The oldest part of the city, between Tjörnin lake and the harbour, is small enough to walk in fifteen minutes and contains most of the founding institutions: the Parliament, the Cathedral, Austurvöllur square, the City Hall, the Settlement Exhibition, and the Aðalstræti row of corrugated-iron and timber houses that look much as they did a century ago.
It is where most visitors start; everything else in central Reykjavik is a short walk away.