
Luxury hotel Höfði Lodge is set to put small-town Grenivík on the map as a place to stay in North Iceland
Running lava in Reykjavík, heli-skiing Höfði Lodge and the most colorful room in Iceland
Emerging destinations and forthcoming openings we can't wait to see and visit in 2023.

What happens when rocks are cooked at 1100°C.
Lava will flow in Reykjavík
For the first time in 5000 years, glowing lava will flow over Reykjavík. More precisely, a show-room at Grandi. The Lava Show
Show pioneers Júlíus Ingi Jónsson og Ragnhildur Ágústsdóttir got the idea after visiting the 2010 'tourist eruption' of Fimmvörðuháls and originally opened the Lava Show in nearby Vík. The Reykjavík addition is larger, with admission starting at 6000kr.

Hvammsvík Hot Springs merge with a silent fjord just outside of Reykjavík.
A swim in the ‘Whale Fjord’ at the Hvammsvík Hot Springs
The long Hval Fjord, between Reykjavík and Akranes, makes for a fabulous day trip from the capital. The fjord's winding roads are scenic and quiet -- the area known for Iceland's second-tallest waterfall -- and as of 2023 there is a good reason to bring bathing suits.
The Hvammsvík Hot Springs luxury baths in Iceland

The blueprint of Höfði Lodge in Grenivík, scheduled to open late-2023.
New Hotels: Höfði Lodge, Iceland Parliament Hotel, Kerlingafjöll Mountain Resort
Covid delays and supply-chain issues will result in a big year for hotel openings.
Luxury hotel Höfði Lodge
In Reykjavík, Hilton hotels will open its second Curio Collection brand in Reykjavík at the Iceland Parliament Hotel Hotel Reykjavík Saga
Moving from the middle of Reykjavík to the middle of nowhere: the first year-round mountain resort in Iceland's interior Highland region is scheduled to open in July 2023. The Kerlingarfjöll Mountain Resort

The rival food courts in Akureyri will be opposite one another on Route 1, the Ring Road.
Akureyri opens a mathöll
Mathöll. Learn the Icelandic word for ‘food hall’ and you won’t go hungry in Reykjavík.
Ever since Hlemmur Mathöll opened at a former bus terminal in 2017, these indoor courtyards with about six to eight food vendors have grown to seven locations, each with its own character: Höfði, Grandi, Kúmen, Hafnartorg Gallery, Pósthús, Borg 29 and Gróska.
Now — at last — the trend is catching on in the northern capital Akureyri with not just one but two food halls in the making. The rivals will be opposite one another on Route 1, the Ring Road, in the centre of town; inside Glerártorg shopping mall and on 28 Glerárgata. Construction appears further along at the latter location, set to open ‘before summer’.

The round-shaped House of Icelandic Studies, the new neighbor to the National Library and the National Museum.
Vellum display at the House of Icelandic Studies
Across the street from the National Museum, at the University of Iceland campus, the enormous House of Icelandic Studies is set to open in 2023 after years of construction. Part of the house - how small or big remains unclear - is set to be a showroom for medieval manuscripts owned by the Árni Magnússon Institute

‘Chromo Sapiens’ by Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir was Iceland's contribution to the the Venice Biennale in 2019. Photo: chromosapiens.art
Colorful ‘Chromo Sapiens’
Rainbow colored threads spread across a cave-like environment created by visual artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, known as Shoplifter, inside a former potato storage at Reykjavík’s nature gem Elliðaárdalur park. Titled ‘ Chromo Sapiens
Höfuðstöðin

The dramatic road to Borgarfjörður Eystri passes through the Dyrfjöll mountain ridge - on firm ground.
Improved access to Þeistareykir and Borgarfjörður Eystri
Iceland is a road trip destination, with ever improving conditions. In 2023, driving to the eastern village Borgarfjörður Eystri and the geothermal area Þeistareykir will be entirely on asphalt - goodbye, gravel.
The two destinations, long overlooked for their remoteness, are likely to see many more visitors.
Borgarfjörður Eystri
The Þeistareykir drive opens up a new route option between Húsavík and Mývatn. The geothermal area pipes with hot springs, rarely visited today. The road construction is, in fact, not meant for tourism but to improve access to the Þeistareykir Power Plant