Destination Europe

City Sightseeing Tour of Reykjavik – Review

Posted on
November 13, 2019

I often see the vibrant red buses of City Sightseeing in our own home town of Bournemouth, but until now we have never been on one.

On our first full day in Reykjavik, Iceland, we decided to hop on one their local bus for a tour of the beautiful city.

Reykjavik

The Reykjavik City Sightseeing Tour starts at the Harpa Concert Hall, situated next to the Old Harbour and is just a 10 minute walk from where we stayed, so we took advantage of the good weather and wandered along the harbour front, drinking in all the fantastic views.

Sun Voyager Reykjavik

We all thought that the sculpture represented a Viking boat, however, it is a dream boat and an ode to the sun, with a promise of undiscovered territory, a dream of hope, progress and freedom and the perfect spot for a selfie!

Sun Voyager Reykjavik

As we headed along the shoreline, we noticed that there were many man made pillars of stones that have been built by tourists and the kids were eager to add their own creations.

Reykjavik

The City Sightseeing Tour runs every hour, so we had a little time to wait and explore the area outside the Harpa Concert Hall, which is a huge building made of geometric coloured glass.

Harpa

The kids were more excited by the steaming pools of geothermal water outside the building though!

Harpa

The City Sightseeing Tour allows you to explore the city at your leisure, with the opportunity to hop on and off at conveniently located bus stops.

Reykjavik

The kids insisted that we sit on the top deck so we could enjoy the panoramic views of the city from up high, although the open top element was closed and the heaters on full blast as it was a chilly 0ºC outside.

Reykjavik

We were provided with a set of headphones each so we could listen to the audio guide commentary to discover the history of Reykjavik and the landmarks as we went past.

Reykjavik

There are 16 stops on the tour and we decided to do a full loop before deciding where we wanted to get off and explore.

Reykjavik

Much of the city is undergoing regeneration, so there is a lot of building work going on, but one thing that struck us was the amount of stunning street art there is to see.

Reykjavik

There are several large and elaborate murals adorning the walls of buildings in and around Reykjavík’s centre, some of which we saw from the bus and others as we wandered along after getting off the bus.

Reykjavik

Our first stop was Hallgrímskirkja church, Reykjavík’s main landmark with a tower that can be seen from almost everywhere in the city, including our apartment.

Reykjavik

The church has a very striking look and we subsequently discovered that the pillars were inspired by the fascinating shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock.

Reykjavik

The church is beautiful, both inside and out and I would highly recommend paying the small fee to climb its impressive tower – a lift takes you the majority of the way, so don’t worry about little legs not making it.

Reykjavik

The views are quite simply spectacular, plus you get treated to the bells ringing every 15 minutes.

Reykjavik

As you come out of the church, follow the road directly opposite the entrance, past the statue. After a few minutes walk, you find a beautiful rainbow road.

Reykjavik

This road leads to the main shopping street called Laugavegur, renowned for its boutiques, restaurants, and bars, although I did find my very own street en route.

Reykjavik

The City Sightseeing Tour also points out all the local museums, which includes the stunning Reykjavik City Museum which has a high-tech, interactive multi-media experience, a whale museum, viking museum and Northern Lights museum.

Reykjavik

The tour also pointed out the famous Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, where we just had to stop to try one of their famous hotdogs.

Reykjavik

They were absolutely delicious and probably the cheapest meal we had all week too!!

Reykjavik

Doing the City Sightseeing Tour definitely pointed out some interesting buildings, family friendly restaurants and features that we wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, but, as Reykjavik is a small city, much of it is accessible on foot, if you don’t mind walking.

Reykjavik

The City Sightseeing Tour costs £25.39 per person, with children under the age of 11 FREE.

Reykjavik

Have you done a City Sightseeing Tour before?

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18 Comments
  1. Reply

    Chad

    November 13, 2019

    A friend of mine went to Reykjavik a couple of years ago and was raving about how gorgeous this city is! I would love to visit it.

  2. Reply

    Pati Robins

    November 14, 2019

    what a trully fantastic walk through Reykjavik is one stunning looking city

  3. Reply

    Myrah Duque

    November 14, 2019

    I visited Reykjavik last year and it left a life-lasting impression. Such a developed place with so many different weather changes. I loved it.

  4. Reply

    Saurabh TT

    November 14, 2019

    The church architecture is super cool. Insightful post. Keep writing

  5. Reply

    Jon

    November 14, 2019

    Wow! You really saw some amazing places! Those buses are so good I always feel when you are a tourist and want to cover as much as you can in the time you have available.

  6. Reply

    catherine santiago jose

    November 14, 2019

    Wow, this place is so amazing and it looks like a wonderful trip for everyone.

  7. Reply

    Sarah Howe

    November 14, 2019

    I’ve never been here before but I love the pictures you have taken. looks like a stunning place to go. The scenery is amazing and I love a bus tour.

  8. Reply

    MELANIE EDJOURIAN

    November 14, 2019

    I didn’t realise there was so much street art there. The pictures you took were amazing, they really capture the fun parts of your trip.

  9. Reply

    This German Mama

    November 14, 2019

    I love the architecture they have and the rainbow read is just great.

  10. Reply

    Lyndsey O'Halloran

    November 14, 2019

    Wow, what an amazing tour. I would love to see Reykjavik.

  11. Reply

    Natasha Romero-Salas

    November 14, 2019

    I love hop on and hop off busses! They make life so much easier and ensure u hit all the popular spots. That church is incredible and I love the rainbow road.

  12. Reply

    Catherine

    November 14, 2019

    How incredible! The church is absolutely stunning!

  13. Reply

    Yeah Lifestyle

    November 15, 2019

    Reykjavik looks so beautiful and what better way to see the city with the sightseeing bus especially if you have kids. The Hallgrímskirkja church looks stunning

  14. Reply

    Sabina Green

    November 15, 2019

    This looks fantastic I would love to do a sightseeing tour. Your photos are wonderful and you’ve really made me put Reykjavic on my list!

  15. Reply

    Laura - Dear Bear and Beany

    November 15, 2019

    We used this sightseeing tour when we were in Bath and they are a great way to see the city that you’re in. Reykjavic looks like it has a lot to offer.

  16. Reply

    Helen

    November 15, 2019

    Oh this takes me back to visiting Iceland a couple of years ago – what a magical place! We didn’t do a city tour bus, but would certainly consider it if we went again 🙂

  17. Reply

    LuciWest

    November 15, 2019

    It looks like you and the kids had such a super time! Good move to try out a city bus tour to get around and learn about and see all the incredible highlights. It’s such an amazing and unique city! I’ve not done a guided city bus tour – but several guided boat tours. Hadn’t realized that until just now.

  18. Reply

    Laura Schwormstedt

    November 16, 2019

    I love this hop on hop off buses – we have done one in Edinburgh and Dublin and they are a great way to see the city and explore and perfect for families as well – this one in Iceland looks fantastic

    Laura x

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KARA GUPPY
Bournemouth

Are we nearly there yet? is a new online blog run by me, Kara Guppy, and is named as such thanks to my daughter Eliza who always asks that very question when we are less than 5 minutes up the road heading off on our adventures. You may know me from my other family blog chelseamamma.co.uk