Árbær Open Air Museum — Attraction in Reykjavik

This was a big surprise and one of the best stops for my trip to Iceland. This museum taught me a lot about Iceland culture and its history. There is an English tour everyday (check their website for times), and it is nice, but not 'a must' since most signs and exhibits are in both Icelandic and English. I checked the website before going to this museum and planned on going around a Fullveldisdagurinn (Iceland Sovereignty Day) celebration. This included the Reykjavík Folk Dance Association, Icelandic Wrestling (Glima) Association, the Icelandic Handicraft Association, the Reykjavík Accordion Lovers Association and the Iðunn Traditional Rímur Society. It was everything Iceland with traditional clothing, craft, song, dance, and sport. I could not get enough and my only complaint was it needed to be a longer event! The museum staff were friendly and helpful, and we had no issue navigating in English. The special event was conducted mostly in Icelandic, but again, everyone was helpful and explained things to us. We even learned how to cross stitch! There was a lot of parking, even though this was a big event, and the museum houses are not typically handicap accessible - but there were ramps that the staff could help with if needed. I found the pricing for admission reasonable as compared to similar museums in the New England region of the USA. My best piece of advice would be to go on to their website or Facebook page and enjoy one of their special events if time allows. This museum was wonderful by itself, but the addition of the event made it...

Árbæjarsafn / Árbær Open Air Museum is a Must see if you are visiting Iceland. There is just so much history of Iceland packed in this open air museum. You get to walk in and interact in various old houses, workplaces and really go back in time and see how the Icelandic people lived, worked etc. These are the real houses that have been moved to the museum and they are maintained as they were back in the days. As a born and raised here (Iceland) I went there regularly as a child. But then from teen to adulthood i didn't go much to be honest (But i visited museums in other countries instead) But after becoming a father over a decade ago i do go at least once a year, perfect place to let the kids go back to the past (fun and educational) and if it's a good summer day we have a picnic there, But there is a coffee shop in the museum. There is also all kinds of events regularly happening all around the year (check their website for more information) If you are visiting our little island i fully recommend taking a day there. As for time estimate I'd say its about 2,5-5 hours at the most all depending on time of year and if you have children and stop by the Coffee house or have a picnic. (I am not affiliated with the museum, I'm just a normal Icelandic dad) And If you are traveling to Iceland i hope you enjoy you trip and have a great time. Edit: Remember to dress according to weather since you are walking outside from...

A nice activity, even for a day in the winter with light rain/snow/ice. Upon buying tickets, I was provided a map and proceeded to tour the grounds based on the order of the buildings numbered on the map. I appreciate the English language translation for most panel descriptions within each exhibition and the plaque outside each structure for context. My personal favorite was the exhibition which focuses on the effects of consumption and the war on Iceland, even though Iceland did not directly engage in conflict. There were multiple military stations set up (by the UK and the US) at various times and import/export became almost non-existent. Very educational visit and plenty to do for kids as well, even though nobody but us was there when we visited. Only minor complaint is that not all of the buildings were open, so we made rather long and dangerous treks across the ice only to find out that we couldn't go inside a few structures. Would have been nice to know this in advance so we could avoid the slippery path. Overall, would recommend as it's a very interesting and...