Hallgrímskirkja tower lift and view

The tower of Hallgrímskirkja is the quickest high view in Reykjavík: a lift inside the 73-metre concrete church on Skólavörðuholt, then windows on every side over the coloured roofs, the bay and Esja. It suits a first or last morning in the city, anyone without a car, and families, since children pay almost nothing. It does not suit a Sunday late morning, and it is pointless in low cloud.

The figures, read today on the church's own opening-hours page: a tower ticket costs 1,500 ISK for adults, 200 ISK for children aged 7 to 16, and 1,000 ISK for seniors over 67, disabled visitors with a certificate and students with a valid card. Groups of ten or more paying together get 10% off. Tickets are sold only in the church shop and cannot be booked ahead. Winter opening began on 1 September: 10:00 to 17:00, last tower entry 16:45. In summer the church opens 09:00 to 20:00 and the tower takes its last visitors at 19:45. One caution: the Icelandic version of the same page heads the price list "until 31 May 2026", while the English version shows identical prices with no end date; the figures above are what both said on 1 November 2026.

The weekly grid on the page is worth a glance before walking up. Today, All Saints' Day, the church opened 10:00 to 16:00 with last tower entry at 15:45, and closed from about 10:30 to 12:30 for the 11:00 service. Weekday services and lunchtime organ meditations close the nave for short spells, and the page warns that access is restricted during services, ceremonies and concerts.

#The arithmetic

From Lækjartorg in the city centre, the church is 864 m on foot by OpenStreetMap foot routing, about 11 minutes each way at 80 m a minute, uphill on Skólavörðustígur. Add 45 minutes for the ticket, the lift and the view, and a 15-minute buffer for the shop queue in high season: about 80 minutes. On the five-day South Coast and Golden Circle journey, which sleeps in Reykjavík on days 1 and 2, it fits the arrival afternoon. On the last day of the seven-day Ring Road, driving through the city to the airport, it costs the same 80 minutes plus parking.

#What goes wrong

Sunday: the two-hour service closure catches most people who did not check. Weather: the lift runs in rain, but cloud on Esja removes the reason to go up. Holidays: Good Friday is closed, Christmas Day and New Year's Day are open for services only, and New Year's Eve opens 10:00 to 12:00 according to the church's grid. Queues: tickets cannot be reserved, so a cruise-day crowd simply means waiting.

#Alternatives on the same road

The Reykjavík Food Walk starts at Harpa, 1.3 km and about 16 minutes downhill on foot. A pool morning is the other cheap hour in the city. For a view with sea in it, the Viðey ferry leaves from Skarfabakki on winter weekends.