Reykjavik

WHY GO NOW In 2006 the United States population will reach 300 million, and Iceland's will hit 300,000. In national pride, the two countries will remain about equal, which goes a long way toward explaining why Reykjavik, Iceland's capital, refuses to feel like a small town. About two-thirds of Icelanders live in the city and its suburbs, and if the concentration of museums and galleries, bookstores, excellent restaurants and lively night spots per capita isn't the highest in any city in the world, it has to be close.

The charm of the place alone assures steady visitors. Icelanders are well traveled and multilingual, yet enjoy claiming they believe in elves. They speak the language of the Vikings largely unaltered and eke out livings on an Ohio-size island with 20 active volcanoes, and then strut out on weekends for hyperactive partying. But with the midnight sun still a couple of months away, crowds are sparse at this time of year, and the city center of stone-paved streets and brightly painted peaked-roof buildings can feel almost free of tourists.

Forget frostbite. Although the Arctic Circle is less than 200 miles away, the Gulf Stream so moderates temperatures that in winter Reykjavik is often warmer than New York. And off-season rates and packages mitigate the shock of paying your hotel bill at what is among the most expensive cities in Europe.

WHERE TO STAY Book a hotel in the city center, called 101 after both its postal code and its national primacy in all things cultural, historical, governmental and sophisticated. Nearly everything is within walking distance. Winter rates prevail until April 30. The coolly stylish Radisson SAS 1919 Hotel, Posthusstraeti 2; (354) 599-1000; www.radissonsas.com, opened last May, has green marble staircases and bright rooms with dark wood furnishings in a spare Nordic design. Doubles in March start at 13,000 kronur ($203 at 66.78 kronur to the dollar).

Also new, the Hotel Reykjavik Centrum, Adulterate 16; (354) 514-6000; www.hotelcentrum.is, opened last April in three cleverly renovated historical buildings, large versions of Reykjavik houses, with brightly painted corrugated siding and white shutters. Standard rooms for 11,000 kronur are compact and attractive, with sleekly modern furnishings and baths, shining wood floors and flat-screen televisions. An archaeological site dating to the late 800's was discovered during construction and preserved to become a basement display opening later this year.

For seeing and being seen, there's the boutique-style Hotel 101, Hverfisgata 10; (354) 580-0101; www.101hotel.is, doubles from 28,900 kronur. The Borg, Posthusstraeti 11; (354) 551-1440; www.hotelborg.is, an Art Deco classic and probably the city's most famous hotel, has been doing a messy renovation this winter; completion is expected in mid-April.

The Leifur Eiriksson, Skolavordustigur 45; (354) 562-0800; www.hotelleifur.is, is a well-regarded, economically priced hotel with rooms for 10,400 kronur.

WHERE TO EAT Sixty percent of Iceland's national income comes from fish, and tasting it explains why. Almost any restaurant will serve a creature that was swimming a few hours earlier in cool, clean waters, and cosmopolitan chefs do much of the cooking. The perennially praised Siggi Hall, Thorsgata 1, in the Hotel Odinsve; (354) 511-6677; www.siggihall.is, with menu items like bacalao (salted cod) served three ways on one plate for 3,400 kronur, has been followed into the favors of Condé Nast Traveler by a newer challenger, the Seafood Cellar, Adalstraeti 2, (354) 511-1212; www.sjavarkjallarinn.is. A recent choice there was halibut and sea bream with capers, shiso leaves and bacon for 3,500 kronur; a land-based alternative was Cuban-spiced reindeer for 5,900 kronur.

A two-minute walk across Ingolfstorg square, Einar Ben, Veltusundi 1; (354) 511-5090; www.einarben.is, exudes the warm feeling of a cozy 19th-century house; it was the residence and law office more than 100 years ago of Einar Benediktsson, a poet and patriot. One night this winter the complimentary appetizer was scallops with vinaigrette and chocolate. The menu included not only salted cod with Jerusalem artichokes and tomato lobster jus, for 2,820 kronur, but foal; if you're of a mind to try horsemeat, this might be the place.

There's an escape from high prices at vegetarian restaurants, including the tiny and serene Cafe Gardurinn, with soups, hearty vegan entrees and cakes that are anything but austere. Klapparstigur 37; (354) 561-2345, lunch with dessert, about 1,500 kronur. Or fill up on the favorite local fast food, a hot dog with everything at the tiny harborfront stand called Baejarins Beztu at Tryggvagata and Posthusstraeti.

WHAT TO DO DURING THE DAY Orient at Perlan, five enormous hot-water storage tanks topped by a circular building with a cafe where you can gaze down on the city from a commanding high point. (A much fancier revolving restaurant is open for dinner.) The tanks are part of the system that Reykjavik uses to heat its buildings with naturally hot water from deep underground.

Inside Perlan is the Saga Museum, (354) 511-1517; www.sagamuseum.is, which proves that dioramas don't have to be hokey as it explains how Iceland's first settlers got things going. Visitors are often convinced that its synthetic Snorri Sturluson, a 13th-century parliamentarian and an author of the Icelandic sagas, is a live model, thanks to an interior motor that pushes his abdomen rhythmically in and out in a convincing imitation of breathing. Admission, 900 kronur. The National Museum of Iceland, Sudurgata 41; (354) 530-2200, reopened in 2004 after extensive renovation and skillfully tells more of the country's story. Admission, 600 kronur.

Harbor House, Tryggvagata 17; (354) 590-1200, one of several art galleries, is worth a visit for its bold industrial architecture and its paintings by Iceland's most famous living artist, Erro, a k a Gudmundur Gudmundsson. Admission, 500 kronur.

Though tour companies run only limited trips into the countryside this time of year, you can take one for about 5,000 kronur to the three justly famed sites of the Golden Circle: Gullfoss, a huge and majestic waterfall roaring into a canyon; Geysir, for which all geysers are named; and Thingvellir, where Iceland's first parliament met in 930, innocently choosing a geologically monumental spot where the European and North American tectonic plates are pulling apart. (They've separated by about four yards since that first session.)

Back in town, ask your guide to point out Hofdi House, where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed in 1986 that pointing nuclear-armed missiles at each other might not be such a good idea after all.

WHAT TO DO AT NIGHT Reykjavik's all-night club and music scene doesn't wait for summer's 20-hour daylight. Every Friday and Saturday night all year, lighthearted crowds stroll in and out of bars, dance clubs and beer-soaked coffeehouses till 7 the next morning. Find a copy of The Grapevine, an English-language weekly with entertainment listings, and start around midnight, concentrating on Laugavegur and blocks close by.

Live rock booms at Gaukur a Stong, Tryggvagata 22, or Grand Rokk at Smidjustigur 6; a happy crowd moves to mellower music at Cafe Rosenberg, Laekjargata 2. Hip throngs inhale a smoky coffeehouse atmosphere at places like Kafibarinn, Bergstadastraeti 1, and Prikid, Bankastraeti 12. At Oliver, Laugavegur 10, slim blondes in slinky cocktail dresses wait with their dates behind a long rope line. There's dancing at Rex and Pravda, Austurstraeti 9 and 22, and a well-heeled crowd of older hedonists at Thorvaldssen, Austurstraeti 8. That's barely a beginning, but exploring is half the fun.

For an earlier night out, take in "The Volcano Show," the filmmaker Villi Knudsen's regular evening screenings from his life's work filming rivers of lava as they melt glaciers and swallow up houses in Icelandic eruptions. Red Rock Cinema; Hellusund 6A; (354) 845-9548, 900 kronur.

WHERE TO SHOP By day, Laugavegur emerges as a street of fashionable shops purveying designer clothes, luxury goods and the famous Icelandic wool sweaters. Mals & Menningar, at No. 18, serves Iceland's love of literature with a wide selection of books in both Icelandic and English; clever cards and souvenirs are up front. Hattabud, at No. 8, spills over with women's hats; Nalin, next door, caters to serious knitters. At Tiger (No. 13), a slightly more upscale version of an American dollar store, children shopped for trinkets on a rainy day in January while a young woman with artful makeup and a perfectly shaved head was stationed at the counter. 66 Degrees North, the Icelandic winter outerwear maker, has a flagship store on Bankastraeti.

Find Skyr, the dairy treat that's somewhere between yogurt and pudding, at grocery stores, sold in cups with built-in spoons and in flavors from pear to cappuccino.

YES, FREE Watch Reykjavik families hunt bargains at the indoor harborfront flea market on Geirsgata on Saturdays and Sundays. Don't miss the food stalls at the back, with heaps of dried fish and a busy hot-dog stand.

YOUR FIRST VISIT OR YOUR 10TH Soak away an afternoon in the eerily exhilarating Blue Lagoon, a 1.2-acre geothermally warmed pool in a jagged landscape of hardened lava about a 40-minute bus ride out of town. It touts the exfoliating and invigorating effect of its waters, as well as its spa services and restaurant and the expansion under way. But the best part is jumping into steaming waters after running barefoot through the cold from the bathhouse. Admission and bus fare on Iceland Excursions in February were 3000 kronur, booked at the tourist office.

HOW TO GET THERE Icelandair flies to Keflavik, the international airport about 30 miles outside Reykjavik, daily to and from New York, Boston, Baltimore, Orlando, Minneapolis and San Francisco. In late March, a round trip from Kennedy Airport can be bought for as low as $423 on Icelandair. The comfortable Flybus takes you through a surrealistic lava field directly to your hotel for 1,100 kronur.

GETTING AROUND Stop first at an A.T.M., for Icelandic kronur (dollars and euros won't work) and second at the Tourist Information Center at Adalstraeti 2, (354) 590-1550, for maps and tour reservations.

The city is eminently walkable, but taxis can be called when you need them. The drivers may be the only Icelanders you encounter who don't speak English.