Reykjavik - 2 days recommendations things to do

[MyWayOnly]

We are off to Iceland shortly - we are doing the ring road tour and have 2 days in the capital before we head out.
can you give me your recommendations for things to do in the city - I know there’s various museums etc, so which are the best? We are staying centrally so will be walking /using bus.
We will be doing whale watching, thermal pools etc on our tour so only looking for things in the city to do.
Thank you!

It's easy to walk around. I enjoyed the northern lights museum.
Some great restaurants. Try the fermented shark. It's a speciality. In good restaurants. Worth the experience. (Totally stinks !) 🤣

Our favourites were:

Hallgrímskirkja rooftop viewing platform (also there’s this little museum with a sculpture garden opposite, we didn’t go into the museum but the garden was a lovely little place to sit and catch our breath)

Sun Voyager - we went at sunset and was gorgeous but we were there in September! Fab views across to mountains.

Icelandic Phallological Museum - as the name suggests, but I wouldn’t bother unless you really like looking at preserved things in test tubes / jars.

Our favourite musuem was The National Museum of Iceland, it was a nice size and we were impressed by how well laid out it was. It’s a musuem you want to do start to finish though, I think, not really one to dip in and out or just do a bit of. Saying that, some of the more modern stuff was a bit meh so we did definitely speed up!

We enjoyed climbing Hallgrimskirke tower for gorgeous views. The shops are lovely - incredibly friendly. We sat for an hour listening to music in a vinyl records shop while the owner insisted on bringing us chocolates and coffees and colouring books for DC. We bought a single CD of Icelandic music afterwards and he seemed so happy we'd bought anything at all! In another shop the owner encouraged DC to try out all his musical instruments, and in a cafe, the barista showed DC all their roasting machinery out the back. DC and I loved the municipal swimming pool too, with huge water slides with disco lights, floating chessboards and mini whirlpools.

Definitely go swimming - different to the various lagoons, the council run pools are super cheap and lots of outside hot tubs etc. We went to the one next to the national stadium. The cathedral was great and the tower was good. We went to a lovely crepe cafe at the bottom of the hill down from the cathedral which was very nice.

Another vote for Hallgrimskirkja and the National Museum. Also make sure you at least go to see Harpa and the Sun Voyager.

I also quite like the viewing platform at the Perlan, but it’s not so central.

If I had two days in Reykjavík I would download the Hopp app and use the e-scooters. I would not bother with the buses really.

Walk around 101 a bit. It is not very big so easy to do in a morning/afternoon. See the Tjörn, Hallgrímskirkja, Sólfari, Harpa.

The National Museum is good.

I love the open air museum at Árbær. I always love open air history museums, though, I don't know why!

Scoot into Seltjarnarnes and see the nature reserve (amazing birdlife and it is so beautiful) and the lighthouse.

Scoot along the coastal path, see Nauthólsvík and then go to Perlan.

Thanks everyone.