Møre og Romsdal’s Top Museums

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When you think of museums in Norway, Oslo is hard to beat. But our home county of Møre og Romsdal houses some great museums as well. We welcome many visitors to our area as it’s known for its spectacular fjords and nature, but we’re also home to some incredible museums. We’ve put together a guide to some of the best in Møre og Romsdal.

An old building in the open-air Sunnmøre Museum in Ålesund, Norway.
Sunnmøre Museum, Ålesund, Norway

Sunnmøre Museum

One of our favorite museums in Ålesund is the folk museum for coastal Norwegian culture, the Sunnmøre Museum. Located just outside the city of Ålesund, the museum offers a glimpse into life of the Sunnmøre people from the Stone Age to modern times. Norwegians in this region lived in agricultural and fishing societies and were often quite poor. Filled with many exhibits including an outdoor museum with a large collection of old traditional houses and boats, the Sunnmøre museum offers a fun-filled way to learn about local culture and history.

For more information on hours and tickets, check out the Sunnmøre Museum website.

For more information on our guided tours of Ålesund that include the Sunnmøre Museum, click here.

The Jugendstil Museum in the Art Nouveau city of Ålesund, Norway.
Jugendstil Museum, Ålesund, Norway

Jugendstil Museum

This museum houses many Art Nouveau pieces as well as a multi-media time capsule exhibit that takes you back to the fateful evening in January of 1904 which led to the Art Nouveau buildings you see throughout the city center. At 2am on January the 23rd  1904, a fire broke out in Ålesund. It destroyed almost the whole city center which was made of wood at the time. The majority of aid to rebuild Ålesund was provided by Kaiser Wilhelm II who had been a frequent visitor to the area. The city was rebuilt in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) style. Modern historians have concluded that the fire was actually beneficial in terms of city development.

For more information on hours and tickets, check the Jugendstil museum website.

For more information on guided Art Nouveau city tours with Norway Excursions, check here.

The city of Molde, Norway.
Molde, Norway, home of the Romsdal Museum.

Romsdal Museum

The Romsdal Museum is one of the largest folk museums in Norway and is located a short 10-minute walk from the city center in Molde. Established in 1912, the museum displays buildings and interiors from the region. The collection consists of about 35 houses, showcasing customs and the way of life from the 1600s to the 1900s.

You’re able to explore the museum on your own or get a guided tour. There is also a new museum building, “Krona” which houses several exhibitions, a café, museum shop, local history library, and a “bunad” (traditional Norwegian clothing) department where you can see bunads being made.

For more information please visit the museum website.

A view of the striking Tindesenter Museum in Åndalsnes, Norway.
Tindesenter Museum, Åndalsnes, Norway

Tindesenter

The Tindesenter is a unique visitors center focused on Norwegian mountaineering history and mountain adventure sports. Located in the heart of Åndalsnes, the center is a great place to visit for adults and families alike. The Tindesenter houses a mountaineering museum, a climbing wall and a unique film experience inside its architecturally distinct building.

The film experience, which gives a great history of climbers in this region is interspersed with local folklore and animation and is shown on a giant screen designed to mimic a rock face. The center also has a café and restaurant that offers great local cuisine and views of the beautiful nature that this region is known for.

For more information on hours and tickets, check the Tindesenter website.

We offer excursions from Åndalsnes that include a screening of the Tindesenter’s film, “Troll Folk” to start the tour, before heading out and exploring the region.

Waldehuset

A large part of Ålesund’s history is the historic fire of 1904 that devastated most of the city. Waldehuset was the only house to survive in the eastern part of the city. Dubbed the miracle house, and now a museum, Waldehuset is worth a visit to hear the incredible story of this house. Admission is free.

For more information please visit the Waldehuset website.

a view looking over the Geirangerfjord and the Seven Sisters waterfall across the fjord
View from skågefla over Geiranger and the Seven Sisters waterfall

Norwegian Fjord Center

This visitor’s center is located along the UNESCO World Heritage Fjord of Geiranger in the village of Geiranger itself. Filled with interactive stations and exhibitions, you will learn about the geological processes that created the fjord landscape, the early settlers of the area, and the landscape today. There is also an activity room for children, a café, and a gift shop with sustainable Norwegian products.

For more information, please visit the museum’s website.

We offer excursions in Geiranger and the surrounding area. For more information please click here.

We hope that you found this guide to some of the best museums in Møre og Romsdal helpful and that you will visit us here soon.

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