Iceland

How to Spend a Few Hours in Akureyri, Iceland's Capital of the North!

Pri

17 Mar 2025 — 3 min read

Kaupvangsstræti (Art Street)

Akureyri: We loved exploring Akureyri. Akureyri is known as the capital of north Iceland, and is the second largest city in Iceland after Reykjavik. For any Tintin lovers, we learned that Akureyri was featured in The Shooting Star. There was a Tintin-themed framed drawing at the campsite but we were unfortunately unable to find one in the city to purchase.

Akureyri was easily our favourite of the towns we visited while in Iceland - we liked it more than Reykjavik! Here's how we spent a few hours in Akureyri. Since most of the areas listed below are within walking distance, with the exception of the grocery store and the used clothing store, we didn't have to go far.

Take a stroll down Kaupvangsstræti (Art Street) which runs through the centre of the town of Akureyri and has many lovely eclectic shops and sights. While we were there, we had the fortune to visit Fornbókabúðin Fróði, a used bookstore run by two British immigrants to Iceland that seems to have permanently shut down in September 2024! :( You can read more about the owners and their business in this article in the Reykjavik Grapevine.

Fornbókabúðin Fróði, a used bookstore in Akureyri that has since shut down :(

Take pictures with the red heart installation:

Aman looks like he's photobombing the picture here ...

Find this cool yellow frame installation just up the street past some cafes and restaurants!

Walk to Akureyrarkirkja, a beautiful church that can be reached by foot from Kaupvangsstræti (Art Street). The walk will also take you past some beautiful views.

The views near the church are spectacular

Visit a used clothing store! We went to Lottan and I was able to find my four year old niece a lovely used Icelandic wool sweater.

Take a picture of the red hearts on Akureyri's traffic lights! It seems the red hearts began taking over the city to bring some cheer during the 2008 financial crisis which created hardships for the townspeople. Read more on the official town website.