We spent a fair but of time at the National Museum of Iceland today. This is a little off of the beaten path. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, since it’s less than a 10 minute walk from Tjörnin pond. But you won’t really run into it from another tourist attraction in Reykjavik.
The permanent and main exhibition here (like a few other museums around the country) covers the settlement of Iceland. It’s called The Making of a Nation. What makes this one different is the scale of it– it’s huge, and has around 2,000 artifacts. As you walk through the exhibit, you are walking forward in time. Each display tells you what time period you are in.
The second floor covers the early periods, and then you head up to the third floor as you get closer to the present day.
The museum costs 1500 krona for adults, but is free for anyone under 18. Given the prices of some museums in Reykjavik (especially by the harbor) 3000 krona for 2 adults and 2 or more kids, which is just under $25, doesn’t seem too bad.
There is a cafe, which was fine, but nothing worth going out of your way for. The soup of the day with bread cost 1300 krona (just over $10) and a quiche with salad cost around $14. There were also cheaper options for the kids (or for anyone): A bagel with cream cheese or tuna fish is just over $5. Here’s the quiche after I took a bite and made it much less photogenic:
So the food is fine if you need a meal while you are visiting the museum. We haven’t tried it yet, but with about a 5 minute walk across the street you will find Skrúður in the Radisson Blu hotel. The offer a lunch buffet on weekdays from 12-2 which comes in at a whopping 3450 krona per adult, or about $28. But, assuming this article is still accurate, kids under 12 are free. Has anyone tried it? That could be a more interesting option in this area, or you could walk north back to the main part of Reykjavik and have your pick of restaurants.
But the museum itself is very very nice, as is the gift shop. And there are two other temporary exhibitions, currently about women and postcards. They aren’t of the same caliber as the main museum, but they add a little to the museum overall.
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