All events in the Winter Lights Festival are free to attend and the full schedule can be read in English here.

Reykjavík mayor Jón Gnarr will formally begin the festival at 19.30 with a short speech by Hallgrímskirkja before handing over to Marcos Zotes who will paint the cathedral in moving light themes inspired by the elements of water, fire, air and earth.

Dance, film, exhibitions, theatre, music and more will all compete for attention at a festival which truly has something for everyone – despite how cliché that phrase has become.

The festival also includes free access to many of Reykjavík’s swimming pools this Saturday evening and pool guests will be artistically stimulated all the while.

www.vetrarhatid.is

The buildings will be assembled in an area by the sea shore in the village and the project is the biggest project by the heritage preservation company Minjavernd outside of the capital region. The project involves rebuilding and/or renovating all the main buildings associated with serving the French fishermen whose presence still lingers strongly in local culture today. The centrepiece of the new heritage ‘village’ will be the French Hospital.

The ‘village’ within a village will become a tourist attraction, organisers hope — and they hope to help by opening a museum about Fáskrúðsfjörður’s French ties, as well as a hotel, RÚV reports.

The French Hospital was built in 1903 and later moved to Hafnarnes, outside of the village. The building has stood on that site for several decades and was in a considerable state of disrepair when it was taken apart and returned to the village for renovation.

The planned opening of the new project is spring 2014 and the planned cost is in the region of ISK 580 million (EUR 3.57 million).

The Glacier Lagoon Tour is ideal for those wishing to visit and experience some of Iceland’s most impressive sights. The tour provides a day full of glaciers, icebergs, and waterfalls and allows you to experience Iceland’s magnificent Vatnajökull glacier and its breathtaking glacier lagoon.

The Bustravel tour takes you alongside other giant glaciers such as Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull and then on to Vík, a small village on the south coast of Iceland. From Vík, the coach travels through black deserts and lava fields to the Öræfajökull glacier.

Following this, the tour arrives at Vatnajökull and Jökulsárlón in the south east of Iceland. In addition, the tour stops off at Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss, two of the country’s most amazing waterfalls.

With over 50 years of experience, Bustravel offers high quality bus trips across Iceland as well as professional guided coach tours and airport transfers. The company has always believed in providing great services at affordable prices and still continues to do so to this day.

Departure for the Glacier Lagoon Tour is at 08:00 on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

For more details on Bustravel’s Glacier Lagoon Tour, and to make bookings, check out www.bustravel.is or call +354 511 2600. Furthermore, for daily updates, follow the company on Facebook.

One of these exciting activities is whale watching. The crystal clear Icelandic waters provide the ideal place to see Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, White Beaked Dolphins, and Harbour Porpoises.

With this in mind, Icelandair, Iceland’s leading airline, is offering its ‘Whale Watching in Akureyri’ package deal to Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik and the northern city of Akureyri for UK travellers, until the end of September.

Included within the package deal is return flights to Iceland from Glasgow, London Heathrow, or Manchester, two nights accommodation in Akureyri, two nights accommodation in Reykjavik, and a whale watching boat trip in Husavik with tour provider Saga Travel.

The whale watching trip will be scheduled for the day after arrival, where visitors will fly to Akureyri, followed by a trip to Husavik. There, visitors will set out to sea on a whale watching tour with seasoned guides who maintain an incredible 98.5 percent success rate for sightings.

The following day, travellers will have the opportunity to explore Iceland’s second largest city, Akureyri. Visitors can then enjoy the charming town centre or head out to view some of Iceland’s most beautiful natural scenery. On the forth day of the holiday, travellers have the choice of either flying to Reykjavik in the morning or afternoon, depending on where they wish to spend the day.

To find out more regarding Icelandair’s ‘Whale Watching in Akureyri’ package deal, as well as flights to Iceland, visit www.icelandair.co.uk.

Summer events in Reykjavik draw hundreds of visitors every year to experience Iceland’s great atmosphere and cultural practices.

The Reykjavik Art Festival, taking place May 18th – June 3rd, is Iceland’s premier cultural festival bringing together the best in local and international theatre, dance, music and visual art. The programme offers a variety of curated exhibitions, concerts, dance, theatre, and opera performances across downtown Reykjavik.

The National Day of Iceland has been celebrated on June 17th since 1944. The festivities in Reykjavik include colourful parades, street theatre and music, sideshows, and dancing.

Hotel Odinsve is located just a few minutes walk away from downtown Reykjavik’s main shopping street, Laugavegur, where over 100 bars, restaurants and cafes are situated, alongside numerous boutiques and retailers.

All of its rooms have wooden floors, comfortable beds and high quality duvets and pillows from Kronborg of Denmark.  Each room includes a shower, minibar, complimentary coffee and tea, satellite TV, radio, telephone, and hair dryer.

The hotel holds a range of amenities for its guests, including a restaurant, a coffee shop, a café, a bar lounge, all located on-site – it also boasts free wireless Internet for its customers.

For more information regarding the hotel in downtown Reykjavik, visit http://www.hotelodinsve.is.

Figures have been kept by Keflavík International Airport for over a decade and the Icelandic Tourist Board says that this January tops all before it.

Some 26,000 foreign citizens departed from Keflavík last month; which is 3,900 more than in 2011. Foreign guests in Iceland increased therefore by 17.5 percent between years. The biggest number of visitors in January came from the UK; 26.6 percent of the total number. There was a 53.7 percent rise in the number of Britons visiting Iceland in January compared to the previous January. The next biggest group were people from the USA; followed by Danes, Swedes, French and Germans.

Around 23,000 Icelandic citizens flew out of Keflavík in January, which is a similar number to January 2011.

Hotel occupancy figures for January are not yet available, but there were around a quarter more hotel nights used in December 2011 than in December 2010. 69,200 hotel nights compared with 54,300 the December before — or 27 percent more. 76 percent of hotel guests were foreign citizens. Over the whole of 2011 there were 14 percent more hotel nights used than in 2010.

The Icelandic tourism industry has put an explicit emphasis on winter tourism and trying to even out visitor numbers across the whole year, as an annual summer boom and winter bust in the industry is not seen as a sustainable model. The figures from December and January offer some indication that the marketing campaign is working.

The company offers a wide range of high-performance 4×4 Jeep rentals fit to explore Iceland’s breathtaking volcanic landscape. When renting a four-wheel drive, the country’s interior is free for exploration and even the toughest terrain won’t stop you from seeing some of the country’s hidden gems.

The company’s fleet of vehicles consists of top makes such as Nissan, Suzuki, Hyundai, Jeep, Ford, and Dodge. All are available with automatic transmission and considerable engine power, which is needed when travelling around Iceland.

In addition, all of the company’s four-wheel drive vehicles can be equipped with a Garmin Navigation System to help you navigate around the country and seek out those hidden gems.

Moreover, the company offers a pickup and return service for customers arriving at Keflavik International Airport, at an additional cost. However, for those staying in the greater Reykjavik area, a delivery service is available free of charge.

For further information regarding Jeep 4×4 hire for a self drive tour in Iceland, visit www.askjacarrental.is.

Located just short drive from some of Iceland’s most popular tourist sites, Grímsborgir Guest Houses is ideally situated for those wishing to explore the Golden Circle, where one finds the magnificent waterfall of Gullfoss; the geothermal area of Geysir; and Kerið, a water filled volcano crater.

Opened by locals Ólafur Laufdal and Kristin Ketilsdóttir, Grímsborgir offers 6 luxury apartments situated right next to the River Sog, the largest freshwater river in Iceland. The apartments vary in size, accommodating from 4 to 10 people. The largest is 200 square metres with 4 bedrooms, a large kitchen and dining room, fireplace, lounge area with a TV, and large bathroom with both a shower and bathtub.

All of the apartments include a kitchen, dining room, and living area, as well as an outdoor hot tub overlooking the beautiful surroundings. There is also a first class restaurant on site, serving gourmet food made with fresh, local produce.

Ólafur Laufdal, Manager and Owner of Grímsborgir Guest Houses, said, “Due to our location, we often accommodate people who come specifically to explore the Golden Circle at their own pace. It is an ideal opportunity to fully take in and appreciate the sights. We are always happy to help by providing visitors with information about the local area; there is plenty to see.”

Visit http://grimsborgir.com for more information.

The bus trip, organised by Allt åt Alla (Everything for Everyone), aims to debunk the myth that Sweden is a classless nation by driving through the capital’s most densely populated area, Fisksätra, before taking their passengers to Saltsjöbaden to see how the other half live.

Not all of Saltsjöbaden’s well-to-do residents are happy about being a tourist attraction, however, and one has apparently filed an official complaint with the local police.

Not feeling much sympathy for the well-to-do, Ulla Krogh of Nacka Police told the local newspaper, Näcka-Värmdö Posten, that “Anyone is free to organise something like this”.

Highlights of the tour include a visit to the Grand Hotel, an ogle at the sea views from “Oscar’s” house, which featured in the comedy series Solsidan, and an audience with Rolf, the owner of Sweden’s most expensive home.

On its website, Allt åt Alla describes itself as a “revolutionary organisation” with an aim of developing a hate of the class system in sightseers. The Saltsjöbaden tours are proving popular and selling out quickly, according to the group.

The “typical” couple visit Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir and they purchase goods and services to the tune of ISK 370,000 (EUR 2,296). Furthermore, they intend to visit the country again; if the survey results are to be believed. The Icelandic Tourist Board conducted the research last summer among foreign tourists, Vísir.is reports.

The results of the survey were published on the website of the Ministry of Industry, Energy & Tourism yesterday and the data suggests that 565,000 tourists visited Iceland last year; which is a 15.8 percent increase on the year before. “The importance of the tourism industry is steadily growing for [Icelandic] society and it has reached similar significance to fisheries and heavy industry when it comes to the generation of foreign revenue,” the statement reads.

The hypothetical American couple representing the archetypal visitors to the country organised their trip themselves and used the internet to get information on the country and its people. It was mostly the Icelandic nature and culture which drew them to the country. They hired a car and took trips outside of Reykjavík; for example to the south. They were also enthusiastic about visiting swimming pools and nature baths; as well as going to exhibitions, going whale watching and horse riding. The couple are well educated and earn good money. On their approximately ten-day trip they spend ISK 370,000 (EUR 2,296) on all sorts of goods and services, the research says.

The hypothetical American couple were pleased with their holiday in Iceland and particularly enjoyed Icelandic nature, the Blue Lagoon, Reykjavík and Icelandic hospitality. It therefore comes as little surprise that they hope to return to the country.