A small city with a big personality, Reykjavik is the northern-most capital city of a sovereign nation-state in the world. Despite its latitudinal position, Reykjavik actually experiences a relatively moderate climate that rarely dips below 5 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the dead of winter.
Speaking of Icelandic winters, they’re dark! On the Winter Solstice in December, the sun typically rises around 11:30 AM and sets by 3:30 PM. By contrast, the sun doesn’t set until just after midnight on the Summer Solstice in June, rising again just before 3:00 AM. Depending on whether you visit in winter or summer, complete daylight or nightfall is never fully achieved; the sky instead displays a drawn-out kind of sunrise or sunset, complete with a colorful show of lights.
For most of its history, Reykjavik was a relatively small village with no urban development. Since the end of World War II however, Reykjavik has rapidly transformed into a thriving, modern city with more than half of Iceland’s population living in or around Reykjavik. Moreover, Reykjavik is far and away the world leader in green-energy innovation; nearly 95% of the city’s heating and electricity needs are met by renewable energy sources (primarily geothermal and hydroelectric).