Long weekend! What is it and what’s on?

Next Monday, the first Monday in August, is an Icelandic public holiday dedicated to merchants. The preceding weekend, i.e. this weekend, is known as ‘Verslunarmannahelgi’ (literally meaning ‘merchants’ weekend’) and is a weekend traditionally espoused by Icelanders and dedicated to festivities, travel and merriment.

The timing of the holiday is a throwback to the time when almost all workmen in Iceland took their holidays at exactly the same time.

Nowadays, the whole country gets on board. Verslunarmannahelgi is a time for large outdoor festivals, live music, travel, camping and – often – drinking alcohol! The biggest and most famous outdoor festival is the Þjóðhátíð in the Westman Islands, which lasts from Thursday to Monday.

This is usually the biggest weekend of the year on the roads as Icelanders set off in their droves in search of some bank-holiday fun. Traffic congestion can be expected in places.

Check out Iceland Monitor’s Events page here for a list as long as your arm of what’s on in various parts of the country this weekend.

The weather forecast is still rather uncertain, offering a bit of a mixed bag, but the Greater Reykjavik area is expected on the whole to enjoy warm, sunny weather. You can see a more detailed weather forecast for your part of Iceland on Iceland Monitor here.