Akureyri, Iceland: Self-Guided Walking Tour

Akureyri is a charming town in northern Iceland that offers a mix of cultural museums, historic churches and nearby natural sights. It’s worth visiting for its well‑preserved wooden architecture, vibrant art scene and easy access to the Arctic Circle island of Grímsey. Neywo provides a free audio guide for Akureyri with 8 narrated places and one self‑guided walking tour, so you can explore at your own pace.

Explore Akureyri’s highlights

Nonni’s House

Nonni’s House is a quaint wooden museum on Aðalstræti that dates back to around 1850, making it one of the oldest wooden buildings in Akureyri. The museum opened in 1957 thanks to the Zonta Club and was transferred to the Akureyri municipality in 2008, where it continues to showcase the life and work of Iceland’s beloved storyteller.

Akureyri Art Museum

The Akureyri Art Museum is Iceland’s largest art museum outside the capital region. It occupies a former dairy building with clear Bauhaus influences. The idea for an art museum in Akureyri first appeared in a 1960 newspaper article, and the museum opened on 29 August 1993 to mark the town’s anniversary. Over the years it has exhibited works by artists such as Rembrandt, Louisa Matthíasdóttir, Erró, Henri Cartier‑Bresson, Kjarval, Spencer Tunick and Guy Ben‑Ner, and it has hosted the Icelandic Visual Arts Awards annually since 2006.

Akureyri Museum

Akureyri Museum is a regional and local heritage museum dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of Eyjafjörður. Its main exhibition halls are housed in Kirkjuhvoll, a three‑storey residential building from 1934, with additional spaces added in 1978. A highlight is the Museum Church, a striking black‑timber church originally built in 1846 by church carpenter Þorsteinn Daníelsson and moved here from Svalbarður, exemplifying rural Icelandic churches of the mid‑19th century. The museum opened on 17 July 1963 at Aðalstræti 58 and has since expanded its collection to include sites such as Nonnahús, Davíðshús, the historic houses at Laufás and the storage facility at Naust.

Akureyrarkirkja

Akureyrarkirkja rises on a gentle hill in the town centre and is Akureyri’s prominent Lutheran church. Completed in 1940 to a design by Guðjón Samúelsson, Iceland’s former state architect, it features a remarkable 3,200‑pipe organ and nave balcony bas‑reliefs by sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson. The altarpiece dates to 1863 by Danish artist Edvard Lehmann, and the stained‑glass windows were crafted by J. Wippel & Co. of Exeter, Britain. Two special baptismal fonts stand inside: one carved from Italian white marble by Florentine sculptor Corrado Vigni, and the other a replica of an angel font by Bertel Thorvaldsen (whose original is in Copenhagen Cathedral). The church was consecrated in 1940, officially named after Matthías Jochumsson in 2022, and suffered vandalism in 2017 that caused about twenty million Icelandic króna in damage.

Lögmannshlíðarkirkja

Lögmannshlíðarkirkja is a church building in Akureyri that was consecrated during Advent in 1860. It served as the parish church for the Lögmannshlíðarsókn community until 2002.

Grímsey

Just offshore lies Grímsey, a tiny Icelandic island that sits directly on the Arctic Circle. It is Iceland’s northernmost inhabited place, home to about fifty‑seven residents whose livelihood has long been tied to fishing; the island’s only village is Sandvík. Until 2009 Grímsey was its own municipality, Grímseyjarhreppur, but a referendum that year saw its residents vote to join the Akureyri municipality. Since 2005 an automatic weather station has monitored the island’s conditions. Grímsey is also celebrated for its birdlife; each spring puffins and a variety of seabirds return to breed on the cliffs, drawing nature lovers from around the world. (Iceland)

St. Peter’s Church, Akureyri

St. Peter’s Church is a striking red and white Catholic church on Eyrarlandsvegi. The building was first erected in 1912, later acquired by the Diocese of Reykjavík in 1952, and then renovated and consecrated as a church between 1998 and 2000. Today it serves the local Catholic community and follows the Roman or Latin rite as part of the diocese.

Glerárkirkja

Glerárkirkja serves Akureyri’s residents in postal code 603. The parish of Glerárprestakall was created in 1981 when Akureyrarprestakalli split, prompting the need for a new church. Planning began in 1969 with a building committee formed to find a site. Architect Svan Eiríksson designed the church, which covers about 2,100 square metres, with the lower floor making up roughly half of that area. In 1989 steel cladding was added to the roof, giving the building a modern appearance. The first mass was celebrated on 18 August 1985, even before the building was fully finished. The church was expanded in 2002 and re‑dedicated on 6 December 2002.

Experience Akureyri with Neywo

Neywo’s free audio guide for Akureyri includes 8 narrated places and one walking tour: “The Capital of the North: Churches, Art and Nonni’s Wooden House.” This route is 2.11 km long, takes about 58 minutes and stops at the Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyrarkirkja, St. Peter’s Church, Nonni’s House and the Akureyri Museum. As you reach each stop, the app tells the story of that place, allowing you to explore at your own pace with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Ready to discover Akureyri? Download Neywo, start the walking tour and let the stories of the town unfold as you walk. (Iceland)