Car hire Ålesund

Introduction

Already in the seventeenth century traders and fishermen settled at the place where nowadays Ålesund is located. The town was completely destroyed by a big fire in 1904. The city was rebuilt with the help of the German emperor Wilhelm among others. Without exception all buildings from those days are in Art Nouveau style, or Jugendstil.

Population

The city has almost 45,000 inhabitants.

Location

Ålesund is located in the west of Norway, on a number of islands. The city center is located on the islands Aspøy and Nørvøy. South of the city runs the Storfjord.

Economy

Ålesund is one of the largest fishing harbors of Norway. In addition there is a lot of supporting industry for extraction of oil on the North Sea. In and around the city there are also many furniture factories. The town also draws quite a few tourists. They are not only attracted by the pleasant center of Ålesund, but also by the position of the city, close to attractive fjords.

Airports

The city airport is located seven kilometers north of the center, on the island Vigra. There are flights to domestic and foreign destinations. Ålesund Airport, Vigra is easily reachable by rental car: simply follow road number 658 and you get to the airport. The route to the airport is also clearly signposted.

Public Transport

Ålesund has a good public bus system. Bear in mind though that there are only few busses late at night, on Saturday nights and on Sundays.

Traffic and Parking

To park in the street you need to pay from 9 am until 4 pm, except on Sundays. In addition, parking is limited to two hours. You better park your rental car in one of the four large parking garages in the center of Ålesund.

Hotels

Ålesund has a good supply of accommodation ranging from simple youth hostels to a four star hotel and everything in between. If you want to visit Ålesund in the summer, we recommend you book your accommodation well in advance.

External Sources

For more information about Ålesund we recommend Google and the following sources:

• Wikipedia, Ålesund
• Official website Ålesund (Norwegian, English)
• Tourist Information Ålesund (multilingual)