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Advent festival in Akureyri

Advent festival in Akureyri

Enjoy the magical advent in an unconventional way this year.  

Respect restrictions in effect during ban on gatherings and remember to maintain a distance of 2 metres! 

Visitors coming to Akureyri during Christmas and New Year can enjoy the cultural festive celebrations of the holidays along with colourful Christmas lights & decorations. New Year´s Eve is greatly celebrated in Iceland and you can attend an enormous town bonfire and watch a fantastic firework display that lights up the night sky above the town. Every year the atmosphere is amazing. For Event Calender click here.

Hotel Kea and Icelandair Hotel offer accommodation and restaurant service during the holidays and many smaller guesthouses and apartments offer accommodation with self-catering facilities. Note that the hotel restaurants must be pre booked for dinner over Christmas and New Year´s Eve. 

Opening hours in other restaurants, shops etc. varies during the holidays, most close around noon on the 24. December and reopen on the 26. December the same applies to New Year´s Eve. For further details - see the overview for Christmas and New Year.

The largest ski area in Iceland Hlíðarfjall ( www.hlidarfjall.is/en ) is open during most of the winter holidays and most of the tour operators in town offer various tours during the holidays. 

For information on available activities and opening hours on general basis during the winter season.

How to get there:
Icelandair (www.icelandair.com) flies to Keflavik Airport in south Iceland from many European and North American destinations. These flights can easily be combined with a domestic flight from the domestic airport in  Reykjavik to Akureyri. The domestic flights take about 45 minutes and are offered several times a day ( http://www.airiceland.is/ ). It is also possible drive between Reykjavík and Akureyri a distance of approx 400 km along the main road no 1.  Scheduled busses run daily www.straeto.is and the bus ride takes about 6-7 hours.  By private car the drive takes about 5 hrs.

Related to the Christmas also visit The Christmas Cat at Ráðhústorg Square.

Enjoy the advent

It‘s quite possible to find interesting things to do during the advent, even though the events are not many. Here we have suggestions for what the family can do together in the advent.

  • Walk around town. Akureyri has quite a few interesting walking routes, check suggestions here. It gets dark quite early so it might be clever to bring a flashlight.
  • Check out the Christmas lights and decorations. Have a walk around town or a drive to take a look at the decorations.
  • The Botanical Garden has a romantic athmosphere this time of year. The Garden is lit.
  • Play in the snow, make snowmen and women or build a snowhouse.
  • The Christmas House. A visit to the Christmas House brings the festive spirit. Only 10 minutes drive from Akureyri. 
  • Kjarnaskógur woodland. Playgrounds, labyrinth, interesting hiking routes etc. There are paths for cross-country skiing and slopes for sleigh rides. Find more information on the area here.
  • Akureyri Art Trail. Walk between the interesting outdoor art in Akureyri. You can find the brochure at the Tourist Information Center or online.
  • Krossanesborgir. Beautiful area with easy walking trails. Also there are information signs to read and if the sky is clear at night, this can be a great spot for northern lights hunting.
  • Historical information boards. You will find the Historical Information Boards at various locations in the town center and in the oldest part of town (Innbærinn). They tell the story of houses, districts and places. Each board has a QR code with further information.
  • Find information on activities and sights here and check out what‘s on in Akureyri here.
  • The Tourist Information Center at Hof Cultural Center is open Mon-Fri from 8:15-16:00. 

Event calendar of the Advent festival

Thursday December 3rd
12:00-18:00 Open Studio - Artist Jónína Björg. At Hafnarstræti 90
20:00 Í HOFI & Heim - Magni Ásgeirsson & Stefán Elí – Concert live stream at mak.is
Saturday December 5th
12:00-17:00 Three new exhibitions open at Akureyri Art Museum
13:00-16:00 Open Studio - Artist Jónína Björg. At Hafnarstræti 90
14:00 Núna Núna og Núna. Art exhibition by Úlfur Karlsson at Kaktus
Thursday December 10th
12:00-18:00 Open Studio - Artist Jónína Björg. At Hafnarstræti 90
12:30-13:00 Guided tour on Akureyri Art Museum's exhibitions
20:00 Í HOFI & Heim - Þórhildur Örvarsdóttir & Alexander Edelstein - Concert live stream at mak.is
Saturday December 12th
13:00-16:00 Open Studio - Artist Jónína Björg. At Hafnarstræti 90
Wednesday December 16th
20:00 Hinn bjarti Beethoven – classical concert with Ásdís Arnardóttir at Hof Cultural Center
Thursday December 17th
12:00-18:00 Open Studio - Artist Jónína Björg. At Hafnarstræti 90
12:30-13:00 Guided tour on Akureyri Art Museum's exhibitions
Friday December 18th
Candlelight evening at the town center - shops open until 10 pm
Saturday December 19th
13:00-16:00 Open Studio - Artist Jónína Björg. At Hafnarstræti 90
Opening of art exhibition by Freyja Reynisdóttir at Hof Cultural Center

 

When
November 27 - December 23
Where
Akureyri
Further info

More information here