True Spy Iceland Lecture Travel Guide

Sir William Stephenson, 1942. Photo: Unknown author, public domain

True Spy Iceland is a small lecture venue in a cellar in the oldest part of downtown Reykjavík, a few steps from the Old Harbour.

Its single subject is Sir William Stephenson, the Winnipeg-born son of an Icelandic mother who ran British intelligence operations in the Western Hemisphere during the Second World War under the codename Intrepid, and whom Ian Fleming later called the real-life model for James Bond.

The one-hour talk is given in English to groups of up to 12 people (13 for a private booking). There is no permanent exhibition to walk through; you come for the story, told well, in an intimate room.

Key Takeaways About True Spy Iceland

• A lecture venue, not a museum: one 65-minute talk in English about Sir William Stephenson ("Intrepid").
• Cellar at Vesturgata 4, entrance via the backyard at Grófin 1, between Ingólfstorg and the Old Harbour in central Reykjavík.
• Groups of up to 12; sessions run on demand year round, so book a time in advance.
• Stephenson was born in Winnipeg in 1897 to an Icelandic mother and ran British Security Coordination in New York from 1940.
• Reached by stairs; no on-site facilities beyond the lecture room.

Why visit True Spy Iceland

William Stephenson was born William Samuel Clouston Stanger in Point Douglas, Winnipeg, in January 1897, to an Icelandic mother, Guðfinna Sigríður, and a Scottish father from Orkney.

After his father's death he was taken in, as the lecture tells it, by the Icelandic immigrant couple Vigfús and Kristín Stefánsson (Stephenson), whose surname he took.

He volunteered for the Canadian army in 1916, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in 1917, flew Sopwith Camels and was credited with 12 aerial victories before being shot down and taken prisoner in July 1918.

After the war he moved to England and made a fortune from patents in wireless photo transmission and from investments in radio, aircraft, steel and film studios.

William Stephenson statue in Winnipeg. Photo: David Nyhof, CC BY-SA 4.0

From June 1940 Stephenson ran British Security Coordination from Room 3603 at Rockefeller Center in New York, handling intelligence liaison, propaganda and counter-espionage in the United States before and after it entered the war. Among the people who passed through his organisation was a young Roald Dahl.

Stephenson was knighted in the 1945 New Year Honours, received the United States Medal for Merit from President Truman in 1946, and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1979. He died in Bermuda in January 1989, aged 92.

Ian Fleming, who worked in British naval intelligence during the war, wrote that "James Bond is a highly romanticised version of a true spy. The real thing is ... William Stephenson." The lecture takes that quote as its starting point and asks, with a wink, whether James Bond was Icelandic.

The host tells the story as a narrative performance about a man who linked Churchill, Roosevelt, Dahl and Fleming, with time for questions at the end. Visitor reviews single out the storytelling and the cellar setting.

How to get to True Spy Iceland

The venue is in central Reykjavík at Vesturgata 4 (the cellar), with the entrance reached through the backyard at Grófin 1. Both addresses are in the Grófin quarter, between Ingólfstorg square and the Old Harbour, and about 100 metres from the Reykjavík Art Museum Hafnarhús on Tryggvagata.

Reykjavík's Old Harbour. Photo: Helgi Halldórsson, CC BY-SA 2.0

From Keflavík International Airport it is roughly 50 kilometres (about 45 minutes) by car or airport bus along Route 41; from the BSÍ bus terminal the walk to Grófin is about 20 minutes.

If you are staying downtown, walk: Hallgrímskirkja is about 15 minutes away on foot and Harpa concert hall about 7 minutes. Driving into the old centre is not recommended because street parking is metered and scarce; the Vesturgata multi-storey car park is a few minutes' walk away.

Several Strætó city bus routes stop at Lækjartorg, about 400 metres away.

Best time to visit

The lecture runs year-round and is indoors, so weather does not matter. Sessions are scheduled on demand rather than at fixed daily times; check the available times when booking. Because groups are capped at 12, summer dates can fill several days ahead. In winter it pairs well with an afternoon of the museums within a few minutes' walk.

Safety and practical tips

• Duration is about 65 minutes; allow a little longer if the group has questions.
• The lecture is in English only.
• The room is a cellar reached by stairs; contact the organiser in advance if anyone in your party has limited mobility.
• There is no minimum age, but the material is a history talk and will suit older children and adults best.
• The price in 2026 is about 21 euros per person when booked directly; the Guide to Iceland ticket is listed in your chosen currency.
• The cellar opens five minutes before the lecture and the door closes once it starts, so arrive on time. Photography and recording are not allowed inside.
• Private group sessions for 5 to 13 people can be arranged on request.
• There are no facilities on site beyond the lecture room; cafés and toilets are plentiful around Ingólfstorg and the Old Harbour.