Sun Voyager

About Sun Voyager

The Sun Voyager (Sólfar) is a stainless steel sculpture on the Sæbraut seafront in Reykjavík, about a 10-minute walk east of Harpa. Most people walk up expecting a Viking ship, but its creator, Jón Gunnar Árnason, described it as a dreamboat and an ode to the sun, a vessel for the promise of undiscovered territory and freedom.

His design won a 1986 competition to mark 200 years since Reykjavík received its town charter. Árnason died in 1989, before the full-size piece was finished, and the Sun Voyager sculpture was unveiled on the city's birthday, August 18, 1990. It is polished stainless steel set on a ring of granite slabs.

Much of the pull comes from where it stands. Faxaflói bay opens up behind the sculpture, with Mount Esja across the water, and the steel picks up whatever the sky is doing, from pale winter noon light to the long glow of a June night. Around the summer solstice the sun dips below the horizon for only a few hours, so a visit near midnight is easy and often the quietest time of all.

The Reykjavík Sun Voyager is outdoors, free and open around the clock all year. From here the paved seafront path continues toward the Old Harbour in one direction and Höfði House in the other. Fifteen minutes is plenty unless you are waiting for light, and in the middle of the day tour groups fill the space, so early morning or late evening works best for photos.

On clear winter nights some visitors wait here for the northern lights, though streetlights along Sæbraut wash out fainter displays. Sæbraut itself is a busy road, so cross at the lights, and keep off the sculpture.