National Gallery of Iceland (Listasafn Íslands)
National Gallery of Iceland (Listasafn Íslands)
National Gallery of Iceland (Listasafn Íslands)
3.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ICELAND - One museum, two locations. The National Gallery of Iceland hosts one of Iceland's largest art collection. The National Gallery on Fríkirkjuvegur 7 features temporary exhibitions with art from from the late 19th century until today. A permanent exhibition with works from the collection can be seen at the House of Collections - Hverfisgata 15. The museum store National Gallery on Fríkirkjuvegur 7 offers books, postcards, posters and more and the café Siguranna at the House of Collections invites you to sit down and enjoy their newly baked pastries and more.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Neighbourhood: Miðborg
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3.5
190 reviews
Excellent
40
Very good
45
Average
51
Poor
33
Terrible
21
AKTravelerFAI
Fairbanks, AK19 contributions
July 2023 • Solo
This is an excellent small museum spread across three different locations in Reykjavík. I especially recommend the House of Collections, which is a block away from Reykjavik’s main shopping street and well worth a visit for its themed exhibitions of selections from the museum’s general collection. The National Gallery of Iceland location on the lake hosts special exhibitions with a tilt toward contemporary Icelandic art. When I visited these two locations in July 2023 they were both offering complimentary coffee, tea, and water with admission. I did not visit the third location, Home of an Artist, but a single ticket covers it along with the other two venues, which I highly recommend.
Written 23 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LaJu
9 contributions
Oct 2020
First of all, the name of the gallery gives you the impression that you'd find a permanent exhibition with the best of Icelandic art. Absolutely WRONG. We visited the gallery in October 2020 and there were two temporary exhibitions (as per their website) and nothing else except a storage / working room in which you are informed that they do have 13k pieces of art but they show you only a handful. The exhibitions were truly quite interesting but all descriptions of the pieces were in Icelandic only. We assume that you could find the English descriptions by scanning a QR code but if you do not have internet you are unable to get more out of the visit. Not quite a waste of time, but definitely very expensive entry fee for what it is!
Written 22 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike T
Springfield, OH24 contributions
Dec 2022
International travelers interested in art are accustomed to seeing magnificent galleries loaded with works of the great masters. Unfortunately, sparsely populated Iceland simply doesn't have the resources to even remotely compete. We visited all three locations of the National Galley and while the House of Collections has a few interesting pieces, overall the experience is simply not worth your time.
Written 29 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Judith H
22 contributions
Sept 2022
Anyone visiting Iceland should definitely visit the National Gallery where you will see some of Iceland's most famous artists works, mainly landscape and portraits. This will give you an idea of what Iceland is all about. But this Gallery is not showing art works of other countries. This Gallery is just all about Iceland. Anyone expecting something on a grand scale like other big galleries in Europe, then they are going to be disappointed.
Written 24 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
andrei_petrescu
Amsterdam, The Netherlands819 contributions
June 2024 • Solo
I regret not researching more thoroughly before visiting the National Gallery of Iceland. I was disappointed with my experience and felt the admission fee was not justified. Upon arrival, I did not receive a warm welcome; the staff at the entrance, while professional, seemed cold and dismissive. The gallery's three floors lacked substantial displays of art, and I completed my visit in less than 15 minutes.
Written 19 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
C M
Portland, OR171 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
The good: helpful staff, well curated special exhibits, beautiful building, good cafe
The downside: somewhat limited collection and perhaps not a very representative sample that would be of interest to tourists looking for a sample of Icelandic art - this could be compensated for with the two additional museums included in the ticket price.
Point of frustration: the ticket to the National Gallery includes access to two other galleries but these are closed from mid December through the end of January (despite the massive volume of tourism in these months...). It would be nice if the ticket to the National Gallery was discounted to reflect the unfortunate and hard to understand closure of the other two museums. Or better yet these museums should stay open all year.
The downside: somewhat limited collection and perhaps not a very representative sample that would be of interest to tourists looking for a sample of Icelandic art - this could be compensated for with the two additional museums included in the ticket price.
Point of frustration: the ticket to the National Gallery includes access to two other galleries but these are closed from mid December through the end of January (despite the massive volume of tourism in these months...). It would be nice if the ticket to the National Gallery was discounted to reflect the unfortunate and hard to understand closure of the other two museums. Or better yet these museums should stay open all year.
Written 8 January 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bethesda14610
New York City, NY40 contributions
June 2016 • Couples
We visited the museum today, and it was primarily a waste of money (1500 ISK/person) and time. It's nicely laid-out and it's in an attractive setting, but those are the only positive comments I can make. We're serious museum-goers, and we really feel that this museum was very boring.
Written 21 June 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
StatusBK
Arlington, VA101 contributions
July 2018 • Family
Not big but a nice overview of Icelandic artist. We also got passes to other museums as part of our admission.
Written 3 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
welltravelledHamburg
Hamburg, Germany163 contributions
Sept 2017
cannot believe the amount of exhibits. it is just a joke, sorry, am usually writing only positive experiences , but his was not worth getting out of the house for.
Written 13 September 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
freutmich
Kansas City765 contributions
Aug 2017 • Solo
For a national art museum I was taken aback by how few pieces of art were on display here. I happened to visit on Culture Day, when admission was free. That was a bonus because I think I would have been a little upset if I had paid to get in. Initially I was convinced I was missing something - an entire floor or an entire wing. But no, what you see is what you get. There are some nice paintings here by Icelandic artists that I'd not heard of before, and ultimately I'm glad I went. But take appropriate expectations with you iif you go.
Written 24 August 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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