Things to do
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Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum
A working farm under Bjarnarhafnarfjall where one family has made hákarl, fermented Greenland shark, for generations, hanging the meat for months in an open drying shed. The museum holds fishing gear, whale bone and a set of shark jaws, and the visit ends with a tasting. It is about twenty minutes' drive west of the town.
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Breiðafjörður
The shallow bay between Snæfellsnes and the Westfjords, scattered with more islands and skerries than anyone has counted. Boat trips from the town harbour pass basalt cliffs and nesting seabirds, and haul up scallops to eat raw on deck. The tidal currents here are among the strongest in Iceland.
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Flatey
One of very few islands in Breiðafjörður that is lived on all year, about two kilometres long and reached by the Baldur ferry from the town pier. The village of painted timber houses has no cars, a church and a library building of 1864. In summer the timetable allows a few hours ashore; on a through sailing the ferry stops only for minutes, so check the return sailing before stepping off.
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Helgafell
A low grassy hill a short drive south of the town, with a chapel ruin on top and a wide view over Breiðafjörður. It is a holy place in the sagas, and the saga heroine Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir is buried in the churchyard at the foot. Custom says that anyone who climbs from her grave to the ruin without speaking or looking back is granted three wishes.
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Hotel Egilsen
A timber house of 1867 by the harbour, run as a small hotel of ten rooms. Stay here to sleep in the oldest part of town, a short walk from the Baldur pier and the steps up Súgandisey. With so few rooms, book well ahead for a summer night.
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Hotel Fransiskus
A hotel of 21 rooms in the 1930s convent built by the town's Franciscan sisters, on Austurgata a short walk from the harbour. The chapel off the lobby is still in use. Book it for a quiet night close to the Baldur pier and the boat trips.
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Library of Water
Roni Horn's installation in the old library building on the bluff, where twenty four glass columns hold meltwater collected from glaciers across Iceland. The rubber floor is set with weather words in Icelandic and English. The windows look over the harbour and the bay, and the room is quiet enough to sit in for a while.
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Norwegian House
A house built in 1832 from timber shipped in from Norway, now the regional museum of Snæfellsnes. The upper floors are furnished as the merchant family's home of the time. Allow an hour, and check the hours outside summer, when it opens only in the afternoon.
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Stykkishólmskirkja
The white modernist church on the rise above the harbour, designed by Jón Haraldsson. Its bell tower is two curved concrete fins built into the church, often compared to a whale's backbone. Inside, hundreds of small lights hang over the pews, and behind the altar is Kristín Gunnlaugsdóttir's painting of the Madonna and child against a deep blue sky.
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Stykkishólmur Swimming Pool
The town's geothermal pool on Borgarbraut, with a 25 metre outdoor pool, a long water slide, two hot tubs, a cold tub and a small indoor pool. Come here after a cold boat trip on the bay. The hot tubs are filled from a local borehole whose water is certified as good for skin conditions such as psoriasis.
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Súgandisey
A basalt island closing the north side of the harbour, joined to the town by a stone causeway and climbed by a stairway up the cliff. From the small orange lighthouse on the flat top, the view runs over Breiðafjörður and its islands. The walk takes under half an hour and is the first thing to do on arrival.
