I don’t agree with this article at all. Everywhere is closed in Reykjavík, at least all over Christmas and New Year. The only place I could go with my kids today was the ‘zoo,’ Húsdýragarðurinn. It was terrible! The seals were okay but 70 percent of the ‘attractions’ aren’t on as it’s winter but you still have to pay full admission price, there aren’t any signs telling you that 70 percent of everything you see in the guide books or website are unavailable. The streets in downtown Reykjavík are dead. 

I think it would be better to write about the holiday season a bit more honestly so Reykjavík can sort this out properly. I live in England and Iceland and have so for 15 years and nothing has changed.

Mark, England/Iceland

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Dear Mark,

We’re sorry to hear that your visit to Reykjavík over Christmas did not meet your expectations.

I haven’t visited the Reykjavík Family Park and Zoo in winter myself and the article only points out that this was one of the locations where special holiday events were taking place. Thank you for pointing out that some of the attractions were no available at this time of year.

On Christmas Day itself, most places are closed and the streets are often deserted but during the Christmas week stores, museums, galleries and other places of interest are generally open and there are an increasing number of activities and events being offered as well as restaurants open.

However, the main attraction of visiting Iceland in winter is perhaps the snow, New Year’s Eve celebrations and northern lights as well as to experience the natural attractions in a different season (visiting the waterfalls Gullfoss or Seljalandsfoss, for example, when they are partly frozen is a completely different experience than visiting them in summer).

ZR