Would you rather ... the thrill of chasing rushing waterfalls or a more genteel activity admiring art nouveau architecture around every corner? Add to this a condensed collection of Art Noveau architecture and you have the delightful Ålesund! A port town on the west coast of Norway. Our english speaking, Norwegian accented taxi driver from the airport tells us Ålesund was more or less destroyed in 1904 after a fire started in the buildings of the Aalesund Preserving Factory.