From the Game of Thrones locations to the Northern Lights, 6 things you MUST do in Reykjavik

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The old heart of Reykjavik feels like an easy-going small town
Most locals speak English and there is friendly service everywhere
The rugged Golden Circle is popular as Game of Thrones filmed there

By Gareth Huw Davies for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 17:46 EST, 12 March 2016 | Updated: 07:13 EST, 13 March 2016

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Iceland is staging a remarkable comeback after the financial crisis. It has crafted a tourist boom out of the Northern Lights, and attractions such as thundering waterfalls and thermal pools.

Gareth Huw Davies pays a bracing winter visit to the country’s capital city...

1. Warm welcome

Iceland is so close (my Thomson flight took two-and-a-half hours from Gatwick), so comfortable, and yet so distinct. The old heart of Reykjavik feels like an easy-going small town. The air is clean and fresh, the streets are safe, and houses, restaurants, factories and even churches are cheerfully colourful. There’s friendly service everywhere, most Icelanders speak fluent English, and the post-crash recovery is going very well.

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The Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre on the Reykjavik waterfront is a popular spot for tourists

2. History tour

Down by the water’s edge is a proud new performance centre, Harpa, sparkling with multicoloured glass panels. If you want to learn more about Iceland’s fishing history, head for the Maritime Museum. On permanent display is the principal weapon in the bitter Cod Wars with the UK in the 1970s – the patrol vessel Odinn – with its original fishing net-cutting gear like a device from a Bond film.

Soaring above just about everything in this low-rise city is the 220ft-high Hallgrimskirkja church. Its stepped wings like organ pipes recall the shapes cooling lava makes in Iceland’s landscape.

3. Golden Wonder

Whatever the season, the dramatic seven-hour drive into Iceland’s raw, rugged interior, known as the Golden Circle, is irresistible (it’s where TV drama Game Of Thrones is filmed.) We passed multiple snow-capped mountains, and also the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, whose ash cloud caused chaos to the airline industry in 2010.

Geysir is a broody, simmering place, spot-on for re-enacting the witches scene in Macbeth, and it is enlivened by eruptions every ten minutes from Strokkur, its most famous geyser.

Television drama Game of Thrones has brought even more focus on Iceland

Next stop is the thunderous waterfall at Gullfoss, where cheerful staff serve sustaining meat soup and cake. The last call is the site of Iceland’s original parliament, Thingvellir – surely the most tranquil and beautiful place for politics on the planet. This rift valley is a site of geological drama. Tectonic plates are drifting apart at an inch a year.

4. Starry Nights

The Northern Lights is the greatest natural show on Earth, and Iceland is one of the best places to see it. Our driver took us out of town, where light pollution is low. The display had already started – a pale green band stretched across the starry sky, pulsing and rippling at random. On other nights, visitors might see the full-colour display, caused by electrical discharges from the sun colliding with particles in our atmosphere. Sightings aren’t guaranteed, but September to mid-April are the best times to visit.

5. Rhapsody in blue

Iceland offers a unique comfort – the chance to wallow in hot water coursing up from volcanic depths. It’s welcome at any time, but especially on winter days. There are many public pools with natural geothermal water in Iceland, but the swanky Blue Lagoon, midway between Reykjavik and the main airport, is the biggest and has the best facilities. There’s even a waterside bar, so that you can pose – drink in hand – for a selfie at this popular backdrop. For a sybaritic extra, try a massage, lounging back in the water on a supportive mat.

bluelagoon.com

6. Old favorites

I stayedin the neat new Storm Hotel, all soft wood and exquisite Nordic detail. As for restaurants and bars, it is a rare thrill on returning to a place after many years to find a favourite place still open. Kaffivagnin once again served me exceptional fish and chips. I also recommend Old Iceland, and for special occasions Kolabrautin Ristorante, atop the Harpa concert hall. There’s a big choice of cosy bars, but rather than expensive imported wine, try local craft beer – the cosy Bjorgarourinn has a huge range. Alternatively, stick to the tap water served in big clear bottles – it is some of the world’s purest.

Gareth Huw Davies was a guest of Thomson Holidays (thomson.co.uk). Its winter packages resume in November 2016, flying from Gatwick and Manchester. For further information, see visiticeland.com.