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Photo: JuTa, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The church beside the parliament is Reykjavík Cathedral, the mother church of the Church of Iceland, the country's national church and part of the Lutheran denomination. Similarly deceptive in size, it has been beautifully renovated both inside and out to reflect its original 18th-century architecture.
Reykjavík Cathedral is a cathedral church in Reykjavík, Iceland, the seat of the Bishop of Iceland and mother church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, as well as the parish church of the old city centre and environs. It is located at Austurvöllur, and next to it is Alþingishúsið. Since Iceland's parliament, the Alþingi, was resurrected in 1845, each session of parliament has begun with a Mass at the cathedral, and from there the dean of the cathedral leads the members of parliament to the parliament house.
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Listasafn Íslands
The National Gallery of Iceland is a national museum and the main emphasis of the collection is on 20th and 21st century Icelandic art, but international art is featured as well. The museum owns the most valuable collection of works by Icelandic artists in the country.
The National Gallery of Iceland regularly holds exhibitions reflecting its collections as well as exhibitions by individual artists, Icelandic as well as foreign ones.
The National Gallery's of Iceland buildings at Fríkirkjuvegur 7 houses four exhibition halls on three floors, a gift shop and a small café. The National Gallery is in three locations, ticket price includes admission to all three.
This can't miss attraction towers over the city on top of a hill. In front is a statue of Leif Ericsson (Leifur Eiríksson in Icelandic), the Norse explorer who sailed to North America in the 10th century. The United States gave this statue to Iceland in 1930, in honor of the 1,000th anniversary of the Althingi, the Iceland parliament.
The Pond
A small lake in the centre of the city where young and old often gather to feed the ducks. The Icelandic name, Tjörnin, literally means "The Pond". Tjörnin is mostly surrounded by a park called Hljómskálagarðurinn (Music Pavilion Park) which gets very popular in good weather. The southern end of Tjörnin links it to the Vatnsmýri swamp, a small bird reserve with paths open to the public except during egg hatching season. Built into Tjörnin on the northern side is Reykjavík City Hall.
Norræna húsið
A cultural centre in Vatnsmýri designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, just south of the city centre. Art exhibitions, concerts, poetry readings and other cultural events frequently take place here.
Þjóðminjasafnið
This museum, by the University of Iceland campus, takes the visitor through the history of a nation from settlement to today. Includes a café and a museum shop.