Reykjavik is the world's northernmost capital and one of its smallest — about 140,000 people live in the city itself, around two-thirds of the country's entire population. It is also one of the youngest, having spent most of its history as a fishing village before stepping into a capital's role only in the late nineteenth century. The result is a city that feels more like an unusually cosmopolitan small town: brightly painted corrugated-iron houses, a working harbour, and a centre you can walk across in twenty minutes.
The skyline is dominated by Hallgrímskirkja, the basalt-column-inspired Lutheran church on the hill, with the best view in town from its tower. Down on the waterfront, the glass honeycomb of Harpa changes colour with the sky, and the polished steel ribs of the Sun Voyager sculpture point out across the bay toward Mount Esja. The National Museum and the Reykjavik Art Museum are both excellent and not exhausting, and the streets between Tjörnin lake and the harbour are full of small galleries, design shops, and very good coffee. The newer Grandi district, on the old industrial harbour, is where the breweries, ice-cream shops, and contemporary art spaces have moved in.
Nights are quiet during the week and slightly insane on Friday and Saturday, when locals do the famous "Rúntur" — a late-starting downtown bar crawl that does not really get going until midnight and only thins out around five. Drinks are expensive, the music is loud, and the atmosphere is unfailingly friendly.
Most travellers use Reykjavik as a base for the country's natural marvels. The Golden Circle (Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss) is a long-day loop; the Blue Lagoon is forty minutes toward the airport; the volcanic Reykjanes peninsula is closer still. In winter the Northern Lights are often visible from the seafront (the Grótta lighthouse at the city's western tip is the favourite local spot). In summer the sun barely sets and the whole country opens up.
Be honest about the weather: it is windy, often wet, and the temperature rarely climbs above 15°C even in July. Pack accordingly. Once you do, Reykjavik is one of the more rewarding small capitals in Europe — manageable, opinionated, and pointed outward at one of the most extraordinary landscapes on earth.