VacationSelector
The city from Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavik
ReykjavikThe city from Hallgrímskirkja
The Limmat from Quaibrücke, Zurich
ZurichThe Limmat from Quaibrücke

Photos: Reykjavik by Atlantic Ambience, Pexels License; Zurich by Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Reykjavik or Zurich?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Reykjavik for

  • wellness
  • nature and the outdoors
  • prices

What lies behind each score is written up on Reykjavik’s own page.

Choose Zurich for

  • day trips
  • shopping
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Zurich’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Reykjavik 12, Zurich 45: Zurich leads by 33 points.
Food & drink. Reykjavik 42, Zurich 53: Zurich leads by 11 points.
Culture & sights. Reykjavik 25, Zurich 58: Zurich leads by 33 points.
Nightlife. Reykjavik 45, Zurich 62: Zurich leads by 17 points.
Nature & outdoors. Reykjavik 92, Zurich 80: Reykjavik leads by 12 points.
Day trips. Reykjavik 35, Zurich 84: Zurich leads by 49 points.
Good for families. Reykjavik 55, Zurich 76: Zurich leads by 21 points.
Getting around. Reykjavik 55, Zurich 95: Zurich leads by 40 points.
Shopping & style. Reykjavik 25, Zurich 66: Zurich leads by 41 points.
Affordability. Reykjavik 6, Zurich 3: Reykjavik leads by 3 points.
Live music & performing arts. Reykjavik 45, Zurich 70: Zurich leads by 25 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Reykjavik 88, Zurich 58: Reykjavik leads by 30 points.
0255075100

What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Reykjavik and Zurich.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Reykjavik
44match

Wins on wellness and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Zurich
Best match
63match

Wins on day trips and shopping with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Reykjavik in July

15 °Cdaytime high
9 °Cnight-time low
50 mmrain in the month
6 hsunshine a day
11 °Csea
20 hdaylight a day

Zurich in July

24 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
126 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
No seasea
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°5°10°15°20°25°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
ReykjavikZurich

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Reykjavik: 1991-2020 normals, Reykjavik (2.3 km from centre). Zurich: 1991-2020 normals, Zurich Town / Ville. (2.2 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureReykjavikZurich
Official languageIcelandicFrench, German, Italian, Romansh
CurrencyIceland Krona (ISK)Swiss Franc (CHF)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCJ230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTCUTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency number112112
Elevation8 m408 m
Main airportKeflavik International Airport (KEF)37 km from centre88 non-stop destinationsZürich Airport (ZRH)9 km from centre226 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year16 days10 days

By the numbers

MeasureReykjavikZurich
City population138,772440,935
People per km²5695,016
Museums within 10 km2363
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km11
Swim season, months above 21 °CNone-

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Reykjavik or Zurich somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-11-01. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.