Reykjavik is still very Christmassy at the end of the year with colourful lights along the streets and houses. There is also the Illuminated Christmas cat and projections of elves and other Icelandic Christmassy characters on some buildings.
New Years Eve in Reykjavik is absolutely bonkers! They go firework crazy. It seems that anyone can let off fireworks anywhere in the city on a scale I have never seen before. Money raised from the sale of the fireworks goes to the mountain rescue charity so it’s all for a good cause.
In 2018 Leashia and I decided to go to Reykjavik for a few nights taking in the new year. We had a wonderful meal at Forrettbarinn and then while most of the population were watching Áramótaskaupið on the telly we retreived our bottle of bubbly from our accomodation [which we had kept cold on the window sill] and headed to Hallgrimskirkja for the fireworks.
In 2025 we returned to see in the new year again. We attended the late afternoon organ and brass concert in Hallgrímskirkja which was wonderful. We then headed back to our home around the corner.
I was pretty pleased with the steak dinner that I rustled up at our accomodation and we watched Áramótaskaupið on the telly, [and understood some of it] before heading back to the church with our bottle of bubbly for another bonkers display of fireworks. The slideshow below from 2025/26 and the videos should give you a good idea…
The display at Hallgrímskirkja always attracts a large crowd, when I say it is a display – it does not appear to be an organised event, with locals letting off their own fireworks when they want! Outside of the city there are many local community bonfires and displays. You could also choose to watch the fireworks from different parts of Reykjavik, such as the harbour or Perlan.
The fireworks kick off off well before midnight. It’s as if the locals are saying goodbye to the year and welcoming in the new one so there is no spontanious celebration at midnight. The fireworks are an incessant barrage of explosions and colour that lasted for well over an hour. The debris rains down on the crowd like nuclear fallout. The display does start to quieten down around 1am, and the crowd slowly disperses either to their homes or to a bar to revel the night away. We head back for a nice cup of cocoa.
The day after….
The area around Hallgrímskirkja always looks like a scene from a nuclear apocalypse on New Years day. The city is quiet [and hung over] and we like to take it easy before venturing out. Most shops are closed of course but the local pools are open in the afternoon. So on the first day of the year in 2026 we went to Sundhöllin for a nice soak. There were a few restaurants open and we returned to Salka Valka for another lovely dinner.
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