The old town of Akureyri brings you back to the beginning of the town. The area is located just a short stroll from town centre, towards the south.

The area is a monument to the town's history and culture. Many of the town oldest houses have been preserved and the original street planning has been maintained. Informative signposts guide visitors about the history of a different era. On this walk, you see the old Theatre, the old Primary School and the Old Hospital built in 1827, the first
two-storied house built in Iceland and the oldest building in Akureyri, Laxdalshús, built in 1795.

The name of Akureyri dates back to the 15th century, but it was not until 1778 that the first dwelling was built on the site. The oldest building that still remains was built in 1795, called Laxdalshús.

The houses and style of architecture are what draws the attention in this area. Around what used to be the main harbour but now home to the local sailing club Nökkvi you find many of the original buildings that kicked off this small harbour town. As time passed and the population grew, the hills behind the town developed as there was only one way to go - up!

Many of the buildings feature coting of corrugated iron. Traditionally this was used as a roofing material and for building farming sheds but in Iceland, it was commonly used as an external covering on walls to protect the woodwork. Another
method of shielding houses that is quite special for Akureyri, as it is rarely found in other places in Iceland, is the use of pressed iron plates, like tiles. These were imported from the US in the 1930s, and many of the oldest houses still wear this type of coating with beautiful colours.

For more information about the old town and the houses see our historical signboards.

https://www.visitakureyri.is/en/see-and-do/culture/skilti-baejarins

In Akureyri, stopping at a red light is much more pleasant than elsewhere.

The red lights are heart-shaped!

The heart in the traffic lights have caught the attention of those visiting Akureyri and the hearts of the inhabitants.

The hearts lit up all over town as a consequence of the finance crash in Iceland in year 2008, when there was a need for some positive thinking and to put emphasis on what really matters.

Since then the red hearts in the traffic lights are visible as well as plenty of red hearts made of the flower "forget me not" decorating windows, cars and signs throughout the town.

A perfect place for a selfie with the red traffic light always glowing, is down by the harbor in the city center close to Hof Cultural house.

Use the hashtag #heartsofakureyri

Kjarnaskógur Woods

South of Akureyri is one of the towns most popular outdoor area
- the woodland Kjarnaskógur. The recreational area is approx 800
hectars with more than 1.5 million trees, of many species planted within the
last 50 years. The area has diverse selection of trees and along the creek
Brunná one can find a tree sample track. For bird lovers, the area
is rich of birds and by the marshland in the north of the area (by Hundatjörn
in Naustaborgir) there is a bird watching shelter. A campsite is nearby,
Hamrar, with easy access to the forest.

In the forest you find:

* Three playgrounds

* Volleyball courts and outdoor gym

* Grill houses and pick-nick areas for both individuals and groups

* Aprox. 12 km of gravel-tracks for hiking, running and biking, of which 6 km
are lighted during dark hours. Also plenty of forest tracks and other vast
network of back country trails. For more details view the maps further down the
page.

* Restrooms and water fountain

* 4 carparks

* Mountain bike trails are in the woods and are also connected to the mountain
bike trails in Mt. Hlíðarfjall - These combined create the longest mountain
bike trail in Iceland with a total of 21.6 km.

* During winter - the largest organized cross country tracks area (in a
woodland area in Iceland) with around 20 km of groomed trails and 6
km are lighted. The grooming statues can be viewed here. The colors on
the map indicate the time since they were groomed last (green, orange and pink
are from a couple of hours up to 48 hours, while light blue, dark blue and grey
are from 2 days or up to 14 days or more). Areas for sledding are also groomed
during winter, by the statue of the Einar wood-ranger and below the sun-clock.

How to get there:

Head south from the town along the road no. 823, pass the airport and turn
right by the sign "Kjarnaskogur" and follow the bending road up to
the parking area. Aprox 5 min drive from town center and 30 minutes walk.

It is possible to take bus number 1, 2 or 5 from town square,
Ráðhústorg, and go out at Kjarnagata/Vallatún, by the golf course. From there
is about two km. walk to Kjarnaskógur area.

Contact info:

Skógræktarfélag Eyfirðinga

Sími: (+354) 462 4047

Email: ingi@kjarnaskogur.is

Webpage: www.skog.is/skograektarfelag-eyfirdinga/

Map of the area: Kjarnaskógur - Easy and shorter walks
https://www.visitakureyri.is/static/files/2012-VISIT/pdf/kjarnasogur-lettleidir-1-.pdf

Kjarnaskógur - All tails - overview map
https://www.visitakureyri.is/static/files/2012-VISIT/pdf/kort-2018-stora-kortid-a-orva-a2.pdf

Hamrar - the campingsite and surrounding
trails
https://www.visitakureyri.is/static/files/2012-VISIT/pdf/kort-2018-hamrar-lett-an-orva.pdf

Naustaborgir - Naturereserve area -
trails
https://www.visitakureyri.is/static/files/2012-VISIT/pdf/kort-2018-naustaborgir-lett-an-orva.pdf

Gönguskíðabrautir - Crosscountrytrails
https://www.visitakureyri.is/static/files/2012-VISIT/pdf/gonguskidi.pdf

A statue of Helgi magri (Helgi the lean)
and Þórunn hyrna (Þórunn the horned), the first settlers of the
area, about the year 890, stands on the Hamarkot Rocks on the street
Brekkugata near the police station.

The story tells that the parents of
Helgi handed him over for fostering into the Hebrides, and when they came there
two winters afterwards, he was so starved that they did not know him; they
brought him away with them and called him Helgi the lean. He was brought up in
Ireland, and when he was grown up, he married Þórunn hyrna (Þórunn the horned).
They moved to Iceland with their children and settled the whole of Eyjafjörður.
Helgi magri handed out parts of the settlement, which was very big, to his
children and kin but selected and built his own farm at a site which he
named Kristnes (Christ Cape) some 12 km south of Akureyri, a place where he
dwelt during the remainder of his life. Helgi believed in Christ and therefore
gave this name to his dwelling.

Þórunn hyrna, was the
daughter of Ketill flatnefur. Ketill Björnsson, nicknamed Flatnose (Flatnefur), who
was a chieftain of the Isles of the 9th century. All his children
settled big parts of Iceland, Þórunn hyrna in Eyjafjörður, Auður djúpúðga, at Hvammur in West-Iceland.
Her brother, Helgi bjóla, settled Kjalarnes and her other brother, Björn
austræni, settled Snæfellsnes and lived in Bjarnarhöfn.


The statue, which was made by Jónas S. Jakobsson in 1956, is located on top of
Hamarkotsklappir behind the Police station (Lögreglustöðin). About 5-10
min. walk from town center.

Two prominent streets in Akureyri are
named after these settlers - Helgamagrastræti street and Þórunnarstræti street
and the kindergarten Hólmasól is named after Helgi and Þórunn first child
(daughter) Next to the statue, one can find an old view-dial. On the view-dial is
written 1949 - Ferðafélag Akureyrar, but these view-dials show the names of the
surrounding mountains.

Gásir is a unique place. In no other place in Iceland is it possible to find so many remainings from a trading post from the Middle Ages. Gásir was the main trading post in northern Iceland during the Middle Ages, and the place is mentioned many times in Old Icelandic Sagas from the 13th and 14th centuries. Archaeological digging in the area during the last six years has shown that it was a trading post up to the 16th century, possibly until trading started in Akureyri.

Each year in July Medieval life at Gásir is reconstructed with help from Icelandic craftsmen who wear medieval clothes and sell handicraft. Various handcrafts are on display; dyeing with plant extracts, wool-work, sewing, sewing leather and weaving.