Welcome to Iceland Guest - Your Online Travel Guide.
Iceland Guest is an information website for your travel to Iceland. On this site you can get all the tourist information you need for your vacation in Iceland. We hope that you will find this online travel guide useful in planning your holidays in Iceland.
About Iceland
Iceland is a refreshingly unconventional travel destination. The Icelandic nature is unspoilt, exotic and mystical with its spouting geysers, active volcanoes, tumbling waterfalls, towering mountains, vast lava plains and magical lakes. Iceland’s fjords, glaciers and highland plains present visitors with some of the most beautiful and enchanting places they will ever see, as well as a rare feeling of utter tranquillity.
For travelers on a quest for action, Iceland’s pristine nature offers great potential for outdoor activities such as snowmobiling, horse riding, cave exploring, hiking, swimming, skiing, river rafting, kayaking and mountain safaris on modified four-wheel drives, to name but a few. Iceland supports a surprisingly diverse Nordic flora and fauna and is an ideal place for ornithology enthusiasts, while also offering some of the world’s best whale watching destinations.
About Reykjavik
Reykjavík sometimes feels like a cosmopolitan capital and a tiny seaside village - all wrapped up in one. But Reykjavík has the best of both worlds; the qualities of a modern, forward-looking society complemented by a close connection to Iceland‚s beautiful and unspoilt nature.
Reykjavík’s legendary nightlife is bolstered by plentiful cultural and social happenings in addition to an abundance of first-class restaurants. The size of Reykjavik city centre is also limited enough to allow for easy navigation by foot. Reykjavík has been described as a young and daring city that is characterized by strong contrasts. Conveniently small, clean and safe, it is more or less free from the major problems that haunt many other capitals. Big city events are frequent, the winter lights festival finished recently with thousands of participants and more tourist at this time of the year than we are used to.
The Icelandic band Hraun has made it to the final five in BBC´s search for the world´s best new music, Next Big Thing 2007. The competition is the next stage in scouring the world looking for exciting new music - bands and performers who'll shape the future.
66°North provides outerwear for the new upcoming Imax movie Journey to the Center of the Earth staring Brendan Fraser to be released in June 2008. The New Line Cinema version of the Jules Verne classic, Journey to the Center of the Earth will be featuring our Glymur womens softshell as well as backpacks.
Global peace effort grows in advance of the unveiling of Imagine Peace Tower, decicated to John Lennon by Yoko Ono, on October 9th of this year, in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Quentin Tarantino director and huga fan of 66°North products posed for the British Telegraph magazine last week wearing the Surtsey hat from 66°North Iceland. Tarantino was also sporting the hat during an interview on the Jonathan Ross talk show on BBC. 
Kaupthing Bank has announced its results for the first half of 2007. Net earnings of ISK 46.8 billion (EUR 533 million).
A song by the Icelandic band Sigur Rós from the album ( ) (2002) will be used for the two-minute trailer of The Invasion starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, to be released in the US next month.
Every Thursday in July and August there will be guided Literary walks around the city centre. Icelandic literature is introduced to guests in a theatrical way while walking around the relevant areas in town. Guides are Úlfhildur Dagsdóttir, B.A. in Literature and Darren Foreman, Actor.
66°North has founded 66°North USA, a wholly owned subsidiary, to handle the affairs of the company in the North American market. In the past five years, the company had an American distributor, who took care of distribution and sales in the US and Canada.
Euromoney recently announced the winners of its Awards for Excellence - the most prestigious awards in the global banking industry. Euromoney cited Kaupthing's staggering asset growth and impressive financial ratios as part of its rationale in awarding Kaupthing this prestigious honour.
The airline Iceland Express has applied for permission to construct a new 6,500-square-meter airport in Reykjavík, near the current domestic airport, to serve both international and domestic transport.
The New York Times covered the Icelandic Reyka Vodka’s advertising campaign in its media section on Friday, which was described as both quirky and original. The campaign, run by William Grant & Sons, can only be found online.
The mountaineer Thorvaldur Thórsson plans to climb Iceland’s 100 highest mountains this year, having already summited 47 peaks. On Tuesday Thórsson climbed the country’s five highest mountains in one day.
Actor and director Benedikt Erlingsson won three awards at Gríman 2007, the Icelandic Theater Awards, on Friday. He was chosen the Playwright of the Year, Actor of the Year and Director of the Year.
The “frum- festival” takes place at Kjarvalsstadir museum in Reykjavík next weekend, organized by the Icelandic-German ensemble “adapter.” Both contemporary classical music and works by young composers will be performed.
The first day of the salmon fishing season in Iceland was yesterday. Bjarni Júlíusson, the director of the Angling Club of Reykjavík, caught the first salmon, only ten minutes after the season opening. 
The city of Reykjavik has opened a new exhibition hall, Fogetastofur at Adalstraeti 10. On the lower floor is an exhibition about the history of the house and Reykjavik's oldest streets, Adalstraeti and Grjotathorp.
New regulations regarding smoking take effect today; from now on it is prohibited to smoke in restaurants, bars, clubs and cafés across Iceland. The main reason for the smoking ban is to protect the health of restaurant workers. 
The festival, which takes place at Reykjavik's old harbour, consists of Harbour Day on Saturday and the traditional Seaman’s Day on Sunday. It celebrates Iceland's maritime heritage, with a grand mix of fun activities for people of all ages.
Nordica Hotel in Reykjavík will become part of the Hilton hotel chain after a few weeks and renamed “Hilton Reykjavík Nordica,” according to an agreement signed in Düsseldorf, Germany, yesterday. 
Over 100 hikers took part in the Icelandic Tourist Association’s (FÍ’s) annual Whitsun trip to Hvannadalshnjúkur, Iceland’s highest peak, on Saturday. The group was split between 13 guides, who led the hikers up the mountain slope. 
The National Museum of Iceland recently received ISK 80 million (USD 1.3 million, EUR 960,000) in inheritance from Philip Vernall, a British patron of the museum and has founded a memorial fund for Vernall. 
Cruise ship MS Fram from Norway arrived in Reykjavík on Saturday, the first to arrive in Iceland this summer. The newly-constructed cruiser is on its maiden voyage to Greenland. 
The pure assets of the 25 richest Icelanders are worth about ISK 1,390 billion (USD 22 billion, EUR 17 billion), 16 times the amount spent on healthcare in Iceland last year. Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson is on top of the list and is probably among the 160 richest people in the world.
Gudjón Hafthór Ólafsson, aka Gus Olafsson, is currently preparing to direct his first film, an adventure film titled Cornelius Fly, about a British boy who loses his parents. Both Roger Moore and David Bowie have agreed to star in the film.
Prime Minister and leader of the Independence Party (Sjálfstaedisflokkurinn) Geir H. Haarde and the new Foreign Minister and leader of the Social Democratic Alliance (Samfylkingin) Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir introduced the arrangement of Iceland’s new governmental administration last night.
Icelandic digital assets management company Data Íslandia announced plans yesterday to establish an environmentally friendly archive for storing digital information in the town Sandgerdi on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland.
On May 19, a unique exhibition focusing on Icelandic contemporary design opened in Kjarvalsstaðir Art Museum. Entitled Magma, the exhibition is part of the Reykjavík Arts Festival and is one of the most comprehensive presentations of Icelandic design to date.
Björk’s new album Volta was in the ninth place on the US charts this week; the highest ranking of an Icelander. With Volta Björk broke her own record; in 2004 her album Medúlla reached the 14th place on the US charts.
A free trip to Iceland will be awarded to the Bang Gang fan who makes the best remix of "It's Alright" from 2007's Something Wrong (From Nowhere). Bardi Johannsson himself will decide the winner, who is set to receive two plane tickets via Icelandic Air, as well as a two-night hotel stay in Reykjavik.
Icelandair begins service from Halifax, Nova Scotia this evening with flight #606 departing Halifax International at 10:00 p.m. local time. Regular service from Halifax to Iceland will continue through September with three flights per week (Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays).
Iceland Naturally has launched a dedicated UK. The site is a resource for all things Icelandic, containing news, events listings and free music and video downloads from up and coming Icelandic bands, a photo gallery and the Dateline newsletter.
The Icelandic crown rose to a fresh 7-month high against the euro on Wednesday after the central bank held interest rates steady at 14.25 percent, with investors anticipating hawkish sentiment by the bank.
Icelander Helgi Tómasson, the artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet, was honored with the Grand Cross of the Falcon Order, the grandest Icelandic reward, at a special ceremony at the presidential residence Bessastadir yesterday.
Award winning singer Norah Jones will perform in concert in Laugardalshöll music hall with her band, The Handsome Band, in Reykjavík on September 2. Jones has never appeared in concert in Iceland before. 
The coalition governmental parties in Iceland, the Independence Party (Sjálfstaedisflokkurinn) and the Progressive Party (Framsóknarflokkurinn), received a slight majority in parliament, 32 MPs in total, after the general elections yesterday.
A giant puppet girl will roam the streets of Reykjavik Friday 11th May and Saturday 12th May. The puppet is part of a performance by French street theatre group Royal De Luxe and part of the Reykjavik Arts Festival programme 2007.
Investment company Novator, owned by Icelandic billionaire Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, has announced takeover plans for the Icelandic pharmaceutical company Actavis.
Representatives of internet giant Yahoo are investigating the possibility of establishing a server farm in Iceland. They met with Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde and CEO of Reykjavík Energy Company (OR) Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson yesterday.
The organizers of Live Earth, a series of concerts to be held in different cities across the globe in summer to promote environmental issues, have decided not to hold one of the concerts in Reykjavík as earlier suggested.
A geyser cut through the asphalt of a parking lot in central Reykjavík yesterday, while a tree sprouted straight through a Skoda. Apparently, that is the path of destruction a French giant has left behind.
Icelandair UK and Ireland is offering a special Rite of Spring package that includes flights to Iceland, accommodation and festival pass. The festival, Rite of Spring aims to bring the best and most adventurous musicians in jazz, folk and world music together for a musical celebration in Reykjavík from May 17-19.
The number of bills of sale in the capital region rose by about 30 percent in April 2007 compared to April 2006. Experts believe the increase can be attributed to optimistic Icelandic consumers and easier financing. 
Emission of carbon-dioxide is one of the main causes of global warming, so getting a hold of it would be a major step in fighting its development. If Iceland's president, mr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson gets his way, great advances in counteracting the warming process may be developed in Iceland, reports the Time magazine.
Eiríkur Hauksson, Iceland’s representative in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, to be held in Finland on May 10 and 12, received a lot of media attention in a “Welcome Party” in the Finlandia Hall in Helsinki yesterday.
The commercial hunt for minke whales began on Friday when Njördur KÓ 7 caught the first minke, but has now been put on hold until scientific whaling, which begins tomorrow, finishes.
Reykjavík has been nominated for the World Travel Award as the leading cruise destination in Europe. The awards reward and celebrate the enormous achievements in all sectors of the global travel industry and have been called the "Travel industry´s equivalent to the Oscars".
A month-long exhibition of Icelandic art opened yesterday in the town of Barr, near Strasbourg in Alsace, Eastern France, organized by Alsace-Islande the association of French-Icelandic cultural exchange.
Mr. Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE Genetics, is on the list of the 100 Most Influential People in The World, which was published on May 4 by the Time Magazine. deCODE Genetics, located in Iceland's capital Reykjavik, is a biopharmaceutical company that applies its discoveries in human genetics to develop drugs and diagnostics for diseases. 
Icelandic opera singer Gardar Thor Cortes wore jewelry worth over ISK 270 million (USD 4.2 million, EUR 3.1 million) that he had borrowed from Dorrit Moussaieff, Iceland’s first lady, while attending the Classical Brit Awards yesterday.
The world media are one after another revealing their verdicts on Volta, the new record by the controversial Icelandic star singer and songwriter Björk. One of those was recently published in the US news publication Newsweek, and one can reasonably say that the magazine's critic is more than content with the album.
The founder of Baugur, the Icelandic investment group that has been a voracious acquirer of UK retailers, was found guilty on Thursday of false accounting in a Reykjavik court after a five-year legal battle.
Iceland's Landsbanki, the island's third-biggest bank by market capitalisation, posted a 4 percent fall in first-quarter net profit, mainly due to higher operating expenses and lower portfolio gains.
Investment company Novator, owned by Icelandic entrepreneur Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, sold its controlling stake in the Bulgarian telecommunications company BTC to the US-based Global Investment Group AIG yesterday.
Many icelandic musicians are getting large groups of audiences in Germany according to UTON (marketing agency of the Trade Council of Iceland). Benni Hemm Hemm and the band Seabeer have signed with the German record lable Morr Music.
Royal de Luxe will be performing in Streets and open spaces of Reykjavik, e.g. by the Lake, by the Harbour and all over the City Centre from 9th of May to 12th of May. Royal de Luxe is an extraordinary French street theatre company, renowned throughout the world.
Bjarni Ármannsson resigned on Monday as CEO for Glitnir Bank after a ten-year career at the bank. He was replaced by Lárus Welding, who has served as director of Landbanki Bank’s London branch. 
Stuart Heritage a reporter of Heckler Spray has given its comments about this year Iceland’s Eurovision entry Valentine Lost with Eirikur Hauksson. The reporter dislikes the song immensely, says that it is useless and gives the song betting odds of 66/1.
Today Labor Day is celebrated in Iceland as in many countries across Europe. It has been a national holiday in Iceland since 1966 and is one of the country’s 11 flag days.
The Icelandic investment company Novator, owned by Icelandic entrepreneur Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, is about to sell its 65 stake in the Bulgarian telecommunications company BTC.
Iceland's Glitnir Bank reported a 23-percent fall in first-quarter net profit to 7.0 billion Icelandic crowns ($109 million) on Monday, hit by a fall in trading income.
The Icelandic National Energy Authority (OS) signed an agreement with German energy company Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW) on Wednesday for research drilling and investigation into whether electricity can be transported from Iceland to Germany via an ocean-floor cable.
At restaurant Fossatún in Borgarfjördur foreign and Icelandic artists performed songs written during a five-day collaborative songwriting workshop held at Hotel Glymur in Hvalfjördur, west Iceland, Thursday evening.
The Icelandic economy is slowly moving towards equilibrium with a contraction in national expenditure this year, but growth will nevertheless be positive due to a turnaround in foreign trade led by a surge in aluminium exports.
Iceland’s Foreign Minister Valgerdur Sverrisdóttir and Norway’s Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Störe signed an agreement in Oslo yesterday on defense collaborations between the two nations on matters of defense.
Icelandic movie producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson is to produce a movie by Irish director Jim Sheridan, possibly to star Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and Oscar-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio.
Today the financial services group Exista Ltd published its reviewed interim financial statements for the first three months of the year 2007.
The Condé Nast Traveler magazine has selected the restaurant Silfur as one of the worlds hottest restaurants today. Silfur is located at the Hotel Borg, which stands by Reykjaviks main square in the central 101 area.
A report regarding the search for oil in Icelandic waters was released by the Icelandic National Energy Authority (OS) on Monday. If accepted, the search could begin next year.
Land has been reserved for an express train to Reykjavík from Iceland’s international airport in a new plan for Reykjanesbaer municipality on Reykjanes peninsula (made up of the towns Keflavík, Njardvík and Hafnir), valid until 2021.
Aluminum was tapped from the first pot in the new Alcoa-Fjardarál aluminum smelter in Reydarfjördur, east Iceland, last weekend. The production process began mid-April. 
The Global Finance magazine has announced its annual Best Developed Market Banks awards. The Icelandic bank Glitnir was awarded as Iceland's best bank this year.
Orri Vigfússon, a businessman and head of the Protection Fund for Wild Salmon (NAFS), will receive the Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco for his fight to protect wild salmon in the North Atlantic.
Josh Groban will perform on 15th and 16th of May in Reykjavik. The concerts will take place at Laugardalur Sport Hall along with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and the Reykjavik Gospel Choir. 
The world famous hypnotist Sailesh will perform at Broadway Entertainment hall in Reykjavik on the 27th of April. Performing 5-6 shows a week throughout the globe, Sailesh has become the busiest uncensored hypnotist on the planet.
Visual artist Steingrímur Eyfjörd has been selected to represent Iceland at the 52nd international art exhibition “La Biennale di Venezia” with his work “The Golden Plover has Arrived” in Venice, Italy, in June. 
Icelandic investment company Atorka Group Ltd. recently completed the divestment of pharmaceutical company Icepharma Ltd. According to a press release issued this week, the main buyers were Kristján Jóhansson, board member of Icepharma, and Icepharma CEO Margrét Gudmundsdóttir.
Delicious Iceland, an Icelandic cookbook by chef Volundur Volundarson and photographer Hreinn Hreinsson, received a honorary award recently at the prestigious Gourmand Cookbook Awards in Bejing, China.
The Icelandic cod liver oil company Lysi Ltd. received export awards from Iceland’s President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson at a special ceremony at the presidential residence at Bessastadir, outside Reykjavík, yesterday.
The current location of Reykjavik airport in Vatnsmýrin, less than a kilometer south of the city center, is highly beneficial for air transportation between rural Iceland and its capital, but the land which the large airfield occupies is extremely valuable as a building location.
Smoke screened the sun on April 18th as two remarkable buildings burned down in the greatest fire in years in downtown Reykjavik. The buildings stand by Laekjartorg square, cornerwise across the street from the prime ministry, which was not in danger from the fire. 
Today is the first day of Harpa, the summer month in the old Icelandic calendar, which is also officially the first day of summer. The holiday always falls upon the first Thursday after April 18 and has been a bank holiday since 1921. 
The Traveller’s Day will be held Thursday 19th April, the First Day of Summer according to the old Icelandic calendar. This special day will be dedicated to the tourism industry and travel-related leisure activities in the Reykjavík Capital Area.
Iceland’s most recent and most unpronounceable music festival “Aldrei fór ég sudur” was today covered by the reporter Paul Sullivan in the music community website, Drowned in Sound.
The inhabitants in Húsavík in northeast Iceland celebrated the fact that the third and final phase of the feasibility study of the aluminum smelter plans at Bakki, near the town, are about to begin.
Icelandic and Russian entrepreneurs are working on plans to construct an oil refinery in Iceland’s Westfjords. The station could be built in four years and provide jobs for over 500 people. 
According to the Public Federation of Iceland (ASÍ), the VAT reduction and abolition of excise taxes on groceries from March 1 have delivered good results in price reduction at supermarkets, but not in restaurants.
Two energy companies in Iceland are planning to import hydrogen vehicles beginning in fall 2008. The Icelandic companies of Nýorka and Vistorka are importing thirty hydrogen vehicles, as part of a three-year experimental project.
The legendary blues-rock guitarist Eric Clapton will be catching salmon in the well known Icelandic salmon river Laxá in Ásar in the coming summer. It is Mr. Árni Baldursson of Lax-á Ltd. who organizes Clapton’s visit, as he has done often before. 
EVE Fanfest 2007 will be held November 1st - 3rd at Laugardalshöll in the Laugardalur Valley. This yearly event gives EVE Online players a chance to meet face-to-face beyond the confines of their cozy little pods, hobnob with the EVE dev team and participate in panel discussions, roundtables and competitions.
Icelandic electro-pop band GusGus is to play in Reykjavík venue NASA on April 21, as an addition to their concert on March 24. After the concert GusGus will embark on a European tour to promote their new album Forever. 
A group of experts appointed by the Transport Minister and Reykjavík’s mayor to evaluate the location of Reykjavík domestic airport, has concluded that it is best to move it to Hólmsheidi, east of the city.
Iceland was today featured in the online version of Varity as a popular filming location. The magazine says that Island location shoots make for exotic and iconic images for both television and film. New tax breaks in Iceland and a growing local industry is making filming in Iceland more popular than ever.
The international investors service Moody’s upgraded the long-term credit rating of the Icelandic banks, Glitnir, Kaupthing and Landsbanki, in February. But due to stark criticism Moody’s lowered their credit rating again.
The ninth annual Iceland Airwaves festival will take place in various venues all over downtown Reykjavík during the week of October 17-21 this year. The five-day festival has been steadily growing since its inception and is now widely considered to be among the highlights of the annual music-festival calendar. 
Uwe E. Reinhardt Princetonian columnist and James Madison Professor of Political Economy and professor in the Wilson School suggest in a ridicule article in the Daily Princetonian that USA should bomb Iceland instead of Iran.
Iceland was named one of 6 best European-island adventures in an article on MSNBC. The author Christine Richard was especially enraptured by the Icelandic horse and the guesthouse Saltvik Farm.
Easter Monday is a bank holiday and the last day of the Easter celebration in Iceland. It is known as Annar í páskum (“The second day of Easter”) in Icelandic and also commemorates the resurrection of Christ.
Coverboys Leonardo DiCaprio and Knut the polar bear look icy hot on the April 2007 Green Issue of Vanity Fair. This year, actor Leonardo DiCaprio was prominently placed on the cover, captured by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz - standing at the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon in southeast Iceland
On Easter Sunday, Páskadagur (“Easter Day”), Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ. In Iceland people have roast meat for dinner, often lamb, and enjoy Easter eggs made of chocolate. 
Núna (now), a series of Icelandic/Canadian music, film, dance, visual art, book and theatre events, April 22 – 29, 2007, is curated and produced by a group of local artists with ties to Iceland. 
Good Friday, or Föstudagurinn langi (“Long Friday”) in Icelandic, is a bank holiday in Iceland and part of the Easter celebration. It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and is a day of mourning. 
As Iceland has a Lutheran state church, Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday), known as Skírdagur in Icelandic, is a bank holiday and part of the Easter celebration. 
Meteorologists have forecast bad weather for most parts of Iceland this weekend and skiing areas are not expected to be open, with the exception of Mount Hlídarfjall in Akureyri, northeast Iceland.
US actress Sandra Bullock is set to star in the movie Agenda 1, which will be shot in Iceland at the end of this year. Reportedly, the film’s director and producers fell in love with the landscape of the Westfjords. 
Representatives from Reykjavík Energy Company (OR) and the US network company Cisco have decided to investigate the possibility of establishing a server farm in Iceland run by environmentally friendly energy. 
The fourth Reykjavík Blues Festival will be held in the week before Easter, April 3rd - 6th. Nordica Hotel and Domo Club are the main venue for the festival, but as tradition has it, a special event, will be held in the beautiful, old downtown church, Fríkirkjan, on Good Friday. 
Inhabitants of Hafnarfjördur, outside Reykjavík, rejected the enlargement of the Alcan aluminum smelter in Straumsvík, located near the town, in an election on Saturday.
The opening hours of various tourist services in Reykjavik over the Easter holidays are now available. Get tips for your Easter holiday in Reykjavik.
The music festival “Aldrei fór ég sudur” (“I never went south”) will be held in Ísafjördur in Iceland’s Westfjords at Easter. Nine foreign journalists plan to attend the festival and feature it in their publications.
Microsoft in Iceland has received a written inquiry from Microsoft CEO Bill Gates to investigate the possibility of opening a server farm in Iceland, which running requires considerable amounts of energy.
The swimming pool in Laugardalur in Reykjavík recently opened a new hot pot, filled with heated sea water. This addition has proven extremely popular among guests at the swimming pool.
British singer Cliff Richard arrived in Iceland yesterday. According to the singer, he has many fans in Iceland who will come watch him perform in Laugardalshöll music hall in Reykjavík tomorrow. 
The first migratory birds have already arrived in Iceland, ahead of schedule. Most birds come to Iceland after the first week of April and the last birds arrive in May.
This spring season Icelandair will fly from Iceland to USA at 10:00 in the morning and will also offer a flight from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm at 8:00 in the morning. This was mentioned in a speech by CEO of Icelandair Group.
Iceland was today the topic in the travel section of the Times online under the section “Your Say Today” In that section Short breaks expert Tom Marchant offered advice to two honeymooners looking for a luxurious honeymoon break in Iceland.
Five garments from the Icelandic outdoor clothing manufacture 66°North are nominated for the Polartec® APEX award 2007.
The rebuilding of Reykjavik city centre's oldest house is now complete, and it is expected to reopen later this spring as a centre for history and design.
Four samples from a stone collection that belonged to one of Iceland’s most treasured poets, Jónas Hallgrímsson, are on display in an exhibition in the Municipal Library of Akureyri that opened yesterday.
Iceland was mentioned in the travel section of the New York Post website under the headline “Dudes dig Iceland”.
Björk will start her world tour with a concert, in Reykjavik the 9th of April. She will perform with her band and a young girls brass band. Björk will present her new CD Volta, which will be issued in May.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced that it will start scheduled flights from Stockholm, Sweden, to Iceland from April 2007. Ticket sales has already started and fares are on offer from 650 SEK.
Before the parliament in Iceland closed on Saturday, MPs agreed to found a national park at Vatnajökull glacier, which will be the largest national park in Europe. 
British actor Jude Law plans to visit Iceland again next weekend, this time without his children, but in the company of his friends. Reportedly, they will be staying at 101 Hotel in Reykjavík.
If there is an Icelandic equivalent of Simon Cowell, it would have to be Einar Bárdarson. He has enjoyed tremendous success in Iceland. He's the managing director of Believer Music Group and is about to assault the UK with his latest project, the Icelandic tenor Gardar Thór Cortes.
Icelandic investment company, Íslensk fjárfesting ehf has bought 53 percent of the shares in Kilroy Travels International, agreement with the travel agency’s board was signed recently in Copenhagen.
Einar Örn Benediktsson, one of two vocalists in the Icelandic band the Sugarcubes, was chosen the fifth worst singer of all time by UK music magazine Q. Björk, the band’s other vocalist, was chosen the 35th best singer in history.
Reykjavík Blues Festival April 3rd - 6th. Concerts will be held at the Nordica Hotel and Frikirkja Church. Blues jam at the nightclub Domo (on Þingholtsstraeti) will open each night for Blues festival guests at 10pm, after the concerts. 
It is certainly true that whereever you go in Iceland, you are never far away from an invigorating dip in our geothermal waters! According to a new report by the Icelandic National Energy Authority, there are 165 thermal pools operating in Iceland. 
The second Rite of Spring festival will take place in Reykjavik, May 17-19 2007. The festival focuses on cutting edge Folk, Jazz and World Music. Among those who will performethis year are Stórsveit Samúels J. Samúelssonar,Tómas R. Einarsson, Goran Bregovic - Wedding & Funeral Band (former YUG), Oumou Sangare (MALI) and Salsa Celtica (UK).
The Blue Lagoon has launched a new skin care range for the face, including anti-aging products based on the results from new studies that show that Blue Lagoon elements, silica and algae have effective anti-aging elements.
US actor Leonardo DiCaprio arrives in Iceland today along with photographers and staff of the glossy magazine Vanity Fair. The magazine is planning to photograph DiCaprio in the Icelandic landscape for a cover interview. 
The National museum has reopened its doors after extensive refurbishment and a modernised museum now offers a wide variety of services to its guests.
Reykjavik's latest museum addition, the Settlement Exhibition Reykjavik 871 +/-2, re-opened on Saturday 3rd March. The award-winning exhibition, which opened in May 2006, has been closed for final restoration of its main attraction, the ruins of a Viking-age longhouse, for the past few months.
The VAT (value added tax) on nearly all groceries, CDs, books, newspapers, magazines and restaurant and hotel services will be lowered from 14 and 24.5 percent to seven percent today. The VAT on sugar and sweets will not be lowered. 
Keflavik International Airport is one of the best airports in the world to spend your time while waiting for a flight, according to an assessment by website msn.com.
A new Blue Lagoon shop opened on February 15 in the cosmetic department of Magasin du Nord, one of Copenhagen’s most distinguished department stores. 
An art exhibition dedicated to Icelandic art opened on February 22 in the Trygve Lie Gallery in Manhattan, New York. The exhibition featured visual and audio art work by seven Icelandic artists. 
The annual Winter Lights Festival in Reykjavik boasts a vast range of exciting events for all ages, and will last until Saturday 24th. The events are free for all to enjoy, exept for a few events where a small fee applies.
British actor Jude Law and Icelandic X-Factor presenter Halla Vilhjálmsdóttir are reported to have gone out for dinner at restaurant Domo in Reykjavík on Friday night. “I do not discuss my private life with the media,” Vilhjálmsdóttir told Fréttabladid, but according to the newspaper’s sources, she did join Law for a late dinner after X-Factor on Friday. 
Iceland received more tourists than ever before in 2006. The total number of tourists visiting Iceland was 422,000, an increase of 48,000 (13%) from 2005.
