The Union Station was completed in 1900 and functioned as a passenger terminal until 1979. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the landmark building experienced years of neglect until it was converted into an opulent hotel, detailed with wrought iron and Italian marble. Its lobby features a barrel-vaulted, 65-feet-high ceiling enclosed by stained glass. The station looks spectacular from the outside. If you're not staying at the hotel, you can still enjoy the interior while having drinks or dinner at Ergo restaurant, located inside this historic landmark. Check the hotel's facebook page for upcoming events like bartending competitions and live music nights.

On the waterfront, only a few minutes from Harpa sits the most famous sculpture in Iceland, the Sólfarið or the Sun Voyager. Made of steel and resembling a Viking ship — although this was not the artist's intention — the Sun Voyager is, according to its creator Jón Gunnar Árnason, an ode to the sun, a dreamboat symbolising the promise of undiscovered territory, the dream of hope, progress, and freedom. This is also one of the best spots for a picture in Reykjavík, with Mount Esja providing the perfect backdrop.

This baptistery is one of the oldest examples of Christian architecture in Europe and houses an interesting collection of stone coffins. Built on a Roman foundation in the early 4th century, the site was reconstructed in the Middle Ages.