Icelandic saga tradition holds the Norse settler Ingólfr Arnarson founded Reykjavík around 874 AD, naming it 'smoky bay' for geothermal steam rising from the ground, though it was not chartered as a trading town until 1786. The whole city runs on geothermal district heating drawn from underground, part of why Iceland's power and heat are almost entirely renewable. Daylight swings further here than anywhere else on this map: barely four hours around the winter solstice, close to twenty-one hours in June, with a stretch when the sun never sinks more than 5 degrees below the horizon. A krona that tracks import costs closely makes a Reykjavík winter one of the most expensive stays in Europe.
Nights sit around 6°C and afternoons around 12°C, though some days reach 15°C.
The year in Reykjavík moves gently: summer afternoons sit around 14°C, winter ones around 3°C.
Some summer days reach 18°C, and some winter nights drop below freezing.
Rain is spread through the year — about 878 mm in total, from 95 mm in December down to 43 mm in June — so no single month is a washout.
Wind is a factor: February averages 22 km/h, enough to notice on a terrace or a bike. The air stays clean through the year.
Days stretch to about 20.4 hours of light in June and shrink to 3.6 in December — something to weigh if you work to a fixed timezone.
No month in Reykjavík matches what you're after, so come for the place rather than the weather. Expect fast internet (370 Mbps) and a high cost of living (about €3100 a month).
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