Videy Island
An island five minutes off Reykjavik holding the country's oldest stone building and a Yoko Ono light column.
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Videy sits just off Reykjavik and was settled early, holding a monastery from 1226 until the Reformation. Videyjarstofa, built in the 1750s for the royal treasurer Skuli Magnusson, is the oldest surviving stone building in Iceland, and the church beside it is among the oldest too. The island was inhabited into the twentieth century and abandoned in the 1940s; ruins of the village remain. Since 2007 it has held the Imagine Peace Tower, Yoko Ono's memorial to John Lennon - a column of light projected from a stone base carrying the phrase in many languages, lit each year between Lennon's birthday on 9 October and the anniversary of his death on 8 December. Richard Serra sculptures stand at the northern end.
What you actually see
- Iceland's oldest stone building - Videyjarstofa of the 1750s.
- The Imagine Peace Tower - a light column lit from 9 October to 8 December.
- An abandoned village - the settlement left in the 1940s.
- Serra sculptures - the standing stones at the island's north end.
When to go
May to September for the fullest ferry service; October to December for the tower lit. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Ferry schedules are reduced sharply outside summer and stop in bad weather. The island is exposed with almost no shelter. The tower is lit only in its season and only in clear conditions. Facilities are one cafe with limited hours.
Nearby
Reykjavik's harbour is minutes away; Mount Esja is across the bay.
What to pack for Videy Island
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
