Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By Bus
More tourist buses run June 15 to the end of August. Good connec-
tions are possible from Åndalsnes, the nearest rail terminal. There are one to
three buses daily from Åndalsnes, taking 2
1
⁄
2
hours and costing 210NOK ($30)
one-way. One bus a day also arrives from Bergen, taking 11 hours. One or two
buses a day arrive from Trondheim, taking 7
1
⁄
2
hours.
By Coastal Steamer
The coastal steamer departs Bergen daily at 10pm and
arrives at Ålesund at noon the following day.
By Car
Take the A69 west from Åndalsnes all the way to Ålesund. A car ferry
operates between Åndalsnes and Ålesund.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Ålesund Reiselivslag,
Rådhuset (
&
70-
15-76-00
), provides tourist information June to August, Monday through Fri-
day from 8:30am to 7pm, on Saturday from 9am to 3pm, and on Sunday from
noon to 5pm; the rest of the year, it's open Monday through Friday from
8:30am to 4pm. Also visit www.virtualalesund.com for information.
SEEING THE SIGHTS
There are many sights in Ålesund, though most are works of nature. The moun-
tain guardian of the area is
Aksla
at 182m (600 ft.), a scenic sanctuary with a
terrace restaurant, offering a view of fjord landscape, ancient Viking islands, and
the Sunnmøre mountains. From the center you can take 418 steps up to Aksla
to the lookout point,
Kniven (the Knife).
To reach the ascent point, go along
Lihauggata, reached from the pedestrian shopping street, Kongens Gate—one of
the best streets for viewing Art Nouveau-style architecture. Motorists can also
reach Aksla by road by taking Røysegata east of the core and following the sign-
posts for Fjellstua.
In the harbor nestles the flat island of
Giske,
believed to have been the birth-
place of Rollo, 10th-century founder of the Duchy of Normandy and father of
William the Conqueror. Giske is the site of a 12th-century marble church, many
stretches of white-sand beaches, and the Makkevika bird sanctuary.
Until recently, the only access to many of the surrounding areas was by ferry-
boat, whose services were sometimes cut off during stormy weather. In 1987 a
15km (9-mile) network of tunnels was built connecting Ålesund to four nearby
islands, including Giske, the island of
Vigra
(site of the city's airport), and the
inhabited islands of
Ellingsøy
and
Valderøy.
If you have time for only one island, we suggest you make it Giske, which was
the historic seat of the Arnungane, a famous Viking family whose feudal control
lasted from 990 to 1582.
At Giske you can visit the 12th-century
Giske Kirke,
a marble Romanesque
church (
&
70-18-80-00
) that was restored in 1756. Admission is 15NOK
($2.15), and hours are Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday
from 1 to 7pm, from June 1 to August 20. Bus no. 64 runs from the center of
Ålesund, taking half an hour and costing 40NOK ($5.70) one-way.
Several tours that begin in Ålesund are designed for bird-watchers. The most
popular and best of these head to the island of
Runde
, 67km (42 miles)
southwest of town. This is Norway's southernmost bird rock, where on jagged
cliffs half a million seabirds, representing nearly 250 species, breed each year.
They are protected from humans by strict government regulations and from nat-
ural enemies by the forbidding terrain.
You can see colonies of these birds beginning in May. They stick around until
late in July before flying out. The migrating puffins are worth the trek alone, but
