March ideas for Reykjavík

March Ideas for Things to Do in Reykjavík

Most of the usual activities are available in March, including, day tours to natural phenomena, northern lights tours, etc. Reykjavík is also active during March and here are some of the highlights of March-specific Reykjavík things to do.

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Nína Þorkelsdóttir

16. February 2017

March is maybe not the most typical month for travel, but that just means you can have more of the attractions for yourself. You can expect the weather to be pretty capricious, with a booming hailstorm one day followed by beautiful spring weather the next. The temperature typically does not exceed 5 degrees Celsius often, and frost is common, so be careful on the roads.

Most of the usual activities are available in March, including, day tours to natural phenomena, glacial hikes, northern lights tours, and so on. Reykjavík is also active during March and here are some of the highlights of March-specific Reykjavík activities.

Idea #1: Food and fun festival

A chef holding a plate of food while a musician plays violin in the background. At Harpa concert hall, Reykjavik.

Chefs preparing food while a woman drinks white wine.

A chef working in an industrial kitchen.
Photos: www.foodandfun.is

Food and fun is an annual “culinary circus” which celebrates gourmet chefs from boths sides of the Atlantic. It was first held in 2002 and usually takes place during the first weekend of March. This world-renowned festival attracts chefs from all over the world, electrifying Reykjavík’s already burgeoning restaurant scene—just the thing for those cold and colorless winter nights early in the year.

Idea #2: Celebrate Beer Day

People holding glasses of beer, making a toast.

A glass of beer resting on a wooden barrel.


Beer, for lack of a better word, is good. And every year, the 1st of March marks another year since that fateful day in 1989 when beer was legalized in Iceland after decades of prohibition. Strangely, spirits and liquors were still sold legally before 1989, and thirsty beer drinkers had to resort to bjórlíki, a horrible cocktail of non-alcoholic beer and vodka. Now these dark days are over and the 1st of March is widely celebrated with an extended pub crawl.

There is an annual Beer Festivalto celebrate this historic milestone. It actually doesn't take place in March, it is held the last weekend of February. 

Idea #3: Design March

A room with pink walls made from corrugated metal and purple floor. Dark-haired woman taking a picture.

Design MArch.

Design items on display at Design March.
Photos: designmarch.is

Design March is a sort of “harvest festival” for all the branches of Icelandic design. Consisting of over 100 exhibitions, seminars, lectures, workshops and parties, it is arguably Iceland’s biggest annual March event and attracts tens of thousands of visitors. No type of design is irrelevant, be it fashion, furniture, product or architecture, and virtually every open space in the city will be bustling with activity.

Idea #4: The Reykjavik Folk Festival


A folk band playing at Café Rosenberg, Reykjavik.

Reykjavik Folk Festival is, as the name implies, a festival that celebrates folk music. The festival was founded in 2010 and it has taken place in March every year since then. The focus is not only on Icelandic folk music, the aim of the festival is to represent folk music from different countries and to gather together folk-enthusiasts from all over the world. 

Artists and bands that will perform this year are Elín Ey, Valdimar Guðmundsson & Örn Eldjárn, Högni Egilsson, Ellen Krisjánsdóttir & Eyþór Gunnarsson, Ragnheiður Gröndal, Bangoura Band, Ingunn Huld og Skuggamyndir frá Býzans & Sóley.

This year, the festival will be held in Kex Hostel from the 2nd to the 4th of March. A pass for the whole festival costs 7.900 isk and the entrance fee for a single event costs 3.300 isk. You can purchase your ticket here