Duus Hús

Description:

• This cultural center inside a large warehouse contains an art museum and cultural exhibit -- both very competently curated -- but is best known for its collection of almost 100 ship models, all built by local skipper Grímur Karlsson. Since his 1984 retirement, Grímur has constructed over 200 .6m to 1.5m (2-5 ft.) models of actual, midsize Icelandic fishing vessels. (He says he's through model-building, but no one believes him.) The models are meticulously detailed but not perfectionistic: a good balance to arouse the model-builder in all of us.

  A small concert space hosts everything from piano recitals to juggling performances (call for schedule). You can wander in anytime to see an original work by Iceland's best known painter, Jóhannes Kjarval, on the side wall.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010