Reykjavík: from the lava church to whale-watching harbour

Nearly seventy-five meters tall, the Hallgrímskirkja, completed in 1986 after forty-one years of construction, mimics the facade of basalt columns typical of Icelandic coasts and offers from its tower the broadest view over the city.

Descending toward the port along Laugavegur, the main shopping street, one reaches the Harpa, a 2011 concert hall clad in glass panels of geometric forms also inspired by the basalts.

Right on the waterfront next to it, the Sólfar, a steel sculpture shaped like a Viking ship skeleton, was conceived by the artist as an ode to the sun rather than as a true historical reference.

In the late afternoon, boat excursions for whale watching depart from the Old Harbor, among the most reliable in Europe thanks to Faxaflói bay rich in plankton.

Despite its name suggesting a Viking ship, the Sólfar does not represent a historical 'drakkar': the artist described it rather as the promise of a territory yet to be discovered, its prow turned toward the sun.

Whale-watching boats depart even in rough seas and overcast skies: waiting for a perfect day risks simply never seeing whales during your stay.