Ålesund is probably the most beautiful town in Norway, a place that looks like an Art Nouveau set piece rising from the sea on a cluster of islands and peninsulas at the edge of the open Atlantic. What you see today is largely the result of a catastrophe: in January 1904 a fire destroyed nearly the entire town, leaving 10,000 people homeless in a Norwegian winter. The rebuilding happened fast and in a unified style — Art Nouveau, the fashionable architecture of the moment — with financial help from Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, who had a particular fondness for the area. The result is one of the finest collections of Art Nouveau architecture in the world.
The Jugendstilsenteret — the Art Nouveau Centre — tells the story of the fire and the rebuilding with some of the best museum design in Norway. But the real exhibition is the streets themselves: walk through the centre at dusk when the stone facades are lit gold and it's genuinely hard to believe it all burned down 120 years ago.
Ålesund sits among fjords and islands at the mouth of the Geirangerfjord route, which makes it a natural base for fjord exploration as well as a destination in its own right. The Atlantic Sea-Park is one of the largest aquariums in northern Europe and worth several hours. For views, climb the 418 steps to Mt. Aksla for panoramas across the town and the islands. The surrounding area — the Sunnmøre region — is excellent for hiking, sea-kayaking, and fishing.
The city has grown considerably beyond its original island centre and now includes the open-air Sunnmøre Museum on the outskirts, where traditional buildings have been reassembled around a small fjord. Ålesund is also a regular stop for North Sea cruise ships, which means the centre can be crowded on summer days — but the old town absorbs visitors remarkably well.