Fodor's Expert Review Skriðuklaustur

This striking two-story mansion with its distinctive basalt stone walls and turf top was the former home of beloved Icelandic author Gunnar Gunnarsson. Designed by German architect Fritz Höger, the house was an ambitious and expensive project taking 64 construction workers 33,000 working hours to complete. When Gunnar moved to Reykjavík in 1948, he donated the building to the nation "to be forever owned by the Icelandic people." It is now run as an educational museum featuring exhibitions on the 16th-century ruins of the old monastery found on the property, as well as the life and works of Gunnar Gunnarson, along with rotating art exhibitions. Home to the fabulous Klausturkaffi restaurant, it’s also the best lunch option you will find for miles around.