Tjörnin Pond & City Hall

Tjörnin & Ráðhús Reykjavíkur

A downtown pond full of ducks and swans, plus a giant relief map

Hours

Pond always open; City Hall ground floor mainly on weekdays during office hours (check locally)

Address

City Hall: Tjarnargata 11, 101 Reykjavík

A shallow lake right in the middle of town. Ducks, swans and geese paddle up without much fear of people, and the old painted timber houses and a church line the shore and reflect in the water. The building that seems to float on the north end is City Hall; anyone can wander into the ground floor, where a huge relief model of the whole of Iceland takes up the room. Tracing your route on it is the fastest way to grasp the size of the country. In deep winter the pond freezes and people walk across it.