Akureyri is the unofficial capital of North Iceland — a town of roughly 20,000 people sitting at the head of Eyjafjörður, the longest fjord in the country. Most visitors driving the Ring Road stop here for half a day, eat a meal, and move on. That is a mistake. Akureyri and the surrounding Eyjafjörður area is the place to spend two or three days slowing down — there is more here than the famous attractions, and the local pace is genuinely different from Reykjavík.
This is a local guide to what to actually do in Akureyri itself, the small museums most tourists never find, and the drives, ferries, and side trips around Eyjafjörður that make this region special.
How to think about your time
Half a day in Akureyri is a postcard. Two days lets you do the town and one Eyjafjörður excursion. Three to four days lets you cover Akureyri, Hrísey or Grímsey, the Christmas Garden, and a whale watching trip from Hauganes — without rushing. If you have any flexibility, give it more time than you think you need.
In Akureyri Itself
Akureyri's centre is small and walkable. The cathedral sits on a hill above the harbour; the main shopping street (Hafnarstræti) runs along the fjord; the botanical garden is a 10-minute walk south of downtown. Most of what is interesting is within a 25-minute walk of each other.
⛪ Akureyrarkirkja Must
The city cathedral, perched on a hillside with 102 steps up to it. Designed by Guðjón Samúelsson — the same architect who did Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavík — and finished in 1940. The interior is spare and beautiful, and the centre window came from the bombed-out Coventry Cathedral in England. Free to enter. The view from the steps over the fjord is one of the best in town.
🌿 Lystigarðurinn — the Botanical Garden Must
One of the most northerly botanical gardens in the world, founded in 1912. Contains over 7,000 species — both native Icelandic plants and a surprising number of non-native ones thriving in this small valley. Free to enter, open daily in summer, with a beautiful little café (Café Laut) inside. Easy to spend an hour here on a sunny day.
Eyrarlandsstígur · open daily June–September
🎭 Hof Culture House Local
The big circular concert and culture hall on the harbour. Hosts the Akureyri Symphony, theatre, and a lot of the town's larger events. Even if you are not catching a performance, the building is striking and the café/restaurant inside (Mu) is one of the better places to sit with a coffee on a rainy day.
Strandgata 12
🖼️ Listasafn Akureyrar — Akureyri Art Museum Local
The regional art museum, focused on contemporary Icelandic art. Smaller than the equivalent in Reykjavík but consistently well-curated, with rotating exhibitions of established and emerging artists. Genuinely worth an hour if you have any interest in modern art.
Kaupvangsstræti 12
📚 Nonnahús
The childhood home of Jón Sveinsson — better known as "Nonni" — whose Nonni books were beloved children's literature in Iceland and across Europe in the early 20th century. Tiny museum inside the original wooden house, charming if you have any interest in Icelandic literature or 19th-century domestic life. Worth twenty minutes.
Aðalstræti 54
The Small Museums (the real local secret)
Akureyri has a cluster of small specialist museums in old industrial buildings on the south side of town. They are weird, lovingly maintained, and the kind of thing every Icelandic kid has been dragged to on a school trip. None take more than an hour. Together they make a great rainy afternoon.
✈️ Flugsafn Íslands — the Iceland Aviation Museum
Right next to Akureyri Airport. A surprisingly good collection of restored Icelandic civilian and military aircraft — some you can climb into. Run mostly by retired pilots and engineers who love what they do. If you have any interest in aviation, this is a real find.
By Akureyri Airport
🏍️ Mótorhjólasafn Íslands — the Motorcycle Museum
Iceland's national motorcycle museum, covering the country's surprisingly rich biking history. Vintage Indians, BMWs, restored Icelandic dispatch bikes from the 1940s. Smaller than you would expect a "national" museum to be, which is part of the charm.
Krókeyri 2
⚙️ Iðnaðarsafnið — the Industry Museum
A tribute to Akureyri's industrial past — fish processing machines, woollen mill equipment, old workshops painstakingly preserved. Probably the most niche museum in the cluster, but if industrial history is your thing, it is one of the best of its kind in Iceland.
Krókeyri 2 (same building as Motorcycle Museum)
Kjarnaskógur — the City Forest
🌲 Kjarnaskógur Must
A large planted forest park on the south edge of Akureyri, with walking and running trails, a disc golf course, picnic areas, a big playground, and outdoor exercise stations. Locals come here daily — for school PE lessons, weekend family outings, summer evenings. Iceland is famously short on trees, so a real forest like this on the edge of town is unusual and lovely. Free, open year-round.
5 minutes south of central Akureyri by car
Around Eyjafjörður — the Fjord Drives
The fjord is roughly 60 km long and there are interesting stops on both sides. A half-day drive around or up one side is one of the best things you can do with a rental car in the north.
🐋 Hauganes — small-boat whale watching Local
A tiny fishing village 30 minutes north of Akureyri. The whale watching here uses small wooden boats run by local skippers, rather than the bigger Akureyri or Reykjavík operations. Higher chance of getting close to humpbacks and minkes, smaller groups, more personal. The post-tour fish-and-chips at Baccalá Bar in Hauganes itself is excellent.
Hauganes village, ~25 km north of Akureyri
🚢 Hjalteyri
A small fishing village across the fjord from Hauganes, home to one of Iceland's most unusual contemporary art spaces — Verksmiðjan á Hjalteyri, an old herring factory now used for site-specific art installations. Worth checking the schedule if you are going to be in the area; otherwise the drive itself is worth it for the fjord views.
~20 km north of Akureyri, west side of the fjord
🍺 Bjórböðin — the Beer Spa Detour
In Árskógssandur, on the way to Hauganes. You bathe in tubs filled with warm young beer, hops, and live yeast — a Czech-Bavarian tradition adapted to Iceland and run by the Kaldi brewery. Sounds gimmicky but is actually relaxing and smells incredible. Bring a change of clothes; you will need a shower afterwards.
Árskógssandur, 35 min north of Akureyri · book ahead
🎄 Jólagarðurinn — the Christmas Garden Must
A red gingerbread-style house set in a garden 10 km south of Akureyri, open year-round and entirely committed to Christmas. Decorations, ornaments, fresh-baked pastries, occasionally Iceland's 13 Yule Lads in person. It is unironic and charming and Icelandic kids love it. If you have children, do not skip it. If you do not have children, go anyway and have a piece of vínarterta with your coffee.
10 km south of Akureyri on Route 821 · open daily
🛣️ Vaðlaheiðarvegur — the panoramic drive
The old mountain road that climbs up east of Akureyri to the heath of Vaðlaheiði. Runs roughly parallel to the new tunnel that handles most Ring Road traffic now, which means the old road is quiet and the views back across Akureyri and the fjord are extraordinary. A 30-minute detour if you have a car. Particularly good at sunset and on clear winter nights — one of the better aurora-watching spots near town.
East of Akureyri · old road, free
The Islands — Hrísey and Grímsey
Two very different islands, both reachable from Eyjafjörður and both worth a day each if you have the time.
🏝️ Hrísey Local
A small inhabited island in the middle of Eyjafjörður, reached by a 15-minute ferry from Árskógssandur. About 150 residents, a single road, three signposted walking trails, and a tractor-pulled cart that gives little tours. Famous for its ptarmigan population (no predators on the island, so the birds are remarkably tame). A perfect quiet half-day. The restaurant Brekka is the only proper place to eat — go for the lamb shank.
Ferry from Árskógssandur, several departures daily
🌊 Grímsey — the Arctic Circle island Detour
40 km off the north coast, the only inhabited part of Iceland that touches the Arctic Circle. Reached by a 3-hour ferry from Dalvík (summer only) or a 25-minute flight from Akureyri. Around 60 residents, dramatic basalt cliffs covered in puffins in summer, and a small monument marking the Circle that you can stand on for the photo. A serious commitment for a short visit, but if you have crossed the Arctic Circle on foot you carry that for a while.
Ferry from Dalvík (summer) or flight from Akureyri
On the Way: Goðafoss
💧 Goðafoss — the Waterfall of the Gods Must
Roughly halfway between Akureyri and Mývatn, right on the Ring Road. Wide, horseshoe-shaped, dramatic — and named for the moment in 1000 AD when the Icelandic lawspeaker Þorgeir threw his pagan idols into the falls after the country adopted Christianity. The viewing platforms on both sides are free. Stop on the way in or out.
Ring Road, 50 km east of Akureyri
Where to Eat in Akureyri
Akureyri has a small but decent food scene. The town centre is walkable enough that you can wander between options.
🐟 Strikið — fjord-view dining Must
The big nice restaurant. Top-floor windows looking right out across the fjord, focused on Icelandic seafood and lamb. Splurge price by Icelandic standards but the quality and view justify it. Book ahead in summer.
Skipagata 14
🍴 Múlaberg Bistro & Bar Local
Inside the Hótel Kea on the main square, one of the more reliable casual-but-good options. Modern Icelandic with a good lamb shoulder and reasonable lunch deals. Locals drop in for after-work drinks.
Hafnarstræti 87–89
🥧 Bautinn Local
Old-school Akureyri institution. Burgers, pizza, traditional plokkfiskur and lamb soup, generous portions, no surprises. Where families have been eating for decades. Solid budget choice in the centre.
Hafnarstræti 92
🌭 Brynja — the legendary ice cream Must
Akureyri's most famous ice cream shop, open since 1939. Soft-serve only, and Icelanders will drive ridiculous distances to argue that Brynja's is better than any in Reykjavík. They are not wrong. Try a "bragðarefur" — soft-serve mixed with toppings of your choice.
Aðalstræti 3 · open year-round, even in winter (yes, really)
Practical Information
How to get there
- By car: ~5 hours from Reykjavík on the Ring Road (Route 1). The drive itself is part of the experience — Borgarnes, Hvammstangi, the Holtavörðuheiði pass, and the descent into Akureyri are all worth a stop.
- By plane: Icelandair and Norlandair fly Reykjavík (RKV) to Akureyri (AEY) several times daily. Roughly 45 minutes in the air. Book ahead in winter when weather can disrupt flights.
- By bus: Strætó route 57 runs between Reykjavík and Akureyri once or twice daily — slow but cheap.
When to go
Summer (June–August) — long days, all roads open, full ferry service to Hrísey and Grímsey, all the museums and gardens at full tilt. The midnight sun in Akureyri is genuinely dreamlike — locals drive up to Vaðlaheiði at midnight to watch the sun roll along the horizon.
Winter (November–March) — different trip entirely. Skiing at Hlíðarfjall just outside town, dark skies for aurora watching, frozen Eyjafjörður, Christmas atmosphere at the Christmas Garden, and a lot fewer tourists. Akureyri handles winter with style — paths are cleared, every house has lights up, the sundlaug is open.
Where to stay
Akureyri has the usual range from hostel to full-service hotel. The Hótel Kea sits right on the main square and is a reliable mid-range option. Akureyri Backpackers is the best hostel in town and has a great bar. There are also dozens of guesthouses and Airbnbs in residential streets within walking distance of the centre.
Local sundlaug
Sundlaug Akureyrar (the city pool) is one of the better swimming pools in Iceland — outdoor lap pool, several hot pots at different temperatures, waterslides, sauna, all of it heated by the local geothermal system. Open until late evening, popular with locals after work, and a nice contrast to a day of museums. See our guide to Icelandic public pools for the basics on how the sundlaug routine works.
And if you happen to be there for torfæra…
Akureyri is the heartland of Icelandic motorsport — many of the country's top torfæra (Formula Offroad) drivers are based here, and a championship round is usually held nearby in summer. Worth checking the calendar if you are visiting between June and August.
The Bottom Line
Akureyri rewards visitors who slow down. Half a day is enough for a postcard; two or three days lets you actually feel what the north of Iceland is like — quieter, slightly more old-fashioned, more generous with its space. The town is small but genuinely interesting, and the fjord around it has more good detours than most full-size travel destinations. If you are driving the Ring Road in summer, build at least two nights here. If you are coming up from Reykjavík specifically, plan three or four. You will not regret it.