Film and TV locations in Iceland
23 places to shoot in Iceland: 3 mountains and wilderness, 3 theatres, arenas and venues, 3 offices, schools and public buildings and 14 more. 7 have a photo and 4 carry practical details the location publishes itself. Search and put three side by side in the locations search.
What Iceland pays back
Iceland runs the Reimbursement of film production costs, worth 25% (35% for large productions) as a cash rebate. Work out the net value on your own spend in the incentive comparison, and find a studio, service company or post house in the 7 companies we list in Iceland.
Regions
And single locations in 9 more regions, all of them in the list below.
Mountains and wilderness in Iceland 3
Mountains, moors, volcanic ground, glaciers and empty terrain, where access and weather decide the schedule. Mountains and wilderness across Europe.
Dettifoss
Mountains & wilderness
A wide, high-volume waterfall on the Jokulsa a Fjollum river in a barren canyon, with grey glacial water dropping between near-vertical rock walls.
Seen in: Prometheus
Svínafellsjökull
Mountains & wilderness
Heavily crevassed outlet glacier of Vatnajökull ending in a small lagoon, reachable in minutes from the Ring Road inside Vatnajökull National Park.
Seen in: Interstellar (2014), Batman Begins (2005)
Thingvellir National Park
Mountains & wilderness
A rift valley and former open-air assembly site where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet, with a gorge, lava fields and Iceland's largest natural lake.
Seen in: Game of Thrones
Theatres, arenas and venues in Iceland 3
Auditoriums, concert halls, opera houses, cinemas, arenas and event spaces, with the backstage, foyers and dressing rooms that come with them. Theatres, arenas and venues across Europe.
Laugardalslaug
Theatre, arena & venue
Iceland's largest conventional swimming pool complex, in Reykjavik's Laugardalur valley, with an indoor Olympic-size pool, a 50 metre outdoor pool, eight hot pots and a steam bath.
Harpa Concert Hall
Theatre, arena & venue
Glass-clad concert and conference hall on the Reykjavik waterfront, its honeycomb facade covering several auditoriums and a large public lobby used for performances and events.
Seen in: Sense8, Black Mirror (Crocodile), The Bachelor, Heart of Stone
Capacity: 1734 · Eldborg concert hall: up to 1,734 seats, 1,008 sq m, 4 floors. Silfurberg: 735 sq m, 7.7 m ceiling. Nordurljos: 540 sq m, 9 m ceiling. Kaldalon:...
Sundholl Reykjavikur
Theatre, arena & venue
A 1937 indoor municipal swimming pool in central Reykjavik with a functionalist facade, white-tiled changing rooms and an outdoor terrace with hot tubs added later.
Seen in: Hollin (The Palace, 2010 documentary)
Offices, schools and public buildings in Iceland 3
Offices, town halls, courtrooms, libraries, universities and schools: the interiors most contemporary drama actually needs. Offices, schools and public buildings across Europe.
University of Iceland
Office, school & public building
Iceland's oldest and largest university, founded in 1911, with its main building and campus grouped around Sudurgata in central Reykjavik.
Perlan
Office, school & public building
A domed observation building on Oskjuhlid hill in Reykjavik, built over old geothermal water storage tanks, combining a museum, planetarium and viewing deck.
Seen in: The Christmas Quest
On-site restaurant, bar, cafe, ice cream parlour, gift shop and observation deck alongside the exhibitions (own site).
Official siteFilm commissionCommission listingCompare this one
Reykjavik City Hall
Office, school & public building
The seat of Reykjavik's city government on the edge of the Tjornin pond, a low glass and stone building from 1992 that also hosts exhibitions, concerts and public functions.
Industrial and derelict locations in Iceland 2
Factories, warehouses, power stations, mines, depots and abandoned buildings: raw space, hard surfaces and the kind of decay that is impossible to build. Industrial and derelict locations across Europe.
Djupavik Herring Factory
Industrial & derelict
Disused 1930s herring-oil factory on a remote fjord in the Strandir area, with rusted machinery and concrete tanks left largely intact next to a small hotel in the former workers' housing.
Seen in: Justice League, Sigur Ros music video
Hafnarhus (Reykjavik Art Museum)
Industrial & derelict
A former harbourside warehouse at Reykjavik's old docks, converted into the main building of the Reykjavik Art Museum with large open exhibition halls under its original roof structure.
Transport and infrastructure in Iceland 2
Stations, airports, ports, bridges, tunnels, metro lines and rolling stock, including disused stretches that can be closed off for a shoot. Transport and infrastructure across Europe.
Grandi (Reykjavik Old Harbour)
Transport & infrastructure
The working fishing harbour at Grandi on Reykjavik's western shore, with slipways and fish-processing buildings now shared with whale-watching boats, seafood restaurants and design studios.
Hafnarfjordur Harbour
Transport & infrastructure
A working fishing and cargo harbour in the town of Hafnarfjordur just south of Reykjavik, with quays and warehouses set against black lava rock.
Seen in: Shackleton (2002 miniseries)
Official siteFilm commissionCommission listingCompare this one
Coast and beaches in Iceland 2
Beaches, cliffs, harbours and coastline, including stretches that can be closed off in the off season. Coast and beaches across Europe.
Reynisfjara
Coast & beach
Black volcanic sand beach near Vík with hexagonal basalt columns, the Reynisdrangar sea stacks offshore and powerful Atlantic surf.
Seen in: Noah (2014), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Jokulsarlon
Coast & beach
A glacial lagoon at the edge of Vatnajokull where icebergs calve from an outlet glacier and drift toward the sea, with a black sand beach across the road.
Seen in: A View to a Kill, Die Another Day, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Batman Begins
Film studios and backlots in Iceland 2
Sound stages, backlots, water tanks and virtual production volumes you can hire, with the crew base and power that go with them. Film studios and backlots across Europe.
RVK Studios
Studio & backlot
Around 8,000 square metres of stages in a converted fertiliser plant at Gufunes, with three large studios a short drive from downtown Reykjavík.
Seen in: Katla (2021), Trapped, Against the Ice (2022)
Three acoustically isolated stages of 2,775, 1,506 and 1,317 m2, all 16 m high, with 733 m2 of props and set storage next to Stage 1; dressing, makeup...
Studio Syrland
Studio & backlot
Reykjavik production facility running since 1988, combining a recording stage with camera, lighting and grip equipment rental, listed under Film in Iceland's studio category.
Studio A and control room; camera, lighting, grip, truck and power equipment rental in partnership with Storyline Studios Scandinavia.
Churches and monasteries in Iceland 1
Cathedrals, churches, chapels, monasteries and cloisters, plus the crypts and refectories behind them. Churches and monasteries across Europe.
Akureyrarkirkja
Church & monastery
A 1940 Lutheran church on a hill above central Akureyri, designed by Gudjon Samuelsson with a stepped concrete facade related to his Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik.
Hotels and interiors in Iceland 1
Hotels, spas and their lobbies, ballrooms, bars and corridors, including closed or seasonal properties that can take over a whole unit. Hotels and interiors across Europe.
Blue Lagoon
Hotel & interiors
A geothermal spa with milky blue water set in a black lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, with a bathhouse and treatment building on its edge.
Seen in: Hostel: Part II
Houses and apartments in Iceland 1
Private houses, villas, apartments and period interiors available for filming, from workers' housing to architect-designed homes. Houses and apartments across Europe.
Hofdi
House & apartment
A 1909 timber house on Reykjavik's waterfront, owned by the city and used for official receptions, with the flags of the United States and the Soviet Union still hung inside.
Seen in: 1986 Reykjavik Summit (Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev)
Bars, restaurants and shops in Iceland 1
Cafes, bars, restaurants, markets, shops and shopping streets, the everyday interiors a schedule eats through quickly. Bars, restaurants and shops across Europe.
Kringlan
Bar, restaurant & shop
Iceland's second-largest shopping centre in Reykjavik, with more than 180 shops and restaurants plus a library, theatre and cinema under one roof, featured in a 2010 Icelandic feature film.
Seen in: Dreamland (2010)
Forests and lakes in Iceland 1
Woodland, forests, lakes and rivers, with the access tracks and permits that shooting in them needs. Forests and lakes across Europe.
Lake Myvatn
Forest & lake
A shallow volcanic lake ringed by lava formations, pseudocraters and geothermal ground, with wetlands used by large numbers of breeding ducks.
Seen in: The Fate of the Furious
Official siteFilm commissionCommission listingCompare this one
Villages and countryside in Iceland 1
Villages, farmland, meadows and rural roads: open country with somewhere to put a unit base. Villages and countryside across Europe.
Vik i Myrdal
Village & countryside
A small coastal village with a black-steepled church on a hill above a cluster of houses, close to black sand cliffs and sea stacks.
Seen in: Katla