Perlan Reykjavik: What to See and What Tickets Cost

A glass dome on a hill above the city is easy to mistake for a viewpoint and nothing more, and that undersells what is inside. Perlan Reykjavik holds an indoor ice cave, a planetarium with a northern lights show, and several floors of exhibitions on Iceland's geology and wildlife, all before a visitor reaches the deck at the top. The observation deck itself is not a separate ticket: it comes with every admission, whatever else a visitor chooses to see inside. This page sets out what each part costs, what hours it keeps, and how to get up the hill without a car. Prices below carry their source: Perlan's own page where it publishes one, a reseller's figure marked as such where it does not.

Inside the dome: exhibitions, ice cave and planetarium

A visitor who buys one ticket and expects one room gets caught out; Perlan is several attractions stacked inside one building, and it is worth knowing which is which before arriving. The exhibitions covering Iceland's volcanoes, glaciers and wildlife make up the perlan museum Reykjavik that most tickets are bought for, and they run through several floors below the dome.

The indoor ice cave is built from real snow, 350 tonnes of it, and runs 100 metres through the lower level at a temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), so a visitor stepping in from a mild Reykjavik day should have a coat ready even in summer. It sits apart from the natural ice caves under Iceland's glaciers, which open only in winter; Perlan's version is built indoors and open every day of the year.

The planetarium runs Aurora, a northern lights show under a dome ceiling that seats 150 people at a time, useful for a visitor whose trip dates fall outside the season when the real aurora is visible. Exhibitions are open 09:00 to 21:00 daily, with last admission at 19:30, according to Perlan's own visitor page.

Children under 4 are admitted free. An adult ticket runs from 7,090 ISK and a child ticket aged 5 to 12 from 5,090 ISK, both figures from Arctic Adventures rather than from Perlan's own site, so a visitor should treat them as a reseller's current price and check the total at checkout rather than a fixed rate. The two lifts inside serve every floor, and the restaurant, ice cave, planetarium and observation deck are all wheelchair accessible.

The building itself: from water tank to dome

The dome shape on the hill is not decoration; it sits directly on top of Reykjavik's hot water supply, and knowing that changes how a visitor reads the building. The first hot water tank on the site was built in 1939, long before the glass dome that visitors recognise today, and each of the tanks underneath holds 5,000 cubic metres of water that still serves the city.

The glass dome itself opened on 21 June 1991, built over the existing tanks rather than replacing them, which is why the building still functions as a working part of Reykjavik's heating system underneath a visitor attraction. The Wonders of Iceland exhibition, the one most visitors associate with the pearl Reykjavik today, opened its first phase on 2 July 2017, decades after the dome itself.

Ownership of the building changed hands in 2025: Reykjavik City sold Perlan to the Perlan Development Company for 3,507,161,172 ISK, a sale reported by the City of Reykjavik. A visitor does not need the sale price to plan a trip, but it explains why a building this old is still being developed rather than left as a static landmark.

Parking at Perlan costs nothing; the fee is 0 ISK, a detail worth noting given how many of Reykjavik's other sights now charge for a parking spot. The restaurant inside keeps its own hours, 11:30 to 18:00 daily, shorter than the exhibition hours and worth checking before planning a meal around the visit.

The deck at the top

A visitor who buys a separate deck ticket somewhere else has been sold something Perlan does not sell: the perlan Reykjavik observation deck is included with every admission ticket, and it cannot be bought on its own. That single fact settles most of the confusion around Perlan's pricing, since every other figure on this page already covers deck access.

The deck circles the outside of the dome above the exhibitions, and reaching it does not require climbing stairs past the exhibition floors first, since the lifts serve every level including the deck itself. A visitor short on time can ride up, walk the deck and leave without touching the ice cave or the planetarium and still have paid the same ticket price as one who sees everything inside.

Because exhibitions run until 21:00 with last admission at 19:30, the deck stays accessible into the evening for most of the year, which matters for a visitor hoping to see the city lit up rather than lit by daylight. No separate closing time is published for the deck against the exhibitions around it, so a visitor should plan around the 19:30 last admission rather than assume extra time after that.

Getting there without a car

Perlan sits on a hill above the rest of the city, close enough to walk from downtown but steep enough that most visitors do not. The straightforward option is public transport: Straeto routes 13 and 18 both serve Perlan directly, useful for a visitor without a rental car or one who would rather not find parking, even though parking itself is free once a car is there.

A visitor staying downtown should check the current Straeto timetable before setting out, since city bus schedules change with the season and this page does not carry a fixed departure time. Walking from the city centre is possible but involves a real climb; a visitor pressed for time or travelling with young children or limited mobility is better served by the bus or a taxi.

Because the deck, the ice cave and the planetarium are all reached from the same lifts once inside, the building itself needs no further navigating after arrival. The harder part of the trip is the hill outside, not the layout within.

Planning around the ice cave and planetarium

A visitor building a single afternoon around Perlan should decide in advance whether the ice cave, the planetarium or the exhibitions matter most, since all three sit inside the same ticket but take different amounts of time to see properly. The ice cave alone is a short walk through a 100 metre tunnel; the Aurora planetarium show runs on its own schedule inside a 150 seat dome, and a visitor arriving without checking show times risks a wait.

Because the ice cave holds a temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), even a brief visit is enough to make a coat worth carrying, regardless of the weather outside. Visitors travelling with children under 4 do not need to buy that child a ticket at all, though older children fall into the 5 to 12 rate.

The observation deck, already included in every ticket, is worth leaving for last: a visitor who has already walked the ice cave and sat through the planetarium show has more context for the view than one who goes straight up.

What the building replaced

Before the glass dome, the hill held only the water tanks that still sit underneath it, built starting in 1939 to hold hot water for the city's heating system. A visitor who assumes Perlan was designed purely as a tourist attraction is missing half of what it is: the building is still functioning infrastructure, with a museum and a viewing platform added on top of tanks that predate the dome by more than fifty years.

That layered history is part of why the building looks the way it does, with a curved glass roof sitting over a set of cylindrical tanks rather than a purpose-built museum shape. The exhibitions inside, including the Wonders of Iceland displays that opened their first phase in July 2017, were added long after the tanks and the dome were both already standing.

A visitor with limited time in Reykjavik gets more out of Perlan by treating it as two things at once, a working piece of the city's heating system and a museum built on top of it, rather than expecting a single straightforward attraction.

Before the visit

A few details settle most of the planning questions a visitor has before arriving. Entry covers the exhibitions, the ice cave, the planetarium and the observation deck together, so there is no separate ticket to buy once inside. Children under 4 do not need a ticket at all, and the two lifts mean the whole building, including the ice cave and the deck, is wheelchair accessible without needing stairs.

Anyone driving up does not need to budget for parking, since the fee is 0 ISK regardless of how long the visit runs. A visitor timing a trip around Iceland's own travel rules should check current entry requirements with the US Department of State's country information for Iceland or the UK FCDO's travel advice, since neither is specific to Perlan but both cover the entry rules that apply to any visit to the city.

Weather on the hill can shift quickly, and a visitor checking conditions before heading up can consult the Icelandic Meteorological Office for the current forecast, since Perlan sits exposed above the rest of Reykjavik with little shelter on the walk up from downtown.

Common questions

Is the observation deck included with a Perlan ticket?

Yes. Every admission ticket includes the deck, and it is not sold on its own.

How cold is the ice cave inside Perlan?

The ice cave holds a temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit), built from 350 tonnes of real snow.

Can children visit Perlan for free?

Children under 4 are admitted free. Children aged 5 to 12 pay a reduced rate, listed by a reseller rather than by Perlan itself.

Is Perlan wheelchair accessible?

Yes. Two lifts serve every floor, and the restaurant, ice cave, planetarium and observation deck are all accessible.

How do I get to Perlan without a car?

Straeto bus routes 13 and 18 both serve Perlan directly from the city.