Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir, táknmálsleiðsögumaður, leiðir gesti um eyjuna en Viðey er sannkölluð náttúruperla í borgarlandinu, með djúpar sögulegar rætur og menningarlegt vægi. Þetta gerir eyjuna að einstökum og heillandi áfangastað til ánægju, útivistar og í ævintýraleit. 

Siglt verður frá Skarfabakka kl. 16:15 þannig það er gott að mæta tímanlega á bryggjuna þar sem Sigurlín tekur á móti ykkur. Gangan tekur um klukkustund og hægt er að taka ferjuna til baka 17:30 eða síðustu ferju 18:30.

Öll þau sem tala táknmál eru boðin hjartanlega velkomin.
Leiðsögnin er ókeypis en greiða þarf í ferjuna.

Best er að kaupa miða fyrirfram í ferjuna á heimasíðu Eldingar: https://elding.is/is/videyjarferjan-fra-skarfabakka

Fyrir þau sem versla miða á netinu er afsláttarkóði: TAKNMAL

Viðey er hluti af Borgarsögusafni Reykjavíkur - Eitt safn á fimm frábærum stöðum.

Aðgengi: Til að komast í Viðey er tekin ferja sem siglir frá Skarfabakka í Sundahöfn. Gengið er í ferjuna um landgang sem er misbrattur eftir sjávarföllum. Fyrir vikið er aðgengi fyrir hreyfihamlaða með miklum takmörkunum. Viðey er friðlýst svæði og þar eru sögufrægar byggingar, útivistarsvæði, fjörur og útilistaverk. Heimsókn í eyna felur í sér töluverða útiveru. Gott er að hafa í huga að hvassara getur verið í eyjunni en á landi.
https://borgarsogusafn.is/adgengi

Sigurlín Margrét Sigurðardóttir, a sign language guide, will lead guests around the island. Viðey is truly a natural gem within the city landscape, with deep historical roots and cultural significance. This makes the island a unique and captivating destination for enjoyment, outdoor activities, and a sense of adventure.

The ferry departs from Skarfabakki at 16:15, so it is advisable to arrive at the pier on time, where Sigurlín will welcome you. The walk takes about an hour, and you can take the ferry back at 17:30 or the last ferry at 18:30.

Everyone who uses sign language is warmly welcome.
The guided tour is free, but there is a fee for the ferry.

It is best to purchase ferry tickets in advance on Elding’s website: https://elding.is/is/videyjarferjan-fra-skarfabakka

For those buying tickets online, there is a discount code: TAKNMAL

Viðey is part of Reykjavík City Museum - One museum in five unique places.

Accessibility: To get to Viðey, take a ferry from Skarfabakka in Sundahöfn. You enter the ferry via a gangway that varies in steepness depending on the tide. As a result, accessibility for people with reduced mobility is severely limited. Viðey is a protected area and there are historic buildings, outdoor recreation areas, beaches and outdoor art. A visit to the island involves considerable outdoor activity. It is good to keep in mind that it can be windier on the island than on land.
https://borgarsogusafn.is/access

To celebrate the long-awaited arrival of summer, the Reykjavík City Museum is offering a guided tour in sign language on Viðey Island on Friday, 19 June at 16:15

Guided tour in Sign Language on Viðey Island

Í tilefni þess að það er loksins komið sumar býður Borgarsögusafn upp á leiðsögn á táknmáli í Viðey föstudaginn 19. júní kl. 16:15.

Táknmálsleiðsögn í Viðey

Fræðsla

Leiðsögn

Vinsamlegast kaupið miða fyrirfram í ferjuna á heimasíðu Eldingar: https://elding.is/is/videyjarferjan-fra-skarfabakka

Þátttaka í göngunni er gestum að kostnaðarlausu en greiða þarf í ferjuna. Við minnum á að handhafar Menningarkorts Reykjavíkur fá 10% afslátt í Viðeyjarferjuna og handhafar Gestakortsins (Citycard.is) sigla frítt. 

Upphaf kúmenræktunar má rekja til aftur til Skúla Magnúsar landfógeta sem hóf ýmsar ræktunartilraunir í Viðey upp úr miðri átjándu öld, þó með misjöfnum árangri. Viðeyjarkúmenið vex þar enn og þykir smærra og sætara en annað kúmen en það eru ekki allir sem vita að þetta litla fræ hefur þó nokkurn lækningamátt og ekki skemmir fyrir hversu bragðgott það er.

Please purchase tickets beforehand at https://elding.is/videy-ferry-skarfabakki

The ferry leaves Skarfabakki at 13:15. The event itself is free of charge but you have to buy tickets for the ferry. Those with a Reykjavík Culture Pass receive a 10% discount on ferry tickets, and holders of the Reykjavík City Card (Citycard.is) travel for free.

The Caraway Seeds on Viðey Island are ripe enough to harvest, and you are invited for a memorable and educational harvesting trip on 15 August at 13:15 with Björk Bjarnadóttir, environmentalist and ethnologist.

Please remember to buy your ferry tickets beforehand at elding.is
Bring a cloth bag, a small knife or a pair of scissors for this event.

The ferry will depart from Skarfabakki at 13:15. Björk will welcome the walk participants by the church on Viðey island. The walk itself takes about 1,5–2 hours. The ferry will sail back after the walk is over.

Caraway Harvesting with Björk Bjarnadóttir

Kúmenfræin í Viðey eru orðin fullþroskuð til að tína og þér er boðið í fræðandi uppskeruferð þann 15. ágúst kl. 13:15. Björk Bjarnadóttir, umhverfis- og þjóðfræðingur leiðir tínsluna og segir gestum frá sögu kúmensins og fleiru sem tengist Viðey.

Vinsamlegast kaupið miða í ferjuna fyrirfram á elding.is
Gestir eru hvattir til að taka með sér taupoka, lítinn hníf eða skæri.

Siglt verður frá Skarfabakka kl. 13:15. Björk tekur á móti gestum göngunnar við kirkjuna úti í Viðey. Gangan sjálf tekur um 1,5-2 klst. Ferjan siglir tilbaka að göngunni lokinni.

Kúmentínsla með Björk Bjarnadóttur

Electrical night, 2023. Photo: Valentina H Michelsen

Reykjavík Museum of Photography

Abstract I Skotið in Fókus 2026

Þórdís Erla Ágústs­dóttir │Heartstrings: intimacy in the everyday

Reykjavík Maritime Museum

A View of the North

Árbær Open Air Museum

Growing Pains

Ancient Roots of Árbær in the museum building Landakot/ÍR House

Ancient Roots of Árbær

Fish & folk – 150 years of fisheries

Viðey Island

Milestones│Richard Serra

The Imagine Peace Tower

Suðurgata 7 │A Reykjavík home around 1925

Inside the exhibition "Hábær House 1950"

Hábær House 1950

Aðalstræti

A true natural gem in the urban landscape, Viðey has deep historical roots and cultural importance. This makes it a unique and fascinating destination for enjoyment, outdoor recreation and adventure-seeking. It also serves as a refuge from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, offering opportunities for urban dwellers to relax and rejuvenate. 

You can get to Viðey Island by taking a **5-10 minute cruise** through the blue waters with our partner, the boat tour operator [Elding](https://elding.is/tours/videy-island).

Please tread carefully to respect Viðey’s natural habitat so that it can be enjoyed again and again. The island has cliffs, rocks, ditches and ponds that can be hazardous, so watch your step. Please bear in mind that children are the responsibility of their parents or other accompanying adults whilst on the island.


Kort af Viðey / Map of Videy Island

Around 1902, group of people in front of Viðeyjarstofa. Photographer unknown.

### Viðey Island’s history

With its lush vegetation, Viðey Island was for centuries considered one of Iceland’s best farmlands. The island was home to educated and influential people in Icelandic society and it still has traces of cultivated hayfields and stone walls. The island is divided into two parts, Heimaey and Vesturey, which are linked by a narrow neck of land or isthmus called Eiðið. In the eastern part of Heimaey, there are remains of a village from the time of the “Million Corporation” (Milljónafélag) when fisheries and a vibrant community flourished there.  Only two buildings and ruins remain as a reminder of a bygone era. Heimaey boasts two of Iceland’s oldest buildings: the Viðey Church and Viðey House.  The island is also an outdoor recreation area publicly owned by the City of Reykjavík, with everyone welcome to come and enjoy the island’s tranquillity and natural surroundings.


Viðey has a land area of approximately 1.7 km2 and rises to a height of 32 metres above sea level. Some spectacular rock formations can be seen along the island’s shore. Particularly beautiful are the basalt columns at Virkishöfði (‘Battlement Headland’) and Eiðisbjarg. Viðey’s most common bird species is the common eider, which breeds on both sides of the Þórsnes headland, an area closed to visitors during the nesting season from 1 May to 1 July. Other common birds include fulmar, greylag goose, snipe, purple sandpiper and oystercatcher, with a total of about 30 bird species nesting on the island. 

A variety of plant and bird species can be found on Viðey island. To view a map and learn more, click [here](https://borgarsogusafn.is/en/plants-and-birds-on-videy-island).

## Ferry schedule

Winter (1 Sept–14 May): On weekends only.
Summer (15 May–31 August)

Further information [Elding](https://elding.is/is/ferdir/videy)

#### Lettered in Stones

On West Island, there are three stones embedded in the earth, with inscriptions. The orig­ins and purpose of these remain unknown.

#### Áfangar (Milestones)

For the Reykjavík Arts Festival of 1990, a work of art by US sculptor Richard Serra was created on the West Island. The work comprises nine pairs of pillars of columnar basalt, which “frame” certain landmarks and destinations. Serra, one of the most influential sculptors of the post-war era, made a gift of "Áfangar (Milestones)" to the Icelandic people

Each pair of pillars is placed that one stands nine metres above sea level and the other at ten metres. The pillar which stands lower is four metres high, and the other is three metres tall, so the tops of the pillars are level. The distance between each pair of pillars is defined by the varying gradient of the ground where they stand.

#### Imagine Peace Tower

The Imagine Peace Tower is a work of art conceived by the legendary artist, musician and peace advocate Yoko Ono as a beacon to world peace. The work is in the form of a wishing well from which a strong and tall tower of light emerges. The words ‘Imagine Peace’ are inscribed on the well in 24 world languages.

The light tower is composed of a number of individual lights that join toget her to form a single beam. Six of the lights travel through corridors across a platform that surrounds the well and are reflected upwards to the sky with mirrors. The strength, intensity and brilliance of the light tower continually changes as the particles in the air fluctuate with the prevailing weather and atmospheric conditions unique to Iceland.

“I hope the Imagine Peace Tower will give light to the strong wishes of  World Peace from all corners of the planet and give encouragement, inspiration and a sense of solidarity in a world now filled with fear and confusion. Let us come together to realize a peaceful world.”

–Yoko Ono

“Imagine all the people living life in peace”  – John Lennon

This idea for the Imagine Peace Tower comes from a conceptual artwork by Yoko Ono, entitled ‘Light House’.

“The Light House is a phantom house that is built by sheer light. You set up prisms at a certain time of day, under a certain evening light which goes through the prisms, the Light House appears in the middle of the field like an image, except that, with this image, you can actually go inside if you want to. The Light House may not emerge every day, just as the sun doesn’t shine every day.” y.o. 1965

For decades Yoko Ono has gathered the wishes and dreams of people all over the world. These wishes are kept in time-capsules.

The Imagine Peace Tower is surrounded by more than half a million Peace Wishes from people worldwide that the artist has collected since 1981 as part of her interactive Wish Tree exhibits. The wishes are stored in capsules and buried surrounding the Imagine Peace Tower.

Yoko Ono invites you to join her and hundreds of thousands of others by sending your wishes to the Imagine Peace Tower, Po Box 1009, 121 Reykjavik, Iceland.

#### Statue of the Virgin Mary

In 2000, a thousand years after the Christian religion was adopted in Iceland, a statue of the Virgin Mary was erected on Kvennagönguhólar to mark the millennium, and as a monument to Viðey’s long connection with Catholicism, especially the medieval Viðey monastery, which was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Viðey

Events

The History Island 


Daily from 15 May - 31 Aug. Starting at 10:15 (am) going to Viðey.

Last ferry from Viðey is at 18:30 (6:30 pm).

Weekends from 1 September - 14 May. 

Starting at 13:15 going to Viðey.

Last ferry from Viðey is at 16:30.

Adults 2,500 ISK

Children (7-17 years) 1,250 ISK

Children (0-6 years) Free, accompanied by an adult

67 + and People with disabilities 2,070 ISK

Reykjavík Culture Year Pass 67+ 2,550

ICOM and City Card Holders Free

**Reykjavík City Museum manages all cultural activities on Viðey Island**


videy@reykjavik.is


Tel: 411 6360

Viðey Is­land

The His­tory Is­land

Plants and Birds on Viðey Is­land

Events

Guided tour in Sign Language on Viðey Island

Guided tour in Sign Language on Viðey Island

Caraway Harvesting with Björk Bjarnadóttir

Caraway Harvesting with Björk Bjarnadóttir

Viðey Island

The History Island

Plants and Birds on Viðey Island