The Sun Voyager is just down the road from the Harpa Concert Hall along the northern coastline of the city next to the central Reykjavík area. Created by Icelandic artist Jón Gunnar Árnason and described by himself as a dreamboat, or an ode to the sun. His inspiration was from a dream where found himself traveling with a group of ancient people all the way from Mongolia to Iceland always following the sunset towards west across forests, lakes and rivers, eventually reaching the sea and there constructing great ships that would take them to an undiscovered island in the north. This fantasy or dream of hope, progress and freedom, and an ode to the sun, has captured people´s imagination and the sculpture itself not unlike a viking ship stands proudly in a prime location of the reykjavik area not far from Höfði House. A fun fact is that even if the dream/story of The Sun Voyager is complete fantasy and fiction then a recent genealogical discovery has shown that The Icelandic Horse has its closest relative in the Mongolian Horse and there is no explanation for this yet.
This incidentally is also the part of Reykjavík where people go when there is a good forecast for northern lights since there is a great view towards north across Faxi bay with the city lights to your back. Plus in this area you are pretty close to most of the downtown hotels, the National Museum and most of the great restaurants in the center displaying the exciting the new fusion of Icelandic cuisine. There are also a couple of great swimming pools in the area thanks to the hot springs, offering a safe and cozy geothermal experience complete with steam baths and hot tubs.
For those coming to Iceland for the various music festivals the area around The Sun Voyager should be familiar since for example Harpa Concert Hall is the center of both Iceland Airwaves and Sonar music festivals. Since the late 80´s Reykjavik has been the center of a thriving music scene producing great artists and also becoming a destination for music lovers and international recording artists. The Sugarcubes, Björk, Emiliana Torrini, Sigur Rós, Kaleo and Of Monsters and Men, to name a few of the locals.
The downtown area is also the place to head out from to any kind of day tours. The Reykjavik Harbour is where the whale watching tours leave from, as well as bird watching tours and sea-angling for those interested. Also tours going out to The Blue Lagoon, as well as the South Shore and The Golden Circle to name some.
The Sun Voyager should absolutely be a stop on any city tour exploring Reykjavík, the northernmost capital in the World.
