Iceland brings you face-to-face with nature in the raw. It is rugged and rewarding, with probably the greatest variety of stunning scenery and unspoilt wilderness of any European destination.
Fly into Reykjavik’s airport at Keflavik, 30 miles west of the capital city, and you find yourself plunged into a dramatic, dazzling landscape ranging from the surreal to the sublime. There are rust-red craters, cobalt-blue lakes and huge areas of luminous green moss punctuating a sea of black sand.
Against a backdrop of shimmering ice, the air is so clear and crisp that the views seem to stretch forever. You can drink from some of the cleanest rivers on the planet and marvel at cascading waterfalls. Rivers lead to a coast where there are sandy beaches, rugged cliffs and tranquil fjords thronging with birds. Off shore, six species of whale and dolphin regularly captivate tourists on whale-watching trips.
And it’s not just a centre for tourists and travellers. These days, more and more corporate groups are choosing Reykjavik’s renowned Blue Lagoon geothermal spa for their conferences. The logic is difficult to fault. For generating fresh and imaginative ideas, and banishing stale or jaded attitudes, it’s the perfect set-up.
Businessmen can gather in the 100-seater conference room in a theatre setting, hold a seminar in one of two large meeting rooms with a combined capacity of 600 or use the fully-equipped executive board room.
Then, with business completed, they can catch up with fellow delegates by sharing a dip in the relaxing waters or having an invigorating and expert massage.
Blue Lagoon was this year voted the best medical and thermal spa in the world – ahead of France’s Royal Park Evian and Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland – by readers of Conde Nast Traveller.
Iceland is a small country, just a little bigger than Portugal, with a population of 294,000 (about the same as the city of Nottingham), and more than half of these, about 180,000, live in bustling Reykjavik. Scotland is only 496 miles away to the southeast, with Norway 601 miles to the east.
Reykjavik, which lies on a small peninsula on the southwest coast of Iceland, symbolises the “new Iceland.” It is a city with more than its fair share of wealthy entrepreneurs who have already proved themselves on the European stage. They have driven an amazing reversal of fortunes in a short period. In the late 1980s, Iceland was a highly regulated and restricted nation most famous for its fishing industry, with cod the basis of the republic’s economy. Now, though, it is dominated by services, with an adventurous, innovative new breed of technology companies.
Running parallel to Iceland’s industrial prosperity, the tourist trade has developed sufficiently in the last two decades to give the economy a healthy boost.
This combination has, of course, had an effect on property prices. Reykjavik is now enjoying being a fashionable destination – a buzzing holiday spot with a difference. Bjork, the pop singer with the quirky voice, is the city’s most famous celebrity but British stars Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur, and Jarvis Cocker are both regular visitors. Albarn even has a part share in a popular town centre bar.
The in-place for young trendies and City workers is the 101 district, a sort of Notting Hill with icicles, which is full of boutiques, bars, delicatessens and desirable pads built against a backdrop of a ragged snow range of volcanoes.
It’s no wonder it is popular. With all manner of snow sports just half an hour away, it is a unique mixture of city culture, partying through the night and wild adventure.
Fishing and cross-country skiing are very popular and the long summer days have led to a passion for golf Viking-style. In mid-summer it is almost light enough to play golf for 24 hours solid, and people regularly tee off at midnight.
Estate agent Oskar Sigurthsson, of Eignaval Real Estate, reckons the climate is a major force behind a boom in property investment by foreigners.
“It feels like Christmas all year round,” he says.
The knock-on effect has been a rise of 20 percent in the price of property over the last 12 months.
The introduction of a daily Iceland Express flight from Stansted, with one-way prices from as little as £68, has led to a 50 percent increase in air traffic between Britain and Iceland in the past year.
With a flight time of only three hours, many British tourists are attracted to Reykjavik because it has all the usual attractions of a modern European city combined with an interesting old town.
Not only is Reykjavík the world’s northernmost capital, it is also one of the newest, not having established itself until the late 19th century. However, Iceland’s traditions go back to medieval times. It was settled by Norwegian, Scottish and Irish immigrants during the late 9th and 10th centuries and boasts the world’s oldest parliament, the Althing, established in the year 930AD.
Reykjavik was European Capital of Culture in 2000 and on the back of that success it has developed tourism in the city to an impressive degree. Where it once used to be a base for nature-lovers exploring Iceland’s spectacular scenery or the elderly soaking their aching bones in bubbling mineral spas, it is now an ideal venue for the young. Hence the popularity of the place with the likes of Albarn and Cocker.
The adventurous tourist has a wide choice of challenging attractions. They include glacier trekking, climbing, salmon fishing, sailing and whale-watching – but all within easy reach of the capital and its five-star hotels.
Reykjavik boasts an excellent range of restaurants, with fresh seafood, succulent lamb and wild game on most menus. The city also has a reputation for being one of Europe’s liveliest places at night, with an active music scene.
For visitors seeking culture, Reykjavik’s galleries, museums and theatres provide a vibrant and sophisticated all-year artistic programme, with festivals, exhibitions and stage productions. Musical presentations this year have ranged from Placido Domingo to Duran Duran.
What about the weather? Well, the climate of Iceland is warmer than the name suggests, thanks to the Atlantic Gulf Stream. Summers are mild and daily temperatures can fluctuate from a minimum of 5C at night to a maximum of 25C in the day.
For two to three months in the height of the summer there is continuous daylight. The really dark period, with only three to four hours of daylight, lasts from mid-November until the end of January.
Iceland is one of the best places in the world to view the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, the beautiful greenish and dynamic luminous displays that fill the night sky. They are most visible in autumn and spring.
To reach the geothermal pools, about 40 minutes from Reykjavik, you drive through a landscape of lava fields and volcanoes where NASA send trainee astronauts to get a feel for lunar terrain. The thermal waters that abound contain a cocktail of minerals and blue-green algae which are said to relax and stimulate both body and soul.
Reykjavik prides itself on the fact that it has Europe’s cleanest air and water, something that may contribute to the city having Europe’s highest life expectancy (78 for men, 82 for women). What better recommendation is there than that? Iceland, the geographical equivalent of a life giving elixir.
