Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”.
Bhutan • 11 days, 10 nights
Festivals & Temples of Bhutan
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Current appearance
Base of the Column of Arcadius
Abington Friends Meeting House.
Abington Friends Meeting House
Muc Lien’s 18 Gates of Hell.
Muc Lien's 18 Gates of Hell
Lighthouse and Museum of Jára Cimrman (Maják a muzeum Járy Cimrmana).
Lighthouse of Jára Cimrman
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The Codex Gigas (the Devil’s Bible) open to the portrait of the devil.
Codex Gigas: Who Drew the Devil in This Massive Medieval Bible?
about 5 hours ago
USDA and Washington State agriculture officials tagged this Asian giant hornet. Sept. 10, 2021.
What Ever Happened to the Murder Hornets?
1 day ago
The exterior of the Hall of Records.
Atlas Obscura Mailbag: Urban Exploration, Illegal Carvings, and Repeat Vacations
3 days ago
Biosphere 2 campus (2016)
Biosphere 2: How Volunteers Survived for 2 Years in an Airtight Habitat
4 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Iceland Flateyri Flateyri Bookstore

Flateyri Bookstore

The oldest bookstore in Iceland.

Flateyri, Iceland

Added By
Frida
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Flateyri Bookstore   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
Flateyri Bookstore   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
Flateyri Bookstore   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
Flateyri Bookstore   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
Flateyri Bookstore   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
From the museum next door.   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
From the museum next door.   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
Flateyri Bookstore   Frida / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located in a small fishing village in West fjords, this fourth-generation family-owned bookstore was established in 1914. They have kept track of every krona that has come through the store since their opening, displayed in old accounting books showcased throughout. Many of the store's trappings have remained relatively untouched for more than a century. 

The bookstore sells new books by Icelandic authors, as well as old used books with inscriptions such as “Happy Christmas, from Mom and Dad, 1962," along with copies of Spiderman and Tarzan comics from the 1980s and many other literary gems. 

Books are sold according to their weight, visitors are even encouraged to weigh books themselves utilizing the shop's 100-year-old plus scale. Storekeeper Eythor Jóvonsson is the great-grandson of original owners Jón Eyjólfsson and Gudrún Arnbjarnardóttir.

When Eythor’s grandmother passed, they kept everything as she left it. Since then, the apartment next to the store has been turned into a museum.

Related Tags

Bookstore History & Culture Books Stores
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Iceland in Summer: Journey through the South Coast & the Westman Islands

Explore Iceland's Myths, Wonders, & Landscapes.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Frida

Published

September 2, 2020

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Flateyri Bookstore
3 Hafnarstræti
Flateyri
Iceland
66.047736, -23.51183
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Hversdagssafn

Ísafjörður, Iceland

miles away

Selárdalur Valley

Iceland

miles away

Samúel Jónsson's Art Farm

Iceland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Iceland

Iceland

Europe

Places 149
Stories 41

Nearby Places

Hversdagssafn

Ísafjörður, Iceland

miles away

Selárdalur Valley

Iceland

miles away

Samúel Jónsson's Art Farm

Iceland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Iceland

Iceland

Europe

Places 149
Stories 41

Related Stories and Lists

The Ultimate Guide to Wondrous Independent Bookstores

List

By Jonathan Carey

Related Places

  • Inside the shop

    Morganton, North Carolina

    Green Eggs and Jam

    An eclectic store sells obscure vinyl recordings of Charles Manson and Jim Jones, along with many other oddities.

  • The Bouquinistes sell vintage postcards and posters, too.

    Paris, France

    The Bouquinistes of Paris

    The tradition of open-air secondhand and antiquarian bookselling in Paris dates back to the Renaissance.

  • New York, New York

    Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks

    Spiral-bound community recipes and antiquarian gems mingle at this small East Village shop.

  • Dallas, Texas

    Half Price Books Flagship Store

    A Texas-sized secondhand bookstore features 54,000 square feet of books, music, and media.

  • The mural on the side of the bookstore is a collaboration between “BMike” Odums and READ MORE BOOKS.

    New Orleans, Louisiana

    Community Book Center

    The oldest Black-owned bookstore in New Orleans was started by a substitute teacher on a mission.

  • The blue plaque.

    London, England

    Site of the Tabard Inn

    The location Geoffrey Chaucer and tale-telling pilgrims set off for Canterbury in April 1386.

  • Berdine’s Five and Dime opened in 1908 in downtown Harrisville, West Virginia.

    Harrisville, West Virginia

    Berdine's Five and Dime

    Step back in time at this historic variety store, packed with items from a bygone era.

  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    BookXcess RexKL

    Kuala Lumpur’s historic single-screen cinema, transformed into a labyrinthine bookstore.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.