1. Hallgrímskirkja Church
Basalt-inspired Lutheran church
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning / Sunset
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free / Paid areas
Ideal for: Architecture / Couples
At 74.5 meters, Hallgrímskirkja is Iceland's tallest church, and its stepped concrete front was designed to echo the basalt columns found in Icelandic landscapes. Work started in 1945 and the nave was finished in 1986. The church itself is free to enter, and a paid ticket takes you up the tower by elevator for a view over the colorful rooftops.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We frame the facade from the bottom of Skólavörðustígur, the street with the painted rainbow, so the road leads straight up to the church. The statue of Leif Erikson out front makes a great foreground. Inside, the white nave and the huge organ are calm and bright. Hold off on photos during services, and dress for wind: it whips around the tower even on sunny days.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We frame the facade from the bottom of Skólavörðustígur, the street with the painted rainbow, so the road leads straight up to the church. The statue of Leif Erikson out front makes a great foreground. Inside, the white nave and the huge organ are calm and bright. Hold off on photos during services, and dress for wind: it whips around the tower even on sunny days.
2. Harpa Concert Hall
Glass-faced harbor concert hall
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Day / Blue hour
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free / Paid areas
Ideal for: Architecture / Couples
Opened in 2011, Harpa sits on the harbor with a facade by artist Olafur Eliasson: a steel frame filled with geometric glass panels in different colors. On sunny days the glass throws patterns of light inside, and at night hundreds of LEDs in the facade play slow light works. You can walk into the public lobby without a concert ticket.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Inside, the staircases and the honeycomb-like glass walls give graphic, modern frames, and the light changes by the minute when the sun is out. Outside, the walkway on the harbor side shows the whole glass facade, with the bay and Mount Esja behind it. At blue hour the facade lights come on. Bold, simple outfits work better than busy prints here.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Inside, the staircases and the honeycomb-like glass walls give graphic, modern frames, and the light changes by the minute when the sun is out. Outside, the walkway on the harbor side shows the whole glass facade, with the bay and Mount Esja behind it. At blue hour the facade lights come on. Bold, simple outfits work better than busy prints here.
3. Sun Voyager (Sólfar)
Steel boat-shaped sculpture
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Sunrise / Sunset
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Couples / Seascape
Jón Gunnar Árnason's stainless-steel sculpture was unveiled on Reykjavík's birthday in 1990. It looks like a Viking ship, but the artist called it a dreamboat, an ode to the sun. Set on the seafront path along Sæbraut, it faces north across the bay toward Mount Esja, with sea and mountains behind it.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: It's the busiest outdoor spot downtown, so we come early or late, when the low sun lights the steel. The shot from the north-east side of the sculpture frames the bow with the water and Mount Esja beyond. There's a low granite base around it, so please don't climb onto the sculpture. Be ready for wind off the sea; a long coat or scarf adds movement.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: It's the busiest outdoor spot downtown, so we come early or late, when the low sun lights the steel. The shot from the north-east side of the sculpture frames the bow with the water and Mount Esja beyond. There's a low granite base around it, so please don't climb onto the sculpture. Be ready for wind off the sea; a long coat or scarf adds movement.
4. Perlan (The Pearl)
Glass dome on hot-water tanks
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Sunset / Dusk
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Free / Paid areas
Ideal for: City views / Couples
Perlan crowns Öskjuhlíð hill: a glass dome sitting on six huge tanks once used for the city's hot water supply. Opened in 1991, it now houses a nature museum with an indoor ice cave and a planetarium. The 360-degree view takes in the whole city, the bay and the mountains, and the wooded hill around it is free to explore.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The best wide view of the city is from the outdoor deck around the dome at sunset, so check what your ticket includes before you go. The paths through the small forest on Öskjuhlíð are good for softer portraits away from the building. In winter the ice cave inside makes playful, unusual frames. Warm layers are a must up here.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The best wide view of the city is from the outdoor deck around the dome at sunset, so check what your ticket includes before you go. The paths through the small forest on Öskjuhlíð are good for softer portraits away from the building. In winter the ice cave inside makes playful, unusual frames. Warm layers are a must up here.
5. Old Harbour
Working harbor and boat district
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning / Sunset
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Couples / Street style
Reykjavík's Old Harbour mixes working fishing boats, whale-watching ships and a row of small, colorful harbor sheds turned into cafes, shops and restaurants. Further west, the Grandi area has converted warehouses and murals. The boats, ropes and painted huts give a relaxed seaside feel right next to downtown.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The painted sheds along Geirsgata are a favorite: bright blue, red and black walls work well for street-style portraits. We also use the piers with moored boats and Harpa in the distance. Mornings are quiet before whale-watching tours board. Mind ropes and moving vehicles on the working quays. Darker clothes look great against the bright wooden walls.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: The painted sheds along Geirsgata are a favorite: bright blue, red and black walls work well for street-style portraits. We also use the piers with moored boats and Harpa in the distance. Mornings are quiet before whale-watching tours board. Mind ropes and moving vehicles on the working quays. Darker clothes look great against the bright wooden walls.
6. Tjörnin Pond
Lake beside City Hall
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning / Sunset
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Couples / Families
This shallow lake sits in the middle of downtown, with City Hall seeming to rise out of the water on its north-west edge. Colorful houses and church spires line the banks, and dozens of bird species visit, including whooper swans. In winter it often freezes and turns into an outdoor skating rink.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: On calm mornings the pond reflects the colorful houses and the white Fríkirkjan church on its east bank, so we start there. The bridge across the lake gives a nice central viewpoint. Hljómskálagarður park on the south side adds trees and statues. When the lake is frozen, mind the ice edges, and bring good boots for icy paths.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: On calm mornings the pond reflects the colorful houses and the white Fríkirkjan church on its east bank, so we start there. The bridge across the lake gives a nice central viewpoint. Hljómskálagarður park on the south side adds trees and statues. When the lake is frozen, mind the ice edges, and bring good boots for icy paths.
7. Downtown Street Art
Murals across the city center
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Day / Overcast
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Street style / Fashion
Large murals cover the sides of houses and shops across downtown Reykjavík, from small alleys off Laugavegur to whole building walls near the harbor. Many were painted by Icelandic and visiting artists, and new pieces appear often. The bold colors look especially strong on grey, overcast days, which Reykjavík has plenty of.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We plan a short walking loop around the streets near Laugavegur, Hverfisgata and the Grandi harbor area, picking two or three walls that match your outfit. Murals change, so we scout current pieces close to your date. Overcast light is perfect here because it keeps colors rich without harsh shadows. Simple solid colors keep the focus on the art.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We plan a short walking loop around the streets near Laugavegur, Hverfisgata and the Grandi harbor area, picking two or three walls that match your outfit. Murals change, so we scout current pieces close to your date. Overcast light is perfect here because it keeps colors rich without harsh shadows. Simple solid colors keep the focus on the art.
8. Laugavegur Street
Main downtown shopping street
Accessibility: Easy
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Morning / Evening
Duration: 30 min | 60 min
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Street style / Couples
Laugavegur is Reykjavík's main shopping street, lined with small shops, bars, bakeries and wooden houses clad in corrugated iron painted in every color. Its name means wash road, after the path locals once took to the hot springs to do laundry. It's lively year-round, and very pretty in December when the shops put up lights.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We walk the lower end near Skólavörðustígur, where the painted rainbow road and colorful houses are close together. In the morning it's quiet; by evening it's full of people and lit windows. Side streets just off Laugavegur give the same colorful houses with fewer people. In winter, snow and streetlights make for cozy, festive frames.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: We walk the lower end near Skólavörðustígur, where the painted rainbow road and colorful houses are close together. In the morning it's quiet; by evening it's full of people and lit windows. Side streets just off Laugavegur give the same colorful houses with fewer people. In winter, snow and streetlights make for cozy, festive frames.
9. Grótta Lighthouse
Tidal island with a lighthouse
Accessibility: Moderate
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Sunset / Night
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours
Entry: Free
Ideal for: Couples / Seascape
At the tip of the Seltjarnarnes peninsula, a short drive from downtown, Grótta's white lighthouse stands on a small island linked to land by a causeway that disappears at high tide. The current lighthouse was built in 1947. With little light pollution, open sea and wide skies, it's a popular place to look for the northern lights in winter.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Check the tide table before going: you can only walk over at low tide, and the water comes back fast. The island is closed from May 1 to July 15 while arctic terns nest. Outside that time, we shoot from the causeway with the lighthouse behind you, and from the beach at sunset. On aurora nights, warm boots and a bright jacket help you stand out in the dark.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Check the tide table before going: you can only walk over at low tide, and the water comes back fast. The island is closed from May 1 to July 15 while arctic terns nest. Outside that time, we shoot from the causeway with the lighthouse behind you, and from the beach at sunset. On aurora nights, warm boots and a bright jacket help you stand out in the dark.
10. Viðey Island
Island with art and history
Accessibility: Moderate
Popularity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best time: Late afternoon
Duration: 60 min | 2 hours | 3 hours
Entry: Paid
Ideal for: Nature / Couples / Art
A short ferry ride from Reykjavík, Viðey has rolling green fields, a church and an 18th-century stone house, plus two big art pieces: Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower and Richard Serra's Áfangar, nine pairs of basalt columns along the coast. The Peace Tower is lit every year from October 9 to December 8.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Ferries run daily in summer and only on weekends in winter, so we plan around the return boat. Serra's basalt columns on the western part of the island make strong, minimal frames with the sea behind. The Imagine Peace Tower is best seen at night during its lit season. Wear sturdy shoes for the grassy, uneven paths and bring a windproof layer.
📍 Wowtographer Tip: Ferries run daily in summer and only on weekends in winter, so we plan around the return boat. Serra's basalt columns on the western part of the island make strong, minimal frames with the sea behind. The Imagine Peace Tower is best seen at night during its lit season. Wear sturdy shoes for the grassy, uneven paths and bring a windproof layer.