Ålesund

Ålesund is a small town in the municipality of Møre og Romsdal. Ålesund is surrounded by water and therefore a mojar port. Ålesund is popular because of the Art Nouveau architecture. The city has seen a big fire in 1904 that destroyed almost every house in the city. Even if the fire was a tragedy the rebuilding of the city led to this unique city.

Ålesund is not that big but you can find enough to do. From Fjellstua, to Atlanterhavsparken or walks through the city center and harbour.

Fjellstua

If you Google Ålesund you get beautiful pictures taken from one of their biggest tourist attractions, Fjellstua. This is a viewpoint that you can reach by climbing 418 steps, or if you are in for a challenge and want to follow the locals, you can also run to the top.

Since I was just new in town we walked from the beginning of the mountain (Aksla) up and back down the stairs. The stairs begin or end, depends on your point of view, in a nice park. Locals take their kids to this park so they can play in the fountains and the mothers can relax.

Sukkertoppen

Because I like to keep myself busy, there are a lot more things I did while living in Ålesund, such as hiking. Hiking is a way of  life for the Norwegians so I could not escape this activity. Sukkertoppen is the mountain right across from Ålesund and is a 2 hour hike if you are not that experienced.

View from the water

A nice activity I also participated in was kayaking around Ålesund and taking a boat for a leisure afternoon. We were lucky because the NTNU, the university where I study, provided the kayaks and boats for us. But if you are in Ålesund and want to kayak or take the boat, in the city center are a lot of places that offer these services.

Ålesund is also the perfect base if you want to visit other attractions around the city such as The Atlantic Road, Trollstigen, Geiranger and many more.