Visit Ålesund with Fjord Tours
Ålesund in Sunnmøre, with a population of approx 42,000, is the biggest town in the county of Møre og Romsdal. This coastal town is one of the world’s largest shipment ports for Klipfish (split, dried, salted cod) and it has a busy fisheries harbour in the middle of the town, where fresh fish and prawns are sold. Ålesund is also known around the world for its unique Art Nouveau architecture with towers, spires and imaginative ornamentation of house facades.
If you are seeking exciting nature and culture-based activities, Ålesund is a great starting point. There are great opportunities for fishing, boating trips, hiking on marked trails in the mountains, cycling on idyllic small islands on the ocean’s edge, bird watching or diving. It is also only a short distance to the world heritage area The Geirangerfjord.
For those with a special interest in coastal and fjord culture, Viking history, fisheries, language, architecture and design, flora or fauna, there are places in and around Ålesund where you can add to your knowledge. Museums and activity centres often have different thematic exhibitions or activity days where visitors can indulge their interests.
Ålesund has a wide variety of restaurants, cafés and bars. The restaurants have both Norwegian and international dishes on the menu and the ingredients come from nature's own pantry. Every year, the town hosts the Norwegian Food Festival which attracts swarms of food-lovers.
Find reasonable hotel accommodation in Ålesund with Fjord Pass® hotel pass
Several hotels in Ålesund are affiliated with the Fjord Pass® scheme. With Fjord Pass® you can stay in reasonably priced accommodation from day one. A Fjord Pass® costs NOK 120 and covers two adults and children under the age of 15. Find reasonable hotel accommodation in Ålesund here...
Geiranger & Norway in a nutshell®
Including Ålesund, this round trip also enables you to experience three of Norway’s best-known world heritage areas on a single trip; the Geirangerfjord, the Nærøyfjord and Bryggen Hanseatic wharf in Bergen. Read more about Geiranger & Norway in a nutshell® here...
Hire a car in Ålesund with Fjord Tours
Fjord Tours has an agreement with AVIS car hire, and we can provide hire cars to most of our destinations. Book a hire car in Ålesund here...
Art Nouveau architecture in Ålesund
Ålesund is known around the world for its unique Art Nouveau architecture with towers, spires and imaginative ornamentation of house facades. The architecture in the centre of Ålesund is a result of the disastrous town fire of 1904, which ravaged the entire town centre. A total of 850 houses burnt down. Incredibly though, only one person died during the fire.
Ålesund received lots of help both from Norway and abroad. A lot of this help was completely overshadowed by the help sent by Kaiser Wilhem II, who dispatched four large ships loaded with rescue teams, food, medicine and other necessary equipment.
When reconstruction got under way, the new town was designed by young Norwegian architects who were inspired by the building style of the day and national romantic trends. The town has a unique place in the history of Norwegian architecture and, along with Glasgow, Vienna, Barcelona, Riga and others, it is a member of a European network for Art Nouveau architecture.
Unfortunately, almost 20 per cent of the town’s Art Nouveau buildings have either crumbled over the years or have been deliberately pulled down. Today, however, most people agree that preserving the remaining Art Nouveau buildings is in the best interests of Ålesund. In September 2007, the organisation ICOMOS Norway decreed that the Art Nouveau town Ålesund was one of the five cultural monuments in Norway that was most at risk.
