Akureyri Art Museum

The building was a dairy before it held any art. It is noted as a good example of Bauhaus architecture, and it is the reason many people stop here at all.

Inside, the exhibition space runs over several floors and leans towards contemporary Icelandic art. The programme is built on temporary shows rather than a fixed hang. Past exhibitors include Erró, Kjarval and Louisa Matthíasdóttir, alongside Henri Cartier-Bresson, Spencer Tunick and Guy Ben-Ner. Since 2006 the museum has hosted the Icelandic Visual Arts Awards.

The gift shop is a separate reason to come in: books by local poets and material from the Icelandic punk scene.

• Exhibitions rotate: there is no permanent hang, so the artists the museum is known for may not be on the walls when you come.
• It is a small museum: half an hour is enough to walk through everything on show.
• Facilities: bag storage, toilets and a small cafe are inside the building.
• With children: one show ran an interactive station where visitors sent a card with a message and a drawing.
• Gift shop: books by local poets and material from the Icelandic punk scene.

The museum is in the centre of Akureyri, so most visitors reach it on foot once they are in town. Those who drive can park at the museum, and there are wheelchair-accessible bays. The entrance is step-free, and the exhibition floors are reached from inside the building.

Best: a wet or windy day. The museum is indoors and open every day of the week, which makes it the obvious fallback when the weather cancels the plan you actually had for Akureyri.

Avoid: coming with one particular painting in mind. The programme is made of temporary exhibitions, and the well-known names attached to the museum are not permanently on display.