Double bill: Ålesund & Bergen, Norway

20.07.2023 - 13:21 / wanderlust.co.uk / Edvard Munch

History Strung across a hook-shaped peninsula on a dramatic archipelago, Ålesund has long been an important centre of fishing and shipbuilding, as well as a gateway to the fjords and Sunnmøre Alps inland. A 1904 fire led to Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm rebuilding the whole town in Jugendstil Art Nouveau style, and it still boasts a remarkable collection of buildings with fairytale turrets and ornamentation. Like Bergen, the Hurtigruten ferry up the Norwegian coast stops here regularly.

History During the Middle Ages, the so-called ‘city of seven hills and seven fjords’ was Norway’s capital and an important seaport as part of the pan-European Hanseatic League. That history can be felt keenly around Bryggen, the Unesco-protected area of colourful wooden houses by the harbour. The famously wet Bergen is also an important centre for oil and shipping, and a buzzing university town, which welcomes more cruise passengers than anywhere else in Norway.

Around town There’s a leisurely pace to Ålesund, where life rarely moves much faster than the wooden fishing boats that chug out of the harbour. The Art Nouveau Centre museum and cool adjoining KUBE art museum are must-sees, as is the view from the Fjellstua viewpoint, with the pretty town framed by a dramatic seascape. There are kayak tours from the harbour, and local tourism operators 62°NORD run RIB sea safaris to spot seal colonies, sea eagles and more.

Around town Norway’s second city is buzzy as well as pretty, with the harbour area dotted with cool cafes and homegrown boutiques like Norwegian Rain, makers of smart raincoats. The grand KODE Art Museum houses work by Edvard Munch and more, while the Troldhaugen is a cute museum/concert hall in the former home of composer Edvard Grieg. Nature’s never far away, with kilometres of hiking stretching into the hills from the top of the Ulriken cable car.

Surrounding nature Ålesund is within striking distance of some of Norway’s most famous fjords, like the Geirangerfjord that partly inspired Frozen, and iconic roads such as the steeply zig-zagging Trollstigen. The Sunnmøre Alps stretch inland, with mountain-to-fjord skiing in the spring and mountain biking and hiking in the warmer months; memorable stays include the Hotel Union Øye, which has hosted the great and good since 1891, or the futuristic nature pods of the Juvet Landscape Hotel.

Surrounding nature Bergen is similarly close to fjords and adventures, with ‘fjord safaris’ on RIBs leaving regularly from the harbour. There’s also white-water rafting on the rivers around nearby Voss, and lots of kayaking opportunities, especially across the steep-sided Aurlandsfjord and Sognefjord, the deepest in Norway. From Flåm, a bucolic village at the end of the Sognfjord,