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Saga Museum: Journey Through Icelandic History With An Entrance Ticket
4.0
80 Ratings
Reykjavik
Experience the captivating history of Iceland at the Saga Museum. Explore key moments in Icelandic history and discover how Icelanders have lived for over a millennium. Get your entrance ticket now!
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
learn more
Highlights
- Saga Museum - The museum is located in the old harbour area. Opening hours are from 11:00 - 15:00 every day.
At the museum you will find many of the legends from the Icelandic sagas, historical figures like Snorri Sturlusson, Ingolfur Arnarson and Leif the Lucky.
Learn about the disastrous Black death, the most devastating pandemic in human history, which claimed anything between 75 to 200 million people. There are 20 exhibits on display today.
Visitors have the choice to be guided through the museum with an audio device and can choose between Icelandic, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. The audio guide
can also be bought in the form of a booklet at the front desk.
Visitors also have the opportunity to dress up as vikings and try viking weapons and armour.
What's Included
- All taxes, fees, and handling charges included
- Complimentary parking
What's Not Included
- Transportation to/from attractions
Additional Information
The Saga Museum vividly presents the past, bringing to life pivotal episodes in Icelandic history that have shaped the destiny of its people. It provides a fascinating glimpse into how the citizens of Iceland have survived for over a thousand years.
An audio guide accompanies visitors through the museum, offered in several languages including English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Icelandic.
- Free admission for children under 6 years.
Location
Saga Museum
Grandagardur 2,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(80 Ratings)
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Katiemf8961gh
Feb 7, 2024
So Interesting! - The audio guides are key to this experience, as you learn about the figures you see throughout the museum. There are a lot of photo opportunities and the museum itself showcases a lot of interesting stories about the Vikings. The staff were very friendly and helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Thunderacious
Jan 6, 2024
Great, quick history of Iceland - Fun and informative. The entrance fee includes a digital audio tour guide, so despite the exhibits being quite closely packed, everyone moves at the same speed (because of the speed of the narration of the audio guide). The models and displays are of a very high quality, and it shows how mo(u)lds were taken from real people as part of the construction process. The museum gives a good history and background to the country - my only 'regret' was that the history focuses (maybe correctly) on many episodes of violence and religious intolerance. There is an area afterwards where you can try on various costumes and heft weapons and take photos if desired. There is plenty of parking right beside the museum.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Threestardave
May 19, 2024
History as myth, myth as history - A fun, if violent, summary retelling of Icelandic history, ostensibly as told by the sagas (though much of it as things progress becomes more and more history-based), and made "real" by excellently-crafted mannequins. The distinction between myth and legend is not always made clear, and the tale told is idiosyncratic in what episodes it chooses to tell, ending abruptly at (more or less) the bloody Icelandic Reformation.
Still, it's a lot of fun, and the opportunity at the finish to see a video about how the figures were built, as well as to dress up in Viking garb and weaponry and take pictures, is a nice add.
Not a museum for scholars, but one with a lot of flavor.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Doreen_w
Jan 19, 2024
Nice muesum - This was a cute museum, lots of life size dioramas that were well done. Good history of old Iceland. This would be really neat modernized and upgrades with virtual and 3D experiences along with more hard artifacts.
Review provided by Viator
David
Feb 19, 2024
Saga museum - The waxworks are very good and realistic even to the point that one breathes. Informative audio guide that takes you around at a good pace. The children enjoyed being able to dress up in chain mail, Viking clothing and playing with the swords and axes - all metal but not sharp!! However for £70 it was all over in about an hour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mrusiecka
Jun 13, 2024
Sagas untold - Actually awfull, old-fashioned museum filled in with wax-figurines; most of them represent people who died of: direct violence: beheaded, killed with a sword or an axe, burnt (in witchcraft processes), just died (of black plague or any other disease).
I came there to learn anything about sagas and did learn absolutely nothing about spiritual and material culture of Iceland as well as oral traditions. Childish, naive exposition in old-fashioned style: nor representation of interesting objects, neither narrative museum telling you captivating tale.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
665robn
Jun 7, 2024
Not a must do, but educational. - It was fine. Not at all what we were expecting, but we did learn a lot about Iceland’s founding.
The exhibits are nice and the facility was very clean.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wightmoves
Mar 21, 2024
Disappointing - Very disappointing. Went after our whale watching trip was cancelled. Read the reviews but still went in. Waste of money 1 room with a few figures and a small story about Iceland.
Would add some pics but we were round before the camera had time to focus
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sfurt
Apr 27, 2024
Skip this and book the caves of Hella tour instead - Skip this and book the Caves of Hella Tour instead. This was a self guided audio tour and wax museum that gave a choppy history. The history was choppy and you a learn so much more in other places.
Definitely skip this and book the Caves of Hella tour where you have an expert guide and storyteller sharing history and answering questions.
I didn’t take a single photo. That’s speaks volumes to how unimpressed I was.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Marley1970
Mar 22, 2024
Awful - Buy a book on the history of Iceland, you will enjoy it a lot more than this place. Waxwork dummies with an audio guide really was not worth £42.
Review provided by Tripadvisor