Reykjavik Map for First-Time Visitors

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A reykjavik map that only shows the old town misses most of what a visitor actually needs: the pools scattered through the neighbourhoods, the bus stop that connects to the airport routes, and the harbour where whale and puffin boats leave from. Reykjavik is compact enough that most of the sights sit inside a walkable core, roughly 1.5 km across, while the airport, the geothermal pools and the bus network sit further out and need a plan. This page settles where those pieces sit relative to each other and to the wider city, so a printed or digital map makes sense before a single day is booked. It does not cover which sights to prioritise, what a city card includes, or when to travel; those live on their own pages. What follows is the shape of the city: harbour to the north, old town at its centre, pools spread through the districts, and the two airports at very different distances.

Sights

1. 1
   Hallgrímskirkja Church with a 73 m tower and a lift to the top64.1418° N, 21.9268° W · Open in Google Maps
2. 2
   Harpa Concert hall on the harbour; the lobby is free to walk in64.1504° N, 21.9329° W · Open in Google Maps
3. 3
   Sun Voyager (Sólfar) Steel sculpture on the Sæbraut shore path64.1476° N, 21.9223° W · Open in Google Maps
4. 4
   Old Harbour Whale-watching and puffin boats leave from these piers64.1517° N, 21.9421° W · Open in Google Maps
5. 5
   Laugavegur The main shopping street64.1457° N, 21.9298° W · Open in Google Maps
6. 6
   Skólavörðustígur (rainbow street) Painted in rainbow colours at its lower end, climbing to Hallgrímskirkja64.1460° N, 21.9326° W · Open in Google Maps
7. 7
   Austurvöllur square The square in front of the Parliament building64.1472° N, 21.9398° W · Open in Google Maps
8. 8
   City Hall On the north shore of Tjörnin64.1461° N, 21.9423° W · Open in Google Maps
9. 9
   Tjörnin pond The pond in the middle of town64.1445° N, 21.9423° W · Open in Google Maps
10. 10
    Höfði house The house where Reagan and Gorbachev met in 198664.1465° N, 21.9064° W · Open in Google Maps
11. 11
    Grótta lighthouse Lighthouse on a tidal island in Seltjarnarnes; the causeway is only walkable at low tide64.1650° N, 22.0220° W · Open in Google Maps

Museums and shows

12. 12
    National Museum of Iceland64.1420° N, 21.9481° W · Open in Google Maps
13. 13
    Hafnarhús (Reykjavik Art Museum)64.1492° N, 21.9398° W · Open in Google Maps
14. 14
    Settlement Exhibition (871±2) Remains of a Viking-age longhouse, underground64.1474° N, 21.9428° W · Open in Google Maps
15. 15
    Icelandic Phallological Museum At Hafnartorg since 202064.1483° N, 21.9354° W · Open in Google Maps
16. 16
    Maritime Museum64.1533° N, 21.9486° W · Open in Google Maps
17. 17
    Whales of Iceland Life-size whale models in Grandi64.1557° N, 21.9488° W · Open in Google Maps
18. 18
    FlyOver Iceland Flight-ride film in Grandi64.1565° N, 21.9483° W · Open in Google Maps
19. 19
    Icelandic Lava Show Molten lava poured indoors, in Grandi64.1570° N, 21.9430° W · Open in Google Maps
20. 20
    Perlan Museum and viewing deck on Öskjuhlíð hill64.1292° N, 21.9190° W · Open in Google Maps
21. 21
    Kjarvalsstaðir Art museum in Klambratún park64.1379° N, 21.9139° W · Open in Google Maps

Pools and lagoons

22. 22
    Sundhöllin The city's oldest public pool, opened in 193764.1417° N, 21.9203° W · Open in Google Maps
23. 23
    Vesturbæjarlaug Neighbourhood pool in the west end64.1444° N, 21.9629° W · Open in Google Maps
24. 24
    Laugardalslaug The largest pool in the city64.1462° N, 21.8794° W · Open in Google Maps
25. 25
    Nauthólsvík geothermal beach Geothermal beach with a heated lagoon and hot tubs64.1218° N, 21.9299° W · Open in Google Maps
26. 26
    Sky Lagoon On the Kársnes shore in Kópavogur, 7.5 km from the centre64.1165° N, 21.9464° W · Open in Google Maps
27. 27
    Blue Lagoon About 49 km by road, on the Reykjanes peninsula63.8799° N, 22.4481° W · Open in Google Maps

Transport

28. 28
    Bus stop 12 (Höfðatorg) Numbered pick-up stop for tours and airport transfers, not a city bus stop64.1443° N, 21.9100° W · Open in Google Maps
29. 29
    BSÍ bus terminal Where the Flybus airport coach ends64.1375° N, 21.9345° W · Open in Google Maps
30. 30
    Hlemmur (bus hub and food hall) Hub of the city buses (Strætó), with a food hall64.1432° N, 21.9142° W · Open in Google Maps
31. 31
    Mjódd bus terminal City bus interchange in the south-east64.1097° N, 21.8420° W · Open in Google Maps
32. 32
    Skarfabakki cruise terminal Quay where the large cruise ships dock64.1548° N, 21.8620° W · Open in Google Maps
33. 33
    Reykjavik domestic airport (RKV) Domestic flights and flights to Greenland64.1319° N, 21.9466° W · Open in Google Maps
34. 34
    Keflavík Airport (KEF) The international airport, about 47 km by road63.9950° N, 22.6239° W · Open in Google Maps

Bus stop 12 is Höfðatorg on Þórunnartún, one of the numbered stops where tour and airport-coach operators collect passengers downtown. City buses do not use the numbering.

Locating the city on the globe

A common mistake is placing Reykjavik further north than it sits, or assuming it is closer to Greenland than to mainland Europe. Where is Reykjavik becomes an easier question once the coordinates are fixed: the city sits at 64.1475 N, 21.935 W, on the southwest coast of Iceland, facing the North Atlantic across Faxaflói bay. That places it well south of the Arctic Circle, though still far enough north that daylight swings hard across the year, from 21.2 hours around the June solstice to 4.1 hours in December.

Reykjavik latitude longitude figures are also useful for judging travel time on a map, not just position: the city is a base for day trips rather than a destination with everything inside it, and most of what a road map shows beyond the harbour is driving distance, not walking distance. Keflavík, the main gateway airport, sits about 47 km away, a drive of roughly 45 minutes by the Flybus service into downtown Reykjavik. A city map that only shows streets within the old town leaves out that context, and a visitor working from one alone tends to underestimate how far the rest of the country actually is from the pin marking the city centre.

The greater capital region reaches a population of 253,230, while the city proper counts 139,804 people, a difference worth knowing when a map appears to show one continuous urban area: several distinct municipalities sit inside what looks like a single city on the screen. The Icelandic Meteorological Office publishes the weather and aurora forecasts tied to this location, and both are worth checking against the map before finalising which neighbourhoods to base a stay in.

A tourist information desk, downtown

Planning a route at the desk

Reading the coordinates on a map app

Typing the city name into a map tool sometimes returns a pin several kilometres off, especially when an app defaults to a broader region label instead of the centre. The Reykjavik longitude figure, 21.935 W, paired with the latitude, fixes the point precisely enough to check any pin against: west of the Greenwich meridian, on the same general line as western Ireland, though the two places feel nothing alike once weather is factored in. A map that centres correctly on this point makes it easier to judge real distances to the sights outside downtown, including the pools spread through the different districts and the harbour where boat tours depart.

Bus stop 12 is Höfðatorg on Þórunnartún, a numbered pick-up stop for tours and airport coaches rather than a Strætó city bus stop, worth marking apart from the bus network when working out how the pools, the harbour and the old town connect without a car. A single Strætó fare costs 690 ISK, and knowing it before boarding avoids delay. The city's average high climbs from 3.2 degrees Celsius (37.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in July, a range worth marking against the map when deciding how far to walk between points on a given day, and the US Department of State and the UK FCDO both publish current travel advice for Iceland worth checking before the trip.

Common questions

Is the whole city walkable from a single map view?

The old town is about 1.5 km across and walkable, but the pools, the harbour and the airport sit far enough outside it that a single street-level map view will not show them all at a useful scale.

What is bus stop 12?

Bus stop 12 is Höfðatorg on Þórunnartún, a numbered pick-up stop for tours and airport transfers rather than a Strætó city bus stop.

How far is Keflavík airport from the map's city centre?

About 47 km, roughly a 45-minute drive by the Flybus service.

Does a city map show both airports?

Reykjavik has more than one airport in the wider area, and a map focused only on the downtown core will not necessarily show the domestic one at the same scale as Keflavík.

Why does the city look bigger on a map than the population suggests?

The greater capital region, at 253,230 people, spans several municipalities that appear as one continuous built-up area on most map views, while the city proper counts 139,804.