Grandi and the Old Harbour: Reykjavík’s Working Waterfront

Reykjavík grew up on its harbour, and the harbour is still at work: trawlers tie up beside whale-watching boats, and the old fish houses of Grandi now hold museums, galleries, a lava show and some of the city’s best tables. Here is a day along the waterfront.

Reykjavík grew up on its harbour, and the harbour is still at work. Trawlers tie up beside the whale-watching boats, and out on Grandi, the long arm of land that shelters the Old Harbour, the old fish houses now hold museums, galleries, a lava show and some of the city’s best tables.

The Old Harbour

Start on Geirsgata, where the harbourfront restaurants look over the boats. Kopar cooks the season’s produce, with an eight-course tasting menu; next door, the family-run Höfnin serves classic Icelandic food, done in a modern way. Whale-watching boats leave from the piers alongside.

Out along Grandagarður

Walk west along Grandagarður. At number 10, Kaffivagninn has fed the harbour since 1935; it began as a coffee truck that its founder drove down to the boats, and calls itself the oldest restaurant in Iceland. Breakfast runs until 11am.

At number 8, the Reykjavík Maritime Museum fills a former fish-processing house. Its exhibition, Fish & folk, follows 150 years of Icelandic fishing, and the coastguard ship Óðinn and the tug Magni, the first steel ship built in Iceland, lie at its pier.

Then stop for ice cream at Valdís, at number 21, whatever the weather.

On Grandi, the fish houses now hold art, history and lunch.

The Marshall House

At the end of Grandagarður, the Marshall House is now a house of contemporary art. Nýló, the Living Art Museum, and i8 Grandi, the second space of i8 Gallery, share it; both open from Wednesday to Sunday afternoons.

Fiskislóð

Turn onto Fiskislóð for two more stops. At number 73, the Lava Show melts real lava and pours it in front of you, so you feel its heat. At number 39, the bookshop of Forlagið, the publisher, has Icelandic books to take home.

Did you know? Kaffivagninn’s name means “the coffee truck”, after the van that served coffee to fishermen on the docks.

Our advice

Our advice: go on a Wednesday to Sunday, when the galleries are open, and book the Lava Show ahead. Grandi is an easy walk from the centre; bus 14 stops there too. The Saga Museum, Whales of Iceland and FlyOver Iceland are close by for a longer day.