Strætó bus service will be free of charge on Culture Night, Saturday, August 24th. The annual event serves as the unofficial end to the summer, brings out enormous crowds, and necessitates the closures of most downtown streets, making parking anywhere near the downtown area quite difficult. As a result, organizers urge anyone attending to take advantage of the free public transportation and leave their cars at home or at designated shuttle pick-up areas at Borgartún and Laugardalshöll.
Street Closures for Traffic
Many downtown streets will be closed to traffic on Culture Night. Streets marked in orange on the map below (also accessible here) will be closed from 7 am – 1 am. Streets marked in yellow will be closed from 8 pm to 1 am.
Per information on the Culture Night website, there will be both regular bus service and free shuttle service on Culture Night.
City Bus (Strætó) Service
“During Culture Night our city Bus, Strætó, is FREE OF CHARGE,” reads the Culture Night website, “and will run on traditional schedule until 10:30pm.” Extra buses will return to help accommodate commuters. Organizers also note the following detours:
The events of the day and the evening will affect few routes that drive through downtown Reykjavík. Strætó will therefore drive the following detours:
- Routes 1, 3 and 6 drive through Snorrabraut instead of Sæbraut, to and from Hlemmur.
- Routes 11, 12 og 13 drive through Snorrabraut and Gamla Hringbraut instead of Sæbraut, to and from Hlemmur.
- Routee 14 will drive through Snorrabraut, Gamla Hringbraut, Hringbraut and Ánanaust to and from Grandi.
“From 11pm the main focus will be on transferring guests from the down town area to the suburbs. Last journeys will be at 1am. We encourage everybody to use the buses, as central Reykjavik will be closed to all motor vehicles. Buses will stop on Sæbraut/Katrínartún below Höfði House and run to and from Hlemmur bus station. Here is the schedule from 23:00. For more information see www.straeto.is. Service line, tel: +354-540-2708.” The phone line will be open from 8 am – 11 pm.
Click here for the last trips on each bus route on Saturday.
Strætó Night Bus After 1 AM
“Strætó’s weekend night buses will start driving according to their normal schedule at 01:00 AM. Single fare with the night buses costs 940 kr or 2 bus tickets. Strætó cardholders do not have to pay anything extra in the night buses. More information on the night schedule can be found here.”
Shuttles
“Park further away to get closer! Special shuttle buses will operate for those who want to get quickly and safely into the middle of the festival. Shuttles will operate from 07:30pm, directly from Laugardalshöll, driving along Borgartún and Hlemmur bus stop ending at Hallgrímskirkja. The shuttle stations will be marked. Here you can se a map of all shuttle stations.” (You can also access a larger version of the map below here.)
Parking for People with Disabilities
The main parking area for Culture Night attendees who need accessible parking will be at Hallgrímskirkja. “Those with a P- Sign in their automobiles can also park at two specially marked areas within the festival area: At the corner of Suðurgata and Túngata and then at Skúlagata by the Ministry of Fisheries, please enter by driving Barónsstígur through Hverfisgata.”
Reykjavík Marathon Detours and Delays
The Reykjavík Marathon also takes place on Saturday and so anyone travelling downtown can expect at least some delays and detours on the following routes before noon:
- Bus 11 drives a detour from Seltjarnarnes between 07:00-10:30
- Bus 12 drives a detour around Sæbraut between 07:00-13:00
- Grandi is closed from 09:00-11:30.
Gleðileg menningarnótt! Happy Culture Night!
