12 Museums in Iceland

Iceland is known for its staggering landscape & nature; Also being home to many museums, most notably the Iceland penis museum, better known as The Icelandic Phallological Museum. Although, we have more to offer than penises; breathtaking art museums inhabit the land with Iceland’s most beloved artists, museums that will open the door to the past of the Viking ages, modern punk, rock & pop museums that are a crucial factor to many groundbreaking musicians of Iceland, or if you’re interested in the art in Iceland, we have many incredible museums housing the history & works of our most outstanding artists.

We recommend buying a Culture card, even though you won’t be going year-round. It’s cheaper; for example, it gives you free admission into the Reykjavík city & art museums. In the Reykjavík city hall, you can buy a city card that, in fact, provides access to some of the mentioned museums, a valid ticket for public transport, and some discounts to numerous locations and activities in Reykjavík. Figure out what you want to visit and purchase one of these passes, It’ll save you some money & maybe point out some places you want to go.

Museum in Iceland

Below is a list of 12 must-visit museums in Iceland, each offering a unique glimpse into the country’s art, history, and culture.

Listasafn Reykjavíkur / Reykjavík Art Museum

Visit the Reykjavík Art Museum’s website

Iceland’s most significant art museum has three separate buildings in central Reykjavík. We highly recommend checking these buildings, which embody the most important Icelandic artists in the area.

Hafnarhúsið.
The museum displays exhibitions of progressive & experimental art by contemporary artists, young & aspiring. The home to Errós collection, where regular exhibitions of his pop-art

Kjarvalsstaðir
Holds collections of sculptures & paintings by well-known & foreign masters of modern art. With exhibitions of Kjarval’s work being stable here as one of the nation’s most beloved artists.

Ásmundarsafn
A unique building that was once home to Ásmundur and his studio, there are always exhibitions of Ásmundurs work in the museum, with regular exhibitions from artists who often have references to Ásmundur’s art.

The museum is located on Tryggvagötu 17, 101 Reykjavík

Generally open 10:00–17:00, varying by location.

Admission Fees: Adults 1.880 ISK – students 1.100 ISK – children under 18 & disabled visitors enter for free.

Listasafn íslands / National Gallery of Iceland

Visit the National Gallery of Iceland’s website

The gallery was founded in October 1884, from 1884 to 1916. It was an independent institution until the parliament decided to make it a branch of the National Museum of Iceland. The building has several exhibition halls on three floors, a café & a gift shop.

An art museum focusing on 20th—and 21st-century art, both foreign and Icelandic. It undoubtedly has the most significant collection of work by Icelandic artists and the nation’s leading artists. The museum has a collection of 11.000 works, of which 2.000 belong to Ásgrím Jónsson.

The gallery focuses on spreading knowledge about its collection and activities to the community, creating a positive and creative environment with active education that offers unique experiences to visitors and allows them to learn more about Icelandic art, past and present.

The Gallery is located on Fríkirkjuvegur 7, 101 Reykjavík

Opening hours are between 10:00 – 17:00

Admission Fees: Adults 2.000 ISK – Seniors & Students 1.000 ISK

The Reykjavík City Museum

Visit the Reykjavík City Museum’s website

The Reykjavík City Museum and its five unique places.

The Árbær Open-air Museum, established on an old farm in the early 1900s, gives an insight into architecture’s past and old lifestyles. Particularly preserving and researching cultural monuments in the capital, the museum shares knowledge of the history and life of the inhabitants of Reykjavík from the beginnings of the settlements to the present day.

The Viking Settlement: This below-ground exhibition portrays the days of the settlements based on theories about what heritage sites in Reykjavík can tell us about the past of the first settlers. Finally, interactive technology immerses you in the world of the first settlers, including how their architecture was constructed and their daily life.

Reykjavík Maritime Museum is a harbor museum exploring Iceland’s dramatic relationship with the sea.

The Reykjavík Museum of Photography shows the history of Icelandic photography, exhibiting both historical and contemporary photography in a cultural context.

Located on Grandagarður 8, 101 Reykjavík

The Settlement Exhibition, Reykjavík Maritime Museum & Museum of Photography are open daily between 10:00 – 17:00

Open Air Museum is open from 13:00 – 17:00 every day between September and May.

Admission Fees: Adult 18+ 1.800 ISK – Children 0-17 – Disabled enter for free.

The Einar Jónsson Museum

Visit the Einar Jónsson Museum’s website

The first art museum in Iceland was Einar Jónsson, Iceland’s first sculptor. His works primarily consist of folklore and mythology. Einar offered the Icelandic Parliament all of his works on the condition that the government build a museum to house them.

Einar proved himself at a young age, moving to Denmark to attend the Copenhagen Academy of Art. After living abroad for almost 20 years, Einar decided it would be best to move back to Iceland, Althing providing him with a home & a studio.

The museum garden behind the building contains 26 bronze casts by Einar. The park is open all year round and has no entrance fee, and it surely is an excellent introduction to Einar’s work.

The Einar Jónsson Museum is located on Hallgrímstorg 3, 101 Reykjavík

Opening hours are between 12:00 – 17:00

Admission Fees: Adult 18+ 1.500 ISK – seniors, students 1.000 ISK – Children, disabled people & school groups are free

Hið Íslenzka Reðursafn / The Icelandic Phallological Museum

Visit the Icelandic Phallological Museum’s website

Obviously, this is a one-of-a-kind museum that collects penises from land & sea mammals in Iceland; they have a total of 217 specimens, 56 of them from whales—even having a homo sapien specimen with more to come. I recommend looking if you’re downtown; it’s not as profound as the other museums but very good for laughs.

It is located downtown close to Kólaportið & Harpa, in Kalkofnsvegur 2 101, 101 Reykjavík

Open throughout the week between 10:00 – 19:00

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 2.500 ISK

Pönksafn Íslands / The Icelandic PUNK Museum

Visit the The Icelandic PUNK Museum Facebook page

In downtown Reykjavík, in the former public toilets (very fitting for a punk museum) sits the Icelandic Punk Museum; the toilets closed in 2006 only to be opened by Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols in 2016.

From the beginning in the late 1970s until the breakup of Björk’s band “The Sugarcubes,” this museum gives you insight into the talents & musicians of Iceland.

The bathroom stalls were exhibitions for posters, stage equipment, musical instruments, and photographs taken decades ago. Music hangs from headphones on the ceiling throughout the museum; each headphone plays a different Icelandic punk song.

This museum has a rugged feel. Although it is relatively small and not as industrialized as the others, it is still an integral part of the scene. Given these points, it is one of the odder Iceland museums.

The Iceland Punk Museum is located at Bankastræti 2, 101 Reykjavík

Opening hours are between 12:00 – 18:00

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 1.000 ISK – Children younger than ten enter for free.

Rokksafn Íslands / The Icelandic Museum of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Visit the The Icelandic Museum of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s website

Having mentioned the Punk museum, surprisingly, let’s go over the Rock ‘n’ Roll part of the spectrum. It has all the information you need about the history of pop- and rock music belonging to Iceland, dating back to 1830. They have all sorts of exhibitions regarding musicians born & raised In Iceland.

The museum is inside Reykjanesbæ, the Hljómahöll building on Hjallavegur 2.

Opening hours are between 11:00 – 18:00

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 1.500 ISK – students, disabled & seniors 1.200 ISK – Children younger than sixteen enter for free.

Duus Safnhúsið / Duus Museum

Visit the Duus Museum’s website

Another museum is located in Reykjanesbær, close to the Skessuhellir. Only a few minutes from the airport, it has nine galleries varying in size. The house itself is an old landmark from the fishing days. There’s a tourist information and booking center located in the museum.

Many of their galleries hold exhibitions for local and renowned artists. Make this your first stop to learn more about Icelandic heritage, history, and agriculture.

The most significant part of the museum is the little boat exhibit, with a hundred fishing boat models handcrafted by a single person. It is an unbelievable sight for both enthusiasts and typical dabblers.

Duus Museum is located on Duusgata 2 – 8, 230 Keflavík

Open all week between 12:00 – 17:00

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 1.000 ISK – Children, Students and Seniors enter for free.

Perlan

Visit the Perlan’s website

Perlan is the biggest nature museum in Iceland, where you can witness nature like nowhere else. An Icecavern made of natural ice, snow & volcanic ash inside the museum spans over 100 meters.

In one of the tanks inside the planetarium is “Áróra,” the exhibition of the northern light, giving the guest a trip around our solar systems and introducing the phenomenon of the northern lights. This exhibition’s eye-opener gives you an insight into why and what the northern lights are, with many more things to offer, such as augmented reality entertainment, an underwater journey, and an interactive experience with information that captivates the audience. An unreal experience is here.

All these exhibits are fun, educational & well worth the visit.

On the top of Öskjuhlíð, 105 Reykjavík, sits Perlan. Initially, a cluster of hot water tanks was converted into the building it is today.

Opening hours between 10:00 – 18:00 everyday

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 4.490 ISK – Kids between 6 – 17 2.290 ISK – Family Tickets are 9.990

Þjóðminjasafn Íslands / National Museum of Iceland

Visit the National Museum of Iceland’s website

The museum was established on February 24, 1863. It houses ancient artifacts from Iceland’s past, such as an old bronze statue of Thor holding Mjölnir, a snuff horn encased in silver, and many more exciting items. Independent artists and those affiliated with the museums also hold exhibitions in the museums.

The National Museum of Iceland is located at Suðurgötu 41, 102 Reykjavík

Open all days except Mondays between 10:00 – 17:00

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 2.000 ISK – Seniors & Students 1.000 ISK

Whales of Iceland

Visit the Whales of Iceland’s website

The largest whale exhibition in Europe showcases 23 artificial life-sized models of whales that swim around the coast of Iceland. The Marine Research Institute of Iceland and whale-watching operators work together to bring their research to educate and showcase it in the museum. This museum is one of the go-to ones.

You can check out a peaceful and gorgeous beach in the exhibition during your visit. There, they serve fresh coffee and pastries, and there’s a sofa area where you can relax and enjoy the exhibit.

All the models are handpainted and modeled after an actual whale/fish, having their features & markings.

The museum is located on Grandi, on Fiskislóð 23 – a fifteen-minute walk from downtown Reykjavík & close to the old harbor.

Open throughout the week between 10:00 – 17:00

Admission Fees: Adults 18+ 2.900 ISK – Children between 7- 15 1.500 ISK – Kids under 7 for free

The Samúel Jónsson Art Museum

Visit the Samúel Jónsson Art Museum’s website

Image: Jóhannes Jónsson/RÚV/Landinn

The Samúel Jónsson Art Museum, mentioned in One Must-See Place in Every Corner of Iceland, sits forty-minutes away north of Bíldudal, Samúel Jónsson, also known as The Artist with a Child’s Heart, his sculptures and artwork are showcased in & around his old home. Before he pursued art full-time, he made a living as a farmer.

Samúel built a home, a church, and an art museum and pursued his hobbies and artistic creations, eventually becoming the place it is today.

Over the decades after Samúels passing in 1969, his artwork deteriorated due to the harsh winters. In 1998, a restoration project was initiated to restore the buildings & sculptures to their former glory; Gerhard König, a German sculptor, led the project with groups volunteering from the SEEDS organization assisting him throughout the years.

Selárdal was once considered the country’s best parishes. There is a place called Brautarholt in Selárdal where The Samúel Jónsson Art Museum stands.

Hours and fees can vary based on special exhibitions and tours.

In conclusion, Iceland’s museums offer a wide range of attractions, from contemporary art to deeply rooted traditions and fascinating history. Before your visit, it’s a good idea to check the current opening hours and admission fees, as these may vary with the season or other factors. Iceland is more than just its natural beauty—its museums provide a journey through time, art, and the unique aspects of life on this remarkable island.