Reykjavik Nightlife: Bars, Live Music and the Runtur

How the runtur shapes a night out in Reykjavik

The runtur is Reykjavik's bar-crawl tradition, in which people move from one bar to the next over the course of a night. The Icelandic word runtur translates roughly as round tour or round trip. Locals often begin the evening with gatherings at home or dinner before heading out to bars. Icelanders tend to start late, with many people not heading to the bars until around 11 pm. The nightlife energy in central Reykjavik typically does not peak until well after midnight, especially on Friday and Saturday. The length of the queue outside a bar is often used as an informal sign of how popular it is that night.

Where the bars and clubs cluster downtown

Reykjavik's nightlife is concentrated in the compact downtown area, centred on the main street Laugavegur and the nearby street Austurstraeti. Most of the popular bars and clubs are within walking distance of each other in central Reykjavik. Many venues have a cafe-by-day, bar-by-night character, serving coffee during the day before turning into drinking and dancing spots in the evening. Bars in Reykjavik commonly stay open until about 1 am on weekdays. On Friday and Saturday nights many bars and clubs stay open until around 4 am or 5 am.

Live music venues and the city's festival calendar

Live music is common across many downtown venues throughout the week, with some cafe-bars hosting DJs or live bands later in the evening. Iceland Airwaves is Reykjavik's annual multi-venue music festival, held each November across downtown locations. Iceland Airwaves stages performances in a mix of settings including concert halls, churches, art museums and small bars, with official venues within walking distance of one another. Harpa is a concert hall on the Reykjavik waterfront that hosts music performances.

How daylight and the seasons change a night out

During the summer months Reykjavik experiences near-continuous daylight around the summer solstice, so it can be bright outside while bars are still busy. In winter Reykjavik has long hours of darkness, so a night out takes place under dark skies. Use the Daylight Calculator to help plan your trip.

Drinking age, where alcohol is sold, and happy hours

The legal drinking age in Iceland is 20. Alcohol in Iceland is sold to the public only through government-owned liquor stores and online, and is not sold in supermarkets or gas stations. Prohibition in Iceland began in 1915, and beer stronger than 2.25 percent alcohol remained banned until 1 March 1989. The lifting of the beer ban is marked each year on 1 March as Beer Day, known in Icelandic as Bjordagurinn. Many Reykjavik bars run happy-hour periods, and locals often check happy-hour listings before deciding where to start the evening. Tipping is not expected in Icelandic bars or restaurants, and the tipping calculator sets out what is customary in each situation, which is usually nothing at all.