We share our Alesund Travel Guide based on our visit in July 2025.
Some places persuade you slowly. The town of Ålesund, along the route to the northern tip of Norway, doesn’t bother.
When our cruise ship eased into the harbor on an early morning last July, the first thing I noticed was the colors. The town was like a watercolor painting of pale sage, milky yellow, slate blue, washed across a skyline of turrets and curved facades. The buildings looked almost like illustrations, architectural doodles that accidentally became real.
Norway, with so few people and large cities, is often described through its dramatic landscapes. Here, Alesund shifts the narrative. With our Alesund Travel Guide, you’ll see how even the buildings feel like an act of imagination.
The Norwegian Fjords Cruise
This was one of our stops on a three-week cruise along the coast of Norway, sailing from south to north through the legendary Norwegian fjords.
We passed Geiranger, Sognefjord, and Hardanger, along with so many unnamed narrow passages. The latter were a particular delight; waterfalls appeared suddenly, like stray threads hanging from the mountains. Each morning brought another impossibly vertical landscape, and craggy beaches dotted with those iconic red-and-white wooden houses..
Ålesund, however, was a pause in the drama—where nature steps back and design takes the lead.
La Esperanza Granada: Spain’s Most Beautiful Private Hacienda
Hidden in the hills overlooking Granada and the Sierra Nevada, La Esperanza Granada feels like stepping into your own private estate. The seven-suite hacienda combines Spanish heritage architecture with designer interiors, lush gardens, olive groves, and sweeping mountain views. It’s available exclusively for buyouts, destination weddings, wellness retreats, and private celebrations — just 35 minutes from the Alhambra.
Learn more or book your dates:
👉 La Esperanza Granada — Private Hacienda & Luxury Villa in Andalusia
The City That Rebuilt Itself in Color and Curves
In 1904, a fire wiped out almost the entire city. Many places would have tried to restore what was lost. Ålesund didn’t. Instead, the town invited young European architects—mostly German—to reimagine everything using the Art Nouveau style that was just emerging across Europe.
The result was a coastal city that looks like it was sketched during a moment of creative risk-taking and Art Deco inspiration. And then built before anyone could reconsider. If you walk quickly, you can cover the entire city in a morning.
But the details keep us engrossed so we walk slower to soak in the beauty. Turrets are placed where these were unnecessary. Windows curved for no reason at all. Some facades were decorated with fish or seaweed motifs. As I walked around the town, I found myself asking: Yes. Why not?
The Pharmacy that Became a Museum
The most compelling example of this reinvention is a building on Apotekergata. One does not need a knowledge of Norwegian to imagine that this somehow means it is the street of the pharmacy.
True enough, the Svaneapoteket (Swan Pharmacy) is open and still intact. Although today it is officially called the Jugendstilsenteret Art Nouveau Centre, the town’s main exhibition venue. It houses a museum that tells Ålesund’s rebirth story. Then, next door, an art and design gallery called KUBE continues the narrative into the present.
We stepped inside. The original carved shelves, painted ceiling details, and stained-glass windows were preserved when the pharmacy closed. But instead of medicines, the shop sells books, t-shirts and postcards.
The Uphill Conversation With Yourself
Behind the town, Mount Aksla rises like a quiet dare.
To reach the viewpoint: 418 steps.
Halfway up, Ålesund’s skyline becomes a paper cutting of pastel curves and pointed roofs. Higher still, the town stretches into the Atlantic in thin strips of land, connected by slender bridges.
At the top, the reward is a panoramic view that doesn’t require commentary. In fact, we ordered espressos from Fjellstua Café and just stood still.. We let the wind and the light do the talking.
“This must be why Norwegians are so at ease with silence,” I said aloud. “Their landscapes don’t require conversation.”
Lunch: Proof That Minimalism Can Be Flavorful
Soon it was time for lunch, and we definitely wanted a local one. In these parts, the pickings are slim even if the sea is just a few steps away. It’s either salmon or cod, and not a few Alesund residents are just as likely to slice some brown cheese on freshly baked sourdough bread slathered with whipped butter.
At the restaurant of a stylish local hotel, I chose the Norwegian cod. This is not at all a delicate fish. In fact, it is self-assured, plump, glassy white, and naturally naturally sweet.
The result:
- Freshly caught cod was seared in a pan and then served in sandefjordsmør. This is a warm sauce of butter, cream, lemon, and fresh dill,
- On the side, lots of peas and new potatoes boiled in seawater brine, A new experience for me.
- To accompany, a salad of shaved fennel dressed lightly with vinegar.
There were no decorative herbs, no garnish performing acrobatics. After all, this is Norway, a. country that takes pride in being straightforward and authentic.
When I asked how the fish was prepared, the chef answered without embarrassment:
“Salt. Pan. Butter. If the fish is good, that’s enough.”
That itself perfectly described Ålesund.
THE ALESUND TRAVEL GUIDE
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Top 10 Things to See & Do in Ålesund
- Mount Aksla Viewpoint (418 steps) — The best overview of Ålesund’s island layout.
- Jugendstilsenteret + KUBE Museum (Swan Pharmacy) — Ålesund’s architectural heart.
- Walk the Art Nouveau district — Best streets: Apotekergata, Kongens Gate, Løvenvoldgata.
- Brosundet Canal — Waterfront cafés, boutique hotels, the prettiest light at dusk.
- Kayaking the Inner Harbour — Architecture from water level.
- Atelier Ålesund — For Norwegian ceramics and textiles.
- Ålesund Fishery Museum (Fiskerimuseet) — The fishing industry built this town.
- Alnes Lighthouse on Godøy Island — Wild Atlantic views.
- Runde Bird Island — Puffins, if you’re here in season.
- Fjord Excursion to Geirangerfjord — A UNESCO fjord framed by cascading waterfalls.
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Where to Stay
Hotel Brosundet — A former warehouse on the canal. Understated and atmospheric.
Hotel 1904 — Art Nouveau bones + sleek Scandinavian interiors.
Storfjord Hotel (outside Ålesund) — A modern timber lodge for slow-luxury travelers.
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How to Get to Ålesund
By Cruise (the best way):
Ålesund is a major highlight on Norwegian fjord itineraries for most major cruise lines. For those seeking a more relaxed pace and flexibility, the Hurtigruten and Havila public ferries regularly transport people along these same routes in typical Norwegian no-frills fashion. Ideal for multi-week fjord exploration.
By Air:
Ålesund Airport (AES) connects via direct flights from Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam. From the airport, it’s 25 minutes into town.
By Train + Bus:
Oslo → Åndalsnes by train (the Rauma line — stunning). From Åndalsnes → Ålesund by bus (2 hours).
Leaving Ålesund for our next stop in Northern Norway
That night, our ship sailed onward toward the northern fjords. The pastel buildings receded into the dark, their reflections dissolving on the surface of the harbor.
After days of cliffs, glaciers, and waterfalls, Ålesund shifted the tempo.
Norway is known for its landscapes. Ålesund reminds you that creativity can be a landscape too. Bookmark this Alesund Travel Guide for future reference.
