Reykjavik

Home to two-thirds of Icelanders, yet only 250,000 people. North Atlantic on one side, mountains on the other.

Climate and daylight

Are Subarctic, but the Gulf Stream keeps winters mild. The extremes are in the daylight: as little as four hours in December, and June nights where the sky never goes dark.Read more here.

Creative and lively.

Strong reputation for music, literature, and design. Laufey, Björk, and Sigur Rós all came from here. Iceland Airwaves festival, usually end of October, is a great way to sample Icelandic and upcoming international artists. Days are relaxed around cafés, bookstores, and geothermal pools. Weekend nights get surprisingly energetic with bars and live music.

Food

Traditional Icelandic meets modern Nordic. Our favourites:

• Himalayan Spice: Nepalese with fresh Icelandic ingredients

• Hosilo: Michelin worthy (hosilo.is)

• Kopar: by the harbour, good service (kopar.is)

• Fish Company for fresh Icelandic fish (fishcompany.is)

• Fine dining: ÓX, Sumac (sumac.is), Sushi Social (sushisocial.is)

• Casual: Flatey Pizza, Tommi's Burger Joint

• Always, always Valdís (valdis.is) for dessert. Salty caramel and peanut is top of the list. Two locations, by the harbour and just off Laugavegur.

A family day, the locals way.

Simple pattern, order matters. Pool first at a neighbourhood sundlaug: Vesturbæjarlaug (small, sociable), Laugardalslaug (slides, next to the zoo), or Sundhöllin (the downtown classic). Hot dog after swimming, then ice cream for dessert, regardless of the weather. Icelanders eat it on the hottest and coldest days of the year.

Location

Located 45 minutes from the international airport, Reykjavik is the starting point for exploring Iceland. A day or two is enough to get a feel for the locals' favourite place to live.