Nedstikaupstadur, Isafjordur

Isafjordur grew on a sand spit inside a fjord, and its oldest corner, Nedstikaupstadur, still holds four black timber buildings from the trading-post era of the eighteenth century: a warehouse, a shop, a factor's house and a store with a small tower. They are among the oldest surviving houses in the country, and they survived largely because a fishing town on the far side of Iceland never had the money to knock them down. One now holds the Westfjords heritage museum, a dense collection of fishing gear, accordions and photographs from the herring years.

What to look for

• The four old timber houses - tarred black warehouses and dwellings from the trading-post period.
• The heritage museum - fishing tackle, boat models and photographs of the town's working past.
• The accordion collection - the instruments behind the Westfjords tradition of dance music.
• The spit and harbour - working boats, with the fjord walls rising straight from the water.

When to go

The museum keeps a summer season; outside it the buildings can only be looked at from the outside. Long June and July light suits the fjord, and the town is busiest then. Weather here turns fast in any month, so it is worth keeping this indoor half of the visit in reserve for a wet afternoon.

Practical notes

The museum is old-fashioned and crowded with objects, and the labelling assumes some interest already. Isafjordur is a long drive from anywhere, since the Westfjords add days to an itinerary, and flights in are weather-dependent. Outside summer much of the town's tourism simply shuts. Cruise days fill the small quarter quickly.

Nearby

The Isafjordur town centre, the fjord road and the mountain passes of the Westfjords are all close.