Barely across the gangway, and you're already there. In Seyðisfjörður, in eastern Iceland, the wharf touches the village: no anonymous terminal, no shuttle. The colourful wooden houses, inherited from the Norwegian merchants who built the settlement in the 19th century around the herring fishery, are reflected in the lagoon at the head of a fjord with high walls streaked with waterfalls. Small and mid-sized ships moor in the heart of things; the largest anchor in the fjord and bring their passengers ashore by tender. This is also where the ferry from Denmark docks each week, via the Faroe Islands — a reminder that this inlet was long one of Iceland's great maritime gateways.

The rainbow street and the blue church

The first route is obvious: five minutes from the wharf, a path painted in rainbow colours runs up between cafés and workshops to Seyðisfjarðarkirkja, the pale blue church that has become the town's signature image. The scene is one of the most photographed in Iceland, but the crowds stay modest: a few hundred residents, art galleries, a bookshop-café. The community has earned a reputation as an artists' haven, and you can feel it in the shop windows as well as in the overall atmosphere, gentle and slightly bohemian.

Waterfalls to count

Above the village, the Fjarðará River tumbles down the valley in a succession of falls — more than twenty-five of them between the heights and the lagoon. The trail that follows them starts right from the upper streets, and each switchback reveals a new pool. Excursions also lead to Gufufoss, the most imposing in the area, often compared to a little sister of Skógafoss: a curtain of water you can approach with a few minutes' walk from the mountain pass road. In wet weather — which is frequent — the whole mountain cirque starts streaming, and the show is well worth a raincoat.

The sculpture that sings with the wind

Another curiosity a short distance from the centre: Tvísöngur, a sound sculpture made of five interconnected concrete domes, set on the mountainside. Each dome resonates on a different note; you step inside, hum, and listen to the wind do its part. The access trail climbs moderately and offers, as a bonus, a plunging view of the fjord and, on port call days, of your ship sitting like a scale model on the dark water.

Pointers for the day

• The whole village can be explored on foot; the church and the rainbow street are less than ten minutes from the wharf.
• The waterfall and Tvísöngur trails start right in town; hiking shoes recommended.
• Gufufoss is reached by the road climbing toward the pass, on an excursion or by taxi.
• Cafés, galleries and craft shops are concentrated around the main street and the waterfront, a few minutes from one another.
• The weather in eastern Iceland changes from hour to hour: dress in layers.

A fjord that stays with you

Departure follows the same waterway as the arrival: some twenty kilometres between basalt walls where clouds linger. From the deck, the village slowly shrinks, a patch of bright colours that the cliffs seem to close behind you. Few Icelandic port calls offer so much within such a short distance: here, art, mountains and running water share the same square kilometre. It's not unusual to hear passengers on deck already revising their travel plans to come back and spend a few nights in the east — the most discreet of Iceland's four cardinal points, and perhaps the most endearing.