Carving depicting Thorolf Skallagrímsson, a character.from Egil’s Saga at the Settlement Centre.

Gary Latham

Settlement Centre

Top choice


Housed in an imaginatively restored warehouse by the harbour, the must-see Settlement Centre offers fascinating insights into the history of Icelandic settlement and the Saga era. The museum is divided into two exhibitions; each takes about 30 minutes to visit. The Settlement Exhibition covers the discovery and settlement of Iceland. Egil's Saga Exhibition recounts the amazing adventures of Egil Skallagrímsson (the man behind Egil’s Saga) and his family. A detailed multilingual audio guide is included.

This is not your run-of-the-mill Icelandic folk museum: the Settlement Centre offers deep background into Iceland’s history and flora and fauna, and a firm context in which to place your Icelandic visit; and Egil's Saga is one of the most nuanced and action-packed of the sagas. The centre has placed cairns throughout town marking key sites from Egil's Saga. It also has a top-notch restaurant.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Brákin

0.03 MILES

Þorgerður Brák was Egil's nursemaid, thought to be a Celtic slave. In one of the more dramatic moments in Egil's Saga, she heroically saves Egil's life …

2. Borgarfjördur Museum

0.14 MILES

This small municipal museum has an engaging exhibit on the story of children in Iceland over the last 100 years. It's told through myriad photographs and…

3. Borgarneskirkja

0.17 MILES

Borgarnes' quaint church stands watch on a hill in the centre of town.

4. Skallagrímsgarður

0.28 MILES

The Settlement Museum has marked sites featured in Egil’s Saga with cairns, including Skallagrímsgarður, the burial mound of the father and son of saga…

6. Borg á Mýrum

1.79 MILES

The Borg á Mýrum farm, just northwest of Borgarnes on Rte 54, is the site where Skallagrímur Kveldúlfsson, Egil's father, made his farm at settlement. The…

7. Saurbæjarkirkja

12.67 MILES

The church at the Saurbær farmstead is worth a look for its beautiful stained-glass work by Gerður Helgadóttir. It is named for Reverend Hallgrímur…

8. War & Peace Museum

12.77 MILES

During WWII Hvalfjörður contained a submarine and warship station and over 20,000 American and British soldiers passed through. This museum houses…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "iceland/borgarnes/attractions/settlement-centre/a/poi-sig/1177320/1318076",
      "position": "superzone"
    }