Corridors: Islanda occidentale e meridionale

Reykjavík is the world’s northernmost capital, a compact and colourful city stretching between Faxaflói Bay and the snow-capped outline of Mount Esja. The heart of city life beats along Laugavegur, the main shopping street, and through the lanes of the Old Town, where houses clad in corrugated iron painted red, yellow and turquoise cluster around Lake Tjörnin, alive with waterfowl. Dominating the skyline is Hallgrímskirkja, the Lutheran church whose expressionist lines were inspired by basalt columns and whose tower offers sweeping views over rooftops, sea and mountains. Along the waterfront, Harpa gleams with its honeycomb glass façade catching the shifting northern light, while nearby the Sólfar sculpture, the “Sun Voyager”, traces its steel profile against the fjord. Culture has an importance far beyond the city’s size: the National Museum of Iceland recounts eleven centuries of history from the Vikings to the present day, while the Reykjavík Art Museum and the former home and studio of sculptor Einar Jónsson add to the cultural landscape. Live music venues and lively cafés animate summer evenings, when night seems almost to disappear. Reykjavík also lives through its geothermal waters: outdoor pools such as Laugardalslaug are genuine social institutions, while the geothermal beach at Nauthólsvík makes bathing possible even in winter. The city is an ideal base for exploring the Golden Circle — Þingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss waterfall — as well as for excursions in search of the Northern Lights or whales in the waters of the bay. With Nordic design, a food scene that reinterprets fish, lamb and wild ingredients, and a creative energy out of all proportion to its size, Reykjavík is a vibrant gateway to Iceland.

Vesturland is Iceland's great western region, a mosaic of fjords, volcanoes and peninsulas reaching into the Atlantic between Reykjavik and the remote Westfjords. It is a land of sharp contrasts: the Snaefellsnes peninsula, crowned by the glacier-volcano Snaefellsjokull, is often called "Iceland in miniature" for the variety of landscapes packed into a few kilometres, from black beaches to lava fields, from mossy plains to fishing villages. Inland flow salmon-rich rivers and green valleys steeped in the old sagas, while the Hraunfossar falls seep straight out of a lava field. The coasts offer sightings of seals and seabirds, and on clear winter nights the sky flares with the northern lights. An ideal region for anyone seeking Icelandic nature in all its forms, just a few hours from the capital.

The main town of southern Iceland, Selfoss spreads along the banks of the Ölfusá river, crossed by a suspension bridge that has long been the town''s emblem. Grown as an agricultural and trading hub, it is today a convenient base for travellers driving Route 1 and the Golden Circle. The town centre, redeveloped around a square of buildings with façades rebuilt in traditional style, is home to cafés and shops, while all around stretch fertile plains dotted with farms and Icelandic horses. From here the Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, the Geysir geothermal area and Þingvellir park are all within easy reach. Selfoss is a practical, peaceful base for exploring some of the country''s most famous natural wonders.

Vík í Mýrdal is Iceland''s southernmost village, gathered between steep green cliffs and the Atlantic Ocean, in the shadow of the subglacial volcano Katla. The little white church with its red roof, perched on the hilltop, is the village''s postcard image. A few steps separate the settlement from the famous black-sand beach of Reynisfjara, where the basalt columns of the Hálsanefshellir cave and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks rise from the waves — a beautiful but dangerous shore, to be admired from a distance because of its sneaker waves. Vík is an ideal base for exploring the south coast: the Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss waterfalls, the Dyrhólaey headland with its rock arch, and the puffin colonies. Suspended between glacier, volcano and ocean, it is one of the country''s most striking places.