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Top 10 Iceland PDF

146 Pages·2016·35.84 MB·English
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EYEWITNESS TRAVEL TOP ICELAND HOT SPRINGS AND GEYSERS • ITINERARIES AND TRIPS TOP RESTAURANTS • VOLCANOES AND WATERFALLS OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES • BARS AND CLUBS • HOTELS ARRS T F R ÍR K I R KÆ S J ÓU V L E T E G LU Y RI J Í A i sDs S lFJ tÓaKL óaU n ÁG sm B dLa Ó SH ksfTKn LiOAUÍrHFLÁGSkVTELGUURjSÖaRTÐnÍÞGIUSNTGÍUGHU UORRLRTÐSASRT RNBÆÖTENBRNUGGASATTAALÐ A DSBTURRAÆRRÓTGÐISTI GANSIGSAGG KAAATÓTATL TAAA VAS Þ JÖÓ AFRRRÐSEGLUYAOSTJKTAUAÍ GGS U T AKRÍLTAGA PP YOUR GUIDE TO THE BEST OF EVERYTHING EYEWITNESS TRAVEL TOP ICELAND DAVID LEFFMAN Top 10 Iceland The Top 10 Highlights of Everything Welcome to Iceland .......................5 Moments in History .....................36 Exploring Iceland ...........................6 Churches ......................................38 Iceland Highlights ........................10 Museums in Reykjavík .................40 Þingvellir National Park ..............12 Museums Around Iceland ...........42 The Blue Lagoon and Around .....14 Waterfalls .....................................44 Geysir Hot Springs Area ..............16 Volcanoes ......................................46 Gullfoss .........................................18 Hot Springs and Geysers .............48 Lake Mývatn Area ........................20 Offshore Islands ...........................50 Vatnajökull National Park ...........24 Places to See Birds Snæfellsjökull National Park ......26 and Wildlife ...............................52 Látrabjarg Bird Cliffs ...................28 Things to Do With Kids ................54 Landmannalaugar Area ..............30 Outdoor Activities .........................58 Jökulsárlón ..................................32 Hiking Trails .................................60 Places for Fine Dining .................62 Cheaper Eats ................................64 Bars, Clubs and Cafés .................66 Iceland for Free ............................68 Festivals ........................................70 CONTENTS Iceland Streetsmart Area by Area Reykjavík .......................................74 Getting To and Around West Iceland and the Iceland .....................................120 Snæfellsnes Peninsula ............82 Practical Information .................122 The Westfjords .............................88 Places to Stay .............................128 North Iceland ...............................94 East Iceland ................................100 General Index .............................134 South Iceland .............................108 Acknowledgments .....................140 The Highland Interior ................114 Phrase Book ...............................142 The information in this DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide is checked regularly. Every effort has been made to ensure that this book is as up-to-date as possible at the time of going to press. Some details, however, such as telephone numbers, opening hours, prices, gallery hanging arrangements and travel information are liable to change. The publishers cannot accept responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of this book, nor for any material on third party websites, and cannot Within each Top 10 list in this book, no hierarchy guarantee that any website address in this of quality or popularity is implied. All 10 are, in book will be a suitable source of travel the editor’s opinion, of roughly equal merit. information. We value the views and suggestions of our readers very highly. Please Front cover and spine Reykjavík and Mount write to: Publisher, DK Eyewitness Travel Esja in the background Guides, Dorling Kindersley, 80 Strand, London Back cover Godafoss Falls, North Iceland WC2R 0RL, Great Britain, or email Title page Hveravellir hot spring in the western [email protected] highlands Top 10 Iceland ❮❮ 5 Welcome to Iceland Land of the Vikings and their sagas. A mix of lunar deserts, thundering waterfalls, erupting volcanoes and majestic fjords. Hiking hotspot. Wildfowl mecca. All this only begins to describe Iceland… so who could deny it’s Europe’s wildest, most rugged destination? With Eyewitness Top 10 Iceland, it’s yours to explore. We love nothing more than spending never-ending summer days strolling Reykjavík’s historic centre, taking an outdoor thermal soak in the surreal waters of the Blue Lagoon, enjoying fresh-caught salmon or lobster in a seafront restaurant, tackling the Laugavegur trail between Landmannalaugar’s hot springs and the beautiful highland wilderness at Þórsmörk, or gazing at powder-blue icebergs drifting lazily around at Jökulsárlón. It’s all here on this island nation, floating just below the Arctic Circle. The country isn’t all a struggle against the elements. Small but sophisticated Reykjavík offers a melange of cafés, bars and museums. History and landscape are visibly entangled at sites such as Þingvellir, the rift-valley location of Iceland’s original Viking parliament, or Laxárdalur, the setting for the tragic Laxdæla Saga. But in the end, it’s Iceland’s raw beauty that really captures the imagination: the smouldering lava fields, huge volcanic craters, bubbling mud pools and seething geysers. Whether you’re coming for a weekend or a week, our Top 10 guide is designed to bring together the best of everything the country can offer, from four-wheel-drive expeditions across the Interior to gentle walks around Reykjavík’s city parks. The guide gives you tips throughout, from seeking out when and where to see the northern lights to the best places to spot puffins, plus easy-to-follow itineraries, designed to tie together a clutch of sights in a short space of time. Add inspiring photography and detailed maps, and you’ve got the essential pocket-sized travel companion. Enjoy the book, and enjoy Iceland. Clockwise from top: Jökulsárlón icebergs, the Blue Lagoon, Perlan building in Reykjavík, Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupting, Vík church, a puffin, turf houses in Djúpivogur 6 ❯❯ Top 10 Iceland Exploring Iceland Iceland’s attractions are split between its unique island culture and its often explosive scenery – and with many landscapes closely tied to famous historic events, you’ll often Reykjavík’s old houses find both together. Here are some ideas for are weather proofed in making the most of your stay, whether you brightly coloured are here on a weekend break in Reykjavík, corrugated iron. or have time to circuit the country. Strokkur geyser erupts every few minutes. Þingvellir Geysir Gullfoss Reykjavík Kerið Blue Selfoss Lagoon Hvolsvöllur Eyjafjallajökull Saga Centre Key Seljalandsfoss Two-day itinerary Skógafoss Seven-day itinerary and the thundering falls of Gullfoss Two Days in Iceland (see pp18–19). Enjoy an evening soak at the Blue Lagoon (see pp14–15). Day 1 Stroll around Reykjavík’s midtown Seven Days in Iceland and harbour (see p75), taking in the Harpa theatre (see p76) and cultural exhibitions at Landn ámssýningin, Day 1 Safnahúsið and Listasafn Íslands Explore Reykjavík’s historic midtown (see p75). In the afternoon, survey the and harbour (see p75), taking in city from atop Hallgrímskirkja (see the excellent, subterranean p76) or Perlan (see p77) before Landnámssýningin exhibition (see admiring Modernist can vases at p75). Drive around the iconic Kjarvalss taðir (see p76). Finish with landscapes at Þingvellir (see pp12– the zoo and botanic gardens at 13), Geysir (see pp16–17) and Gullfoss Laugard alur (see p77). (see pp18–19), before heading past Kerið crater (see p112) to spend the Day 2 night in the town of Selfoss. Take a Golden Circle tour (or drive) around the ancient parliament site at Day 2 Þingvellir (see pp12–13), Gey sir’s hot Travel the southwest coast, via the pools and water spouts (see pp16–17) Hvolsvöllur Saga Centre (see p112), Exploring Iceland ❮❮ 7 0 kilometres 60 0 miles 60 Húsavík Krafla Jökul sárlón lagoon is Námaskarð filled with floating Akureyri Lake blue icebergs. Mývatn Jarðböðin Seyðisfjörður Egilsstaðir Lögurinn Lake Höfn Svartifoss Jökulsárlón Skaftafell Seljalandsfoss waterfall is fed by meltwater from Vík Eyjafjallajö kull icecap. the waterfall at Seljalandsfoss (see Lögurinn lake or head to the p44), the Eyjafjallajö kull icecap (see picturesque East Fjords port of p46) – site of the 2010 eruption – and Seyðisfjörður (see p102). Skógafoss (see p45). Stay overnight at Vík (see p110), with its teeming Day 5 seabird colonies. Drive towards Lake Mývatn, detour- ing to explore the Krafla erupt ion Day 3 site (see p21) and Námas karð’s mud Cross the gravel desert that lies east pools (see p21). Circuit Lake Mývatn of Vík to Skaftafell (see p25), where (see p20) before unwinding at you can see glacier tongues and Jarðböðin Nature Baths (see p21). Svartifoss waterfall (see p60). Continue to the icebergs at Day 6 Jökulsárlón (see pp32–3) and lobster Head to the north coast for a whale- restaurants at Höfn (see p103), with watching trip out of Húsavík (book in views of Vatnajökull icecap (see p24) advance; see p96), before driving to along the way. pleasant Akureyri (see p96). Day 4 Day 7 Travel up the east coast and then Return to Reykjavík and spend a inland to Egilsstaðir (see p101), couple of hours at the Blue Lagoon where you could either circuit (see pp14–15) en route to the airport. Top 10 Iceland Highlights Jökulsárlón lagoon at sunset

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