Seyðisfjörður

Color and creativity abound in Seyðisfjörður, a village filled with bright cottages and artist studios. Recently it has become famous for its photogenic Rainbow Street, which ends out front of the pretty blue town church. It’s not hard to see reasons behind the town’s popularity with tourists, as nature combines with local life to make visitors reach for their hiking boots and camera. 

The town’s colorful, Norwegian-style wooden houses date from the early years of the 20th century. In fact, the fjord has been an important trading center from the 19th century until modern times, due to its natural harbor and proximity to the European continent. The latter feature is on display as the weekly ferry pulls into port – this is Iceland’s sea link to Denmark and the Faroe Islands, and in summer the Norröna ferry transports plenty of campervans and 4-wheel-drives with their owners ready for Iceland exploration.

The town community numbers only around 700 but it impressively manages a thriving arts scene that includes summer and winter art-themed festivals, artist residencies, and even art installations high in the hills. Walking trails can take you to Tvísöngur (a mountainside sound sculpture), alongside the Fjarðará river or the edge of the fjord, or high into the surrounding hills and valleys to encounter wild waterfalls and impressive panoramas.  

Services in Seyðisfjörður are excellent, with an abundance of high-quality places to stay and eat.  

Highlights: Walk: among the waterfalls of Vestdalur Nature Reserve, up to the Vestdalur lake and the cave of ‘The Mountain Maid’. 

Taste: everything from super-fresh sushi to creative pizzas and burgers, plus a local beer named after a wartime fjord shipwreck, El Grillo. 

Get active: get out on the water in a kayak or on a local fishing boat for sea-angling and sightseeing. 

Road-trip: follow the road from Egilsstaðir up and over Fjarðarheiði mountain pass, then zig-zag down to the town and enjoy the views as you descend.