female president.
The country embraces
feminism (and bans
strip clubs and lap
dancing in 2010).
2008
Iceland’s three largest
banks crash with a
combined debt of six
times the nation’s GDP.
Three years later, the
government collapses
due to public dissent.
2010
A small volcano un
the Eyjafjallajöku
glacier erupts in A
The ensuing ash cl
disrupts flights acr
Europe for the next
months.
1944
Iceland becomes an
independent republic
on 17 June, now
celebrated as National
Day, with a parade in
Reykjavik and parties in
the streets.
R E Y K J AV I K
THE OLD HARBOUR
HALLGRÍMSKIRKJA
LAUGARDALUR
NATIONAL MUSEUM
LAUGAVEGUR
N
600m
GETTING
AROUND
LOCAL FOOD
Reykjavik may be the most northerly
capital city in the world, but in size
terms it’s more like a town. It’s easy to
walk everywhere, but youmay want
a car to explore natural attractions
just outside the city, like the mineral-
rich Blue Lagoon, which is just a
45-minute drive away.
THE OLD HARBOUR
Here you’ll find whale-watching trips
(
hvalalif.is
) guaranteeing a 100%
success rate – or a free trip if not –
plus an excellent fish-and-chip café
(
fishandchips.is
).
HALLGRÍMSKIRKJA
The city’s strange church is sculpted
in the formof an erupting volcano and
has a statue of Viking
explorer Leifur Eiriksson outside it
(
sacred-destinations.com
).
LAUGARDALUR
Awalk or short bus ride from the
centre, this green space has a small
zoo, sculpture museum, botanical
garden and Laugar Spa (
laugarspa.is
),
the city’s largest spa.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF
ICELAND
Learn all about this nation in its
interactive museumwith exhibits
on Celtic andViking history, strange
fish-eating habits and two pagan
burials in the floor (
thjodminjasafn.is
).
LAUGAVEGUR
By day, the main shopping street
is great for browsing (but mind the
eye-watering prices!); by night, it’s the
place for a casual meal or a bar crawl.
WORDS LAURA DIXON | PHOTO © ISTOCKPHOTO | MAP ILLUSTRATION © JASON PICKERSGILL/ACUTEGRAPHICS.CO.UK
You can get a burger anywhe
so when you’re in Iceland,
why not take your taste buds
on a trip too? Actually, you
can’t really get a burger here:
McDonald’s left in 2009 after
the country was plunged into
financial crisis and the price
a Big Mac rose to 650 ISK (€
Since then, traditional food h
made a comeback.
This means two things:
delicious lobster, cod, salmo
and lamb from the nearby
sea, rivers and pastures; and
some more unusual stuff, like
boiled sheep’s head, seabird
eggs, grilled puffin and
hákarl
(Greenland shark), a foul-
smelling, peculiarly textured
delicacy washed down with
Brennivín, the harsh local spi
Originally, hákarl was mad
by burying the shark for two
months while it slowly “cured
then unearthing it and leavin
to hang for up to four month
These days, they store it in
Tupperware rather burying
it, but not much else change
It’s still a dish that only the
bravest of locals – or visitors
– give a try.
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