Norway
Alesund, Norway
Ålesund: An Art Nouveau Town Rebuilt After the 1904 Fire
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The great fire of 1904 destroyed 850 buildings and left 10,000 people homeless; within two years, 320 new buildings had been constructed under tight architectural controls in the Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) style, the influence reflecting the Norwegian architects' training in Germany and Austria at the time. Walking the city center — Apotekergata, Kongens gate, and the streets around the inner Brosundet canal — gives an unusually complete picture of the style applied at urban scale: curved façades, organic ornament, rounded towers, and the painted Viking-revival motifs that gave Norwegian Jugendstil its specific national character. The Ålesund Town Museum (Bymuseet) occupies a 1907 Jugendstil building and covers both the fire and the reconstruction. The Art Nouveau Center (Jugendstilsenteret) in the Apoteket building provides the most detailed single account of the architecture and its historical context.
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Mount Aksla, rising 189 metres directly behind the city center, is reached from Fjellstua restaurant via 418 steps from Stadtparken — a climb that takes most people 15 minutes. The view from the summit encompasses the entire Ålesund archipelago, the Sunnmøre fjords, and on a clear day the profiles of the Sunnmøre Alps above the water. This is the view most associated with Ålesund in travel photography: city, islands, fjords, and mountains compressed into a single panorama. The restaurant at the top operates year-round; the view is worth the climb regardless of whether you eat.
Geirangerfjord, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the West Norwegian Fjords designation, is reached in approximately two hours by road or boat from Ålesund — a journey that makes it accessible as a full day excursion. The fjord is 15 kilometres long and 260 metres deep, flanked by walls rising to 1,400 metres with seven waterfalls visible from the water, including the Seven Sisters (a cascade of seven separate streams) and the Suitor (a single fall on the opposite side). The village of Geiranger at the fjord's head is small, and most of the experience is the fjord itself: the combination of scale, reflected light, and the improbable presence of the valley farms perched on the cliffsides is difficult to prepare for. Day trips by car (via the Ørnesvegen Eagle Road with 11 hairpin bends) or boat from Ålesund are the standard approaches.
The Sunnmøre Museum, 4 kilometres east of the city center, is an open-air museum of 55 historic buildings relocated from across the Sunnmøre region and reassembled around a reconstructed medieval trading post. The collection includes a Viking-era marketplace reconstruction, traditional boathouses with original vessels, and farmstead buildings from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. The museum's medieval trading section is the most historically distinctive element — this location on the coast was a significant node in North Sea trade before Ålesund developed as a fishing and export center.
Good to know
Shopping in Ålesund
Shops in Ålesund are in the compact town center, a short walk from the cruise quay.
- Most shops in Norway are closed on Sundays and public holidays, so check opening hours before you plan a shopping stop if your ship calls on one.
- Visitors from outside Norway can reclaim sales tax on purchases, but you must show your passport or ID card in the shop when you buy.
- The visitor center at Alnes, on the island of Godøy, sells art and handicrafts.
Overview
Ships dock on the south side of the town center, at one of three berths that sit close together: Storneskaia, Stornespiren and Prestebrygga.
- From the quay you walk straight into the Art Nouveau streets. The Art Nouveau Centre, the Brosundet canal and the steps up to the Aksla viewpoint are all within 20 minutes on foot.
- The streets are hilly and partly cobbled, so wear comfortable shoes.
- The tourist information office is at Skateflukaia 6, a short way from the cruise quay.
Getting Around
The center of Ålesund is small enough to cover on foot, and sightseeing buses and a road train leave from the cruise terminal.
- Hop-on hop-off buses run every 20 minutes between 9 am and 4 pm on the busiest cruise days from April to October, with nine stops on the route.
- The city train leaves every 30 minutes when cruise ships are in port. The full circuit takes about 70 minutes and stops at the Fjellstua viewpoint.
- Local FRAM buses reach places outside the center, and tickets are cheapest bought ahead in the FRAM app.
- Taxis usually wait at the quay when ships are in port.
- In summer a public bus runs between Ålesund and Geiranger by way of Trollstigen. Check that the timetable fits your time in port before you book.
Where to Eat
Ålesund is a fishing port, and fresh seafood and salt cod are the things to order.
- Most restaurants in the center are a 10 to 15 minute walk from the quay.
- On busy cruise days it is worth booking a table in advance.
- There are cafés beside the Brosundet canal, and many places in town serve coffee from Jacu, a local roastery.
- Fjellstua, at the top of Aksla, has a restaurant with the view over the town.
Tipping
Visit Norway, the national tourist board, says tipping is mostly not customary in Norway except in bars and restaurants, where locals leave 5 to 15 percent for good food or service.
- Whether to tip is entirely up to you.
- The currency is the Norwegian krone (NOK). Cards are accepted almost everywhere, and foreign currency rarely is.
- There is a currency exchange office in Ålesund if you want kroner in cash.
Culture and Sights
Most of central Ålesund was built between 1904 and 1907, so its buildings share a single style.
- The Art Nouveau Centre (Jugendstilsenteret), in the former Swan Pharmacy of 1907, tells the story of the fire and the rebuilding and has original interiors.
- KUBE, the county art museum, is in a former Norges Bank building from 1906 and is run together with the Art Nouveau Centre.
- Guided walks through the Art Nouveau streets leave daily in summer. Ask at the tourist information office for the time.
- Sunnmøre Museum, just outside the center, is an open-air museum with more than 50 historic buildings and a collection of old boats.
History
The fire of January 23, 1904, destroyed nearly 850 houses, left more than 10,000 people homeless and killed one person.
- The fire started around 2 am in a factory on the island of Aspøya, and a gale drove it through a town built mostly of wood.
- Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who had often vacationed in the region, sent four warships with materials for temporary shelters.
- Ålesund was rebuilt in stone, brick and mortar in Jugendstil, the German name for Art Nouveau, by Norwegian architects who drew on ideas from across Europe.
- Ålesund had become a full market town in 1848, and by 1900 it had 11,777 inhabitants.
- Legend says that Rollo, the 10th-century founder of the line of the dukes of Normandy, came from the nearby island of Giske.
Families and Children
Atlanterhavsparken, an aquarium and science center on a headland about 2 miles (3 km) west of the center, is the main outing for children.
- Seals, penguins and otters at Atlanterhavsparken live in outdoor pools filled with seawater, and the aquarium schedules a diver feeding in the main tank at around 1 pm each day.
- Local bus 1 goes to Tuenesvegen, from where it is a walk of 10 to 15 minutes to the aquarium. The hop-on hop-off bus also stops there.
- The 418 steps up Aksla take 30 to 40 minutes one way, and the city train goes up to the same viewpoint for anyone who would rather ride.
Beaches
The beaches near Ålesund are out on the islands, at Alnes on Godøy and on the flat island of Giske.
- Alnes has pebble beaches and a sandy beach used for swimming and surfing.
- The lighthouse at Alnes dates from 1937, stands 22 meters (72 feet) tall and is open for guided tours.
- Giske has white beaches and a marble church from about 1170.
- Sightseeing tours from Ålesund go out to Alnes, which is the simplest way to fit it into a port day.
Accessibility
Central Ålesund is hilly and partly cobbled, and the usual way up to the Aksla viewpoint is a flight of 418 steps.
- The city train stops at the Fjellstua viewpoint on Aksla, so ask its operator whether it can carry a wheelchair on the day you visit.
- There are two free public toilets in the town center, and both are wheelchair accessible.
- Ask your ship whether the gangway will be step-free in Ålesund.
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