Art Nouveau town (Alesund)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Alesund
Date:	19/06/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful architecture, lovely buildings

Disadvantages: Snowy in winter

Ålesund is a pretty town on the coast of Norway, north of Bergen. The story goes that during a tragic fire on a cold night in January 1904, a prison warder released the prisoners shouting "Come back tomorrow!" sadly the fire destroyed 850 homes and left ten thousand homeless. Fires were quite common in Norway where the houses are mostly made of wood. Architects and craftsmen came from all over Norway and rebuilt the town in 3 years and built some lovely Art Nouveau style houses, with turrets, spires and fancy ornaments which are much admired. It was voted the most beautiful town in Norway in 2007 by Norwegian people.

Ålesund town centre is built on the islands of Aspøy and Nørvøy, while Hessa and Oksnøy contain residential areas. The second largest island, Elingsøy, used to be accessible only by boat but a subsea tunnel was built to make travelling between the island and the city centre more convenient. There is a good bus service and an airport is 20 minutes drive from the town centre. As we walked along by the water we were surprised how close our huge cruise ship was moored just minutes from the town and smaller boats bobbed in the breeze on other stretches of water. Ålesund is Norway's largest fishing town but things have changed since the 1950's and now the former warehouses are used for offices and restaurants, they are built right into the water giving the appearance that the town is floating.

There was a modern shopping centre and lots of small shops selling typical Norwegian goods for tourists as well as everyday things. The Banks though do not exchange money so it was necessary to use a Debit card in a machine, although many shops would take Euros as they want your money! Smart cafes were busy, although prices seem very high compared to the UK.

There are lots of cruises and water trips available for people with time to spare and obviously by the number of hotels Ålesund is a popular place to visit.

Ålesund has several museums the Sunmore Museum is a folk museum with Viking ships and tells you about life in bygone days. The Art Nouveau centre is by Brosundet canal and the time machine transports you back to the time of the fire. Other museums include another about the town and one about the fisheries. There are lots more things to do here, guided walks about the town and a steep climb up Mount Asklato, up 418 steps to the Fjellstua viewpoint, where you can see all around Ålesund and the surrounding area, and enjoy a restorative cup of coffee at rather inflated prices! There is a Town train which runs a few times a day for 2 months during the summer and takes just over an hour costing 120Norwegian Krone which is about £12.00 but it hadn't started running when we visited. The air was clear and fresh and the town was clean and well cared for. Luckily we saw Ålesund in the dry but rain wasn't far away and we just made it back before a snowstorm even in June! If you go remember to take warm clothes!

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Summary: Interesting town in Norway