I spent four days in Reykjavik and for me, it was about the right amount of time to spend in the city in the winter. I was really busy at work before my trip and didn't have time to do as much research as usual, so I thought I would put together a short guide with some of my tips and recommendations for things to do and places to eat, drink and shop. I plan to go back to Iceland in the summertime to see more of the country, but I loved my short winter city break.

With a population of just 120,000, Reykjavik is one of the smallest capital cities in Europe — it's roughly the same size as Cambridge, UK, to give you some idea. But this doesn't mean that the city lacks a healthy coffee scene — coffee is very much in order on those cold, dark winter days. Coffee and cakes, like most other things in Reykjavik, are expensive, which meant that I could generally only try one type of coffee in each café. Here are some of the coffee shops I visited during my short stay.

Reykjavik is a destination that rewards the organised and one of the activities that you need to book in advance of your stay is a trip to the Blue Lagoon, the beautiful geothermal spa located in an outstanding area of natural beauty in the middle of a lava field. The Blue Lagoon is a) expensive, b) busy and c) very touristy and yet, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences of my trip. 

Iceland has been on my bucket list for a number of years but I've always been paralysed by indecision: should I go in the summer for long days, road trips and puffin-spotting, or in the winter for potential Northern Lights activity but likely bad weather? I ended up opting for the latter for my first trip to the country; I've been enjoying it so much so far that I'm sure a return in the summer will be on the cards.