Skriðuklaustur

The ruins of a 16th-century monastery lie on the same site as a house built in 1939. The excavation that uncovered them ran from 2002 to 2012.

The house belonged to the writer Gunnar Gunnarsson, who built it after more than thirty years in Denmark. He gave the commission to the German architect Fritz Höger, and the building looks nothing like an Icelandic farmhouse. It is a culture and history centre now. Staff take visitors through it room by room, and the monastery is presented with archive material and VR reconstructions.

Klausturkaffi, the restaurant in the same building, serves an afternoon buffet. Snæfellsstofa, one of the visitor centres for Vatnajökull National Park, is on the same site.

• Guided tours — staff lead visitors through the house room by room, and the tours are given individually rather than to coach groups.
• Klausturkaffi — the restaurant in the house serves an afternoon buffet and caters for dietary restrictions.
• Easy to drive past — the site does not announce itself from the valley road in Fljótsdalur.
• Two things in one stop — Snæfellsstofa, a Vatnajökull National Park visitor centre, is at the same site.
• Toilets and payment — there are toilets on site, and cards and contactless payments are accepted.

Skriðuklaustur is in the Fljótsdalur valley and visitors arrive by car. The car park is at the house itself, so nothing is left to walk from the road. Coming through the valley, the site is easy to drive past. Snæfellsstofa, the Vatnajökull National Park visitor centre, is on the same site, so one stop covers both.

Best: early in the day, with time left for a guided tour and a meal at Klausturkaffi.

Avoid: the end of the afternoon, when the house is close to closing.

The visit is indoors and staff-led, so rain changes nothing about it. The views across the valley to the mountains are the part that needs a clear day.