Christmas concerts and church music in Reykjavík, 2026

By the ULTIMATE Reykjavík Editorial Team

Advent and Christmas at Hallgrímskirkja

The church on Skólavörðuholt has the fullest Christmas programme in the city. The Hallgrímskirkja Choir sings its Christmas concert on Sunday 13 December at 5pm (tickets from tix.is and the church shop; the nave opens 30 minutes before, seats cannot be reserved and the doors close at 5.15pm). On Sunday 20 December at 5pm, Syngjum jólin inn, “let’s sing Christmas in”, brings choirs and congregation together; entry is free as space allows.

The church’s own Christmas also has room for the organ: an organ concert on Saturday 5 December at noon and another on Saturday 26 December at 5pm, both ticketed. Earlier in Advent, the Reykjavík Male Voice Choir (Karlakór Reykjavíkur) gives its concerts here on Saturday 5 December at 5pm, Sunday 6 December at 5pm and 8pm, and Monday 7 December at 8pm, with tickets from tix.is; these are not organised by the church.

Our advice: Hallgrímskirkja is open to visitors most days in December from 10am, so climb the tower in the short daylight, then come back for a concert after dark.

Hallgrímskirkja: Advent, Christmas and New Year times →

Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and an English Mass

Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December, is the heart of the Icelandic Christmas. At Hallgrímskirkja the Christmas evensong (aftansöngur) is at 6pm, with the church open from 5pm, and the midnight service at 11.30pm, with the church open from 10.30pm. Seats cannot be held after 5.30pm and 11pm respectively; admission is free as space allows, and both services are streamed.

On Christmas Day, Friday 25 December, the festive service is at 2pm (doors 1pm), and on St Stephen’s Day, 26 December, there is a service at 2pm. On Sunday 27 December an English-language Mass is held in the crypt at 2pm. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the church is open only for worship.

Our advice: for the 6pm evensong, be in your seat by 5.30pm; it is the moment Reykjavík falls quiet and Christmas begins.

Hallgrímskirkja: Christmas services →

Reykjavík Cathedral: the Advent evening

Dómkirkjan, the small cathedral on Austurvöllur beside the Parliament building, opens the season with its Advent evening on Sunday 29 November at 5pm. Children from Landakotsskóli sing under Dagný Arnalds, the cathedral organist Matthías Harðarson plays and the cathedral choir, Dómkórinn, sings; afterwards hot chocolate, coffee and biscuits are served in the parish hall at Lækjargata 14a, and everyone is welcome.

Sunday Mass is at 11am all year round. The cathedral had not yet published its Christmas service times when we checked. Our advice: the Oslo tree stands on Austurvöllur just outside, so pair the Advent evening with the Christmas lights of the square.

Dómkirkjan: Advent evening, 29 November →   Dómkirkjan: services →   Christmas in Reykjavík →

Christmas concerts at Harpa

Harpa’s December opens with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s Advent Concert on Thursday 3 December at 7.30pm in Eldborg: Mozart, Haydn’s Second Cello Concerto and a symphony by Marianna Martines, under Matthew Halls (ISK 3,100–11,500). On Sunday 6 December at 4pm, the Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra gives an hour of baroque Christmas music in Norðurljós, from Telemann to C. P. E. Bach (ISK 2,500–4,500, under-13s free).

On Thursday 10 December the Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter gives a Christmas concert in Norðurljós at 6pm and 8.30pm, with Bengt Forsberg at the piano (ISK 9,990–14,990). On 12 and 13 December, at 2pm and 4pm, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra’s family Christmas concerts fill Eldborg with choirs, young players and dancers, in Icelandic and sign language (ISK 4,100–5,100).

For Christmas songs in Icelandic, Komdu um jólin brings the country’s pop singers to Eldborg on Saturday 5 December at 5pm and 9pm (ISK 6,900–18,900). Our advice: Norðurljós is small and the von Otter concerts are already in demand; book first.

Harpa: Advent Concert at the Symphony →   Harpa: Reykjavík Chamber Orchestra’s Christmas Concert →   Harpa: Christmas Concert with Anne Sofie von Otter →   Iceland Symphony Orchestra: Christmas Concerts 2026 →   Harpa: Komdu um jólin →

How to get a seat

Most of the church services are free and unticketed, and the rule at Hallgrímskirkja is strict: seats cannot be reserved or held, and the doors close shortly after the start. Arrive early, especially on Christmas Eve. Concerts, including the choir’s, are ticketed through tix.is or the church shop.

Our advice: Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday, so the concerts cluster on the Advent weekends of 5–6 and 12–13 December. Check each church’s own page in the week before you go, as times can change.

Questions and answers