Iceland is all about the wild outdoors. It’s one of the most naturally beautiful countries I’ve ever visited, and it’s chock full of extreme features like volcanoes, glaciers, expansive geo thermal areas, waterfalls and geysers. In this post I’m going to focus a bit on Reykjavik, but also cover the must see, top ticket natural attractions that are easily accessible from the capital city.
Things to See and Do
Within Reykjavik itself, there’s not a whole lot of things to spend your time visiting, to be honest. The Hallgrímskirkja (cathedral) atop the hill overlooking the city is worth a quick look, but otherwise get yourself out of the city and into the wide open spaces of this wild country.
Golden Circle
The big ticket items close to Reykjavik of Þingvellir National Park, Geysir and Gullfoss that most tour companies will take you to make up the Golden Circle. We decided that rather than pile onto a bus full of randoms, we’d hire our own car and explore not only these places but other parts of Iceland around the capital.
Þingvellir
Þingvellir (Thingvellir – Thing Fields) is the site of the first Icelandic parliament, founded in 930 and it remained there until 1798. It’s an expansive site with significant cultural and historic value for the Icelandic. It’s also where the two tectonic plates of Europe and America meet, making it quite the geological site to check out as your first stop out of Reykjavik. Of course I did the “now I’m in Europe, now I’m in America” thing. 
