- Su?ureyri: This traditional yet eco-conscious fishing village in the Westfjords is pioneering a tourism model that welcomes visitors into the daily work rituals of Icelandic life. Touring a fish-processing factory or joining a fishing boat crew may not be your idea of a fun vacation -- but these are authentic cross-cultural experiences you're unlikely to forget.
- Isafjor?ur: The Westfjords region is almost a country unto itself, and its honorary capital has real vibrancy despite its remoteness and small population. Credit the phenomenal setting, thriving harbor, first-rate dining, hip cafes, and festivals ranging from alternative music to solo theater performance -- and even "swamp soccer."
- Siglufjor?ur: With a single road leading in, this isolated, untouristy fjord town has a picture-perfect setting and an endearing nostalgia for its herring-boom glory days -- case in point, the ambitious Herring Era Museum -- and fabulous hiking.
- Akureyri: With a university, several museums, fine dining, a distinguished summer arts festival, lively downtown pedestrian streets, and active nightlife, this northern capital's 17,000 inhabitants think they have everything Reykjavik has -- minus the rainy weather.
- Heimaey: As the only town in the gorgeous Westman Islands, Heimaey -- surrounded by magnificent sea cliffs and two ominous volcanic cones -- would have made this list for its setting (and cute puffin population) alone. Its distinctive local identity and heroic resilience in the aftermath of a devastating 1973 eruption only add to its luster.
- Vik: This southernmost village in Iceland wears its fine setting lightly, but its landscape stays vividly etched in the mind: the lovely beaches of black volcanic sand, the spiky sea stacks offshore, and on the neighboring Reynisfjall cliffs, the most scenic walk on Iceland's south coast.
- Sey?isfjor?ur: The arrival point for European ferry passengers, and a fashionable summer retreat for Icelandic artists, this dramatically situated Eastfjords village has a cosmopolitan pulse that squares perfectly well with its tiny scale and pristine surroundings. Chalet-style wooden kit homes from the 19th and early-20th centuries provide a rare architectural historicity, and the country's first telegraph station is now an interesting technology museum.
