Culture Night - Information

This year, Culture Night is happening on August 19, 2023, and the program runs from 12 noon to 11pm.

The festival area is the entire city center, stretching from Langahlíð in Austurbær to Hagatorg in Vesturbær and extending to Grandi.

Culture Night formally starts at 12 noon at Kjarvalsstaðir Museum and events are held throughout the city continuously after that.

The formal program concludes with a fireworks display at Arnarhóll at 11pm.

• Culture Night schedule

In consultation with the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police, parts of the city center will be closed to driving to ensure the safety of Culture Night attendees.

The map of the festival area reflects the area that will be closed to traffic. No exceptions will be made.

Road closures will be in effect from 7am Saturday, August 19 and will last until 1am after midnight.

Please note that the Reykjavík Marathon will take place on Culture Night, from 8:40am until 4:10pm, resulting in further street closures. The Reykjavík Sports Association is the organizer of the marathon. More information about the race, routes, and timings can be found at www.rmi.is. 

Remember, traffic laws apply every day of the year! The police will fine anyone who parks illegally. Vehicles that are parked illegally and/or obstruct the access of police, fire service, or ambulances will be removed and towed to Vaka. This is so that emergency services' access in emergency situations can be ensured.

Yes, there will be a fireworks display as the final event of Culture Night. The display begins at 11pm or immediately after the end of the concert at Arnarhóll. 

You can get to the city center in various ways: by public transport, walking, cycling, on an electric scooter, or driving.

Strætó will be transporting guests from all city districts throughout the day. Regular weekday schedule will be followed, i.e., higher frequency than regular Saturdays. You can get all necessary information from the Strætó website.

After 10:30pm, regular routes will not be driven and all buses will be directed to Sæbraut near the Sun Voyager, where they will begin taking people home after the fireworks display. Please note that Strætó pick-up will be only available from Sæbraut from 10:30pm to 1am. Routes will be available to all neighborhoods in the capital area. Night bus service begins at 1am and will also operate to Hafnarfjörður on the night of August 20.

Those who prefer to drive their cars to the city center should bear in mind that parking will be extremely limited, but Strætó’s special shuttle service will be in operation to quickly and safely transport you to the festival area. You can park at Laugardalur or Borgartún. The shuttle buses will run from 7am to 1am from Laugardalshöll Arena, with stops at Strætó’s bus stops in Borgartún and Hlemmur, before heading directly up to Hallgrímskirkja. Shuttle stops will be clearly marked.  

There are many bike racks across the city center, such as by Austurbæjarskóli, Lækjartorg, City Hall, Harpa Concert Hall, and the Technical College.

A portion of the city center will be closed off to all car traffic to ensure pedestrian safety, with few if any exceptions made. However, every effort will be made to ensure full access for everyone to the festival area.

Parking for disabled people

Parking spots for disabled people are located at the following places:

• Skúlagata, west of Olís, a special area reserved only for P-marked cars. This area will be monitored.
• Reykjavík Technical College
• The following parking garages have designated spots for disabled people:
  • City Hall
  • Vesturgata
  • Vitatorg Parking Garage
  • Stjörnuport Parking Garage
  • Harpa Concert Hall (accessible from 2pm)

Pant, driving services for disabled people

You can book a ride online or by phone at 540 2727.

Services operate from 7:30am to 1am
The last trip departs at 1am

• On Saturdays, general operating hours are from 10am to 2pm.
• Before 10am and after 2pm, you can only book single trips, cancel trips, or receive responses to urgent matters.
• You can book a trip with two hours' notice on Culture Night as usual.
• Passengers are kindly asked to make reservations in advance to facilitate travel arrangements.

The driving service will stop at the following places to drop off and pick up passengers:

• Skólavörðuholt – parking lot by Hallgrímskirkja
• N1 Hringbraut – parking lot by N1
• Túngata – parking lot at the corner of Suðurgata
• The Ministry of Fisheries – parking lot by Skúlagata 6
• NO stops will be made at City Hall.

Some delays may occur due to traffic. Passengers are asked to show patience and understanding.

Restroom facilities

Restroom facilities for disabled people are located at the following places:

• By Arnarhóll (next to the Central Bank's parking garage),
• On Miðbakki
• In Hljómskálagarður
• At the Technical College parking lot
• Hverfisgata 23 (by Lýðveldisgarður)
• In City Hall – open until 7pm
• In Harpa - open until 10pm
• In Reykjavík Art Museum, Hafnarhús - open until 10pm

People are always encouraged to use their bikes to reach the city center on Culture Night if they are able to do so. However, due to the crowd, it may be hard to navigate on a bike so you are encouraged to lock your bicycle at any of the many bike racks around the city center, for instance at Austurbæjarskóli School, Harpa Concert Hall, in Pósthússtræti, on Lækjatorg, in Hafnarstræti, and at the Technical College.

People are strongly encouraged to use the environmentally friendly mode of transportation that electric scooters offer to get to and from the city center on Culture Night.  

In coordination with the electric scooter companies, the maximum speed of the electric scooters will be reduced in the city center on Culture Night. In addition, journeys can only be started or ended in certain areas in the center.  

The electric scooter zones are in the following areas: 

• At Tjarnargata 4 (Parking at Iceland University's Lottery) 
• At Skúlagata  
• By Vörðuskóli School at Barónsstígur 
• By the University of Iceland

Strætó will be transporting guests from all city districts throughout the day. Regular weekday schedule will be followed, i.e., higher frequency than regular Saturdays. Information about individual routes and real-time vehicle tracking can be found here: www.straeto.is

After 10:30pm, regular routes will not be driven and all buses will be directed to Sæbraut near the Sun Voyager, where they will begin taking people home after the fireworks display. Please note that Strætó pick-up will be only available from Sæbraut from 10:30pm to 1am. Routes will be available to all neighborhoods in the capital area. Night bus service begins at 1am and will also operate to Hafnarfjörður on the night of August 20.

Those who prefer to drive their cars to the city center should bear in mind that parking will be extremely limited, but Strætó’s special shuttle service will be in operation to quickly and safely transport you to the festival area. You can park at Laugardalur or Borgartún. The shuttle buses will run from 7am to 1am from Laugardalshöll Arena, with stops at Strætó’s bus stops in Borgartún and Hlemmur, before heading directly up to Hallgrímskirkja. The shuttle stops will be specially marked. 

You may get to the city center by taxi, but driving taxis within the closed-off area is forbidden. Therefore it's recommended to plan accordingly.

There will be four taxi stands at the outer edges of the festival area. At Hallgrímskirkja, Skúlagata, BSÍ, and Túngata at the parking lot near Landakotskirkja. A taxi can also take you anywhere, as long as it's not within the closed-off area.

There will be limited parking available in the city center on Culture Night. Parking structures are available at City Hall, Vesturgata, Vitatorg, Stjörnuport, and Höfðatorg. The parking garage at Harpa is open from 2pm to 9pm. The parking garages of Traðakot and Kolaport will be closed on Culture Night. Standard fees apply.

Park closer to get further!

For those who prefer driving to the city center, Strætó's shuttle service is available to quickly and safely reach the festival area. Cars can be parked at Laugardalur and Borgartún. The shuttles will run non-stop from 7am to 1am from Laugardalshöll Arena with stops at Strætó's bus stops on Borgartún and Hlemmur, then straight to Hallgrímskirkja. Shuttle stops will be clearly marked.

Respect the residents of the city center and avoid parking in private parking spots or obstructing residents’ driveways.

Remember, traffic laws apply every day of the year! The police will fine anyone who parks illegally. Vehicles that are parked illegally and/or obstruct the access of police, fire service, or ambulances will be removed and towed to Vaka. This is so that emergency services' access in emergency situations can be ensured.

All events held on Culture Night are free of charge. It isn't possible to guarantee unlimited access to all events as they are held in different places. Some places have to consider capacity limit but everyone should be able to find something to suit their interests on Culture Night.

Several toilets will be made available throughout the city center so people don't need to go into restaurants to use the bathroom.

There will be toilets for both disabled and non-disabled people including:

• By Arnarhóll (next to the Central Bank's parking garage),
• On Miðbakki
• In Hljómskálagarður
• At the Technical College parking lot
• Hverfisgata 23 (by Lýðveldisgarður)
• In City Hall – open until 6pm
• In Harpa - open until 10pm
• In Reykjavík Art Museum, Hafnarhús - open until 10pm
• ...and other places.

In consultation with the Association of Travel Service Providers and emergency responders, we have created parking facilities for buses on Culture Night at Túngata, Hallgrímskirkja, and Skúlagata. These spaces are not intended for parking, only for picking up and dropping off passengers.  

• Túngata below Landakotskirkja: Facilities for smaller buses. Parking at Hallgrímskirkja, on Eiríksgata side: Facilities for smaller and larger buses. Access at the intersection of Eiríksgata and Snorrabraut). Exit back via Njarðargata.
• Skúlagata (west of Olís): Facility for larger buses. Access at the intersection of Snorrabraut and Hverfisgata, and down Barónstígur and Skúlagata. However, after 2pm until 9pm, you may enter via Skúlagata from Sæbraut. The exit is through the same route back. While the marathon is ongoing, there is an open route via Borgartún to Snorrabraut/Hverfisgata. 

Only cars specially marked by authorized travel service companies may use the services mentioned above. 

Drop-off spots no. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 will be inactive on Culture Night from 7am to 1am. Drop-off spot no. 5 will be active exclusively from 2pm to 9pm.

Pant, the driving service for disabled people, will operate on Culture Night

You can book a ride online or by phone at 540 2727.

Services operate from 7:30am to 1am
The last trip departs at 1am

• On Saturdays, general operating hours are from 10am to 2pm.
• Before 10am and after 2pm, you can only book single trips, cancel trips, or receive responses to urgent matters.
• You can book a trip with two hours' notice on Culture Night as usual.
• Passengers are kindly asked to make reservations in advance to facilitate travel arrangements.

The driving service will stop at the following places to drop off and pick up passengers:

• Skólavörðuholt – parking lot by Hallgrímskirkja
• N1 Hringbraut – parking lot by N1
• Túngata – parking lot at the corner of Suðurgata
• The Ministry of Fisheries – parking lot by Skúlagata 6
• NO stops will be made at City Hall.

Some delays may occur due to traffic. Passengers are asked to show patience and understanding.

The Reykjavík Sports Association is the organizer and executor of the Reykjavík Marathon, and all information can be found on the Reykjavík Marathon website.