á Reyni (Old Town in Tórshavn)

A small neighbourhood of black-tarred wooden houses with white-framed windows

Tórshavn’s old town, consisting of Reyn and Undir Ryggi, is a small neighbourhood of black-tarred wooden houses with white-framed windows and grass roofs. People still call these 14th-century houses their home. Stroll along charming, narrow, winding lanes and experience a wonderful mixture of old and new.

Strolling through Reyn, you meet Tinganes at the end of the peer. Tinganes is the historical core of the country’s capital. Dividing two harbours, this flat rocky outcrop is dominated by delightfully muddled turf-roofed structures that, quite unassumingly, are home to the Faroese Home Rule government (Føroya Landsstýri).

Tinganes is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, parliamentary meeting places worldwide, along with Tynwald Hill in the Isle of Man and Þingvellir in Iceland. In around the year 900, it was here that the Viking parliament first began meeting every summer to discuss matters of national importance.

There are no armed security guards here, so visitors are free to wander at will—who knows, you might even catch the Prime Minister on his way to lunch! Guides can explain the history of each structure, but random strolling is enough for most visitors.