Fall in Love with Reykjavik - Autumn in Iceland

Educational Adventures in Family Travel

Fall in Love with Reykjavik

Autumn in Iceland

November 12, 2017

In early October we set out for a grand adventure in Iceland. We were thrilled to finally be heading over to this island nation that has received so much travel love in recent years. Since we enjoy outdoor spaces, nature, and all things Europe, we knew we’d love it too! We expected to see lots of green in the lush, rugged landscape. We knew we’d see white and blue in the waterfalls, glaciers and North Atlantic Ocean. And indeed we did see those. But what we didn’t expect to see was so much orange and red! The fall colors really surprised us and just took our breath away.

We’ve already written about our Snæfellsnes Peninsula and West Iceland Itinerary but wanted to share the gorgeous landscape of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, in its autumn glory. Enjoy our photo tour of Reykjavik, Iceland in Fall.

Hallgrímskirkja Church in Reykjavik is quite unique. Considered expressionist architecture, this Lutheran church was opened in 1986. It stands 74 meters high and is one of highest buildings in all of Iceland. While the interior is impressive, I think the real highlight is taking the elevator up to the observation deck for the following view. And take a look at all those fall colors! You can just make out little puffs of orange throughout the colorful city!

In front of Hallgrímskirkja is a statue of Leif Eriksson the great Viking explorer. He was born here in Iceland and is credited for exploring Greenland and the Americas. We were fortunate to catch a rainbow here.

Not far from the city center sits the lovely park of Hljómskálagarður. A great spot for a walk or a jog, this city park is filled with paved trails and benches.

And the views toward Hallgrímskirkja are spectacular too.

The park also has a pond where ducks and swans like to gather. In the winter, you might even see people ice skating here.

The park is also filled with interesting statues along the paths. They contain captions where you can read about their significance.

And what else goes well with an autumn tour of Reykjavik? European pastries of course! We loved Sandholt. It became our go-to location each morning for a take-away coffee and pastry. The only problem was, we couldn't decide if we liked the Icelandic donuts best or the savory sandwiches. Everything was delicious! They also have a lovely dining area for a full breakfast and lunch menu.

So now you can see why we loved visiting Iceland in the fall. We had about nine hours of daylight each day and the temperatures hovered just above freezing, but we were just fine in our warm jackets and water-proof boots. We loved everything about Iceland and being able to see the red and orange tapestry of autumn was just an added bonus we weren't expecting.

What is your favorite time of the year to visit Iceland?