Explore › Perlan
Things to see

Perlan

Natural history museum in Reykjavík, Iceland

About

Perlan is a natural history museum in Reykjavík, Iceland. It is situated on the top of Öskjuhlíð hill. It was initially only a cluster of hot water tanks, but on June 21, 1991, the building was opened to the public. The building consists of a glass dome resting on top of six district heating tanks. Four of them are still in use, one hosts an ice cave, and one has been turned into a planetarium.

Perlan houses a planetarium with a Northern Lights show called Áróra, an ice cave, which is 100 meters long and is built from around 400 tons of ice, snow, and ash, an interactive glacier exhibit, Lava Show, a water exhibition, Latrabjarg Cliff, a ten-meter-high replica of one of Europe‘s biggest seabird cliffs, a virtual fish tank, Forces of Nature Exhibit, Iceland's geological story timeline, a 360° observation deck, an ice cream parlour, a Restaurant and Café and a gift shop.

Huginn is writing the Perlan guide — this takes a few seconds the first time.

Nearby

More to see within walking distance

Places to eat nearby

Finding places to eat…

Traveler reviews

Loading reviews…

Tickets & tours

We may earn a commission from some of these links, at no extra cost to you. Learn more

Photos from Unsplash, Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA); facts from Wikipedia; maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, weather from Open-Meteo. Huginn’s tips are AI-written — check prices, hours and entry rules before you go.