Things To Do in Ålesund With Kids: Hikes, Aquarium & Views

Ålesund was the inspiration for our entire 25-day family trip to Norway. We had just returned from a month in Italy with kids and were catching up on watching the Amazing Race. One of legs of the race went through Ålesund, Norway and we were blown away by how beautiful it looked.

We started looking into a trip to Norway with kids and it wasn’t long before we were hopping on a plane to visit Ålesund with our kids (aged 4 & almost 2). As luck would have it, with so many amazing things to do in Ålesund with kids, it turned out to be one of the most family-friendly cities in Europe!

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Getting Around Ålesund with Kids

Our Ålesund vacation home rental apartment was a little outside of the main part of town, so we took the city bus often. It was quick and convenient. Walking was the easiest way to get around once we were in town but to get to some of the farther out locations, the bus was definitely the way to go!

6 Fun Things to do in Ålesund with Kids

Aksla Viewpoint – Fjellstua

This panoramic view of Ålesund and the surrounding islands is spectacular and not to be missed. There is also a café up at the top where you can relax to enjoy the view. You can get to this viewpoint by walking up the 418 steps from the Town Park or by taking a Hop On Hop Off Sightseeing Bus.

We used our hiking app to find a hiking trail that started directly behind our vacation home rental apartment and took us along paths in the trees up to the viewpoint. If you are starting from central Ålesund, you can follow this hiking trail map on the AllTrails app.

Town Park Playground

The Town Park is near the stairs to the Aksla Viewpoint. After visiting the viewpoint, you can reward your kids with a stop at the great playground in Town Park. It’s a large playground with an area for smaller kids. It also has a big pirate ship, swings, a sandpit and a rotating climbing net.

Ålesund’s Art Nouveau District

In 1904, a fire destroyed Ålesund’s entire city center and 850 homes were burnt to the ground. With both local and international help, the city was rebuilt with the Art Nouveau architecture that makes Ålesund famous today.

Now filled with shops and restaurants throughout, this is a fun place to explore. With two small kids, it was also nice to let them wander through this charming part of town.

After walking through the many little alleyways and along the water, we slowly meandered to the north side of Ålesund to walk out on a jetty with a small lighthouse. There were some nice views here but it was incredibly windy so we didn’t stay long.

Tueneset Naturlekeplass

Tueneset Naturlekeplass is a beautiful oceanfront wilderness area near the Ålesund aquarium. It was a great spot to let the kids run around and explore nature. They climbed rocks, picked wild raspberries, ran on the grass, etc. There are a few short trails in this park as well. We took one to an oceanfront viewpoint. 

Atlanterhavsparken Ålesund – The Atlantic Sea Park

We always try to beat the crowds, so we arrived at the Ålesund Aquarium right at opening. Getting to places like this when they open is always a great idea with small kids. Despite it beign one of Ålesund’s top kid-friendly attractions, it felt like we had the entire aquarium to ourselves.

The Atlantic Sea Park Aquarium does a great job at showcasing the sea life along the Norwegian coast and the Atlantic Ocean. It has a unique setting being built right into the coastline, which offers up some magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean from the outdoor facilities. 

The highlight of the Atlantic Sea Park Aquarium for us was the Atlantic Ocean room, which had a massive, floor-to-ceiling tank, with three panes of glass. The tank filled the entire room. It was so large, they provided a seating area for people to stop and enjoy watching for a while – and we had it all to ourselves!

The outdoor area is also not to be missed, with the Penguin Park, Otter Island and Seal Bay. The underwater observatory makes this a really fun area to walk around for the kids.

On a nicer day, we could have spent hours here as they have a play area with a giant Octopus sculpture, a water park and sand area for the kids to play in.

Tip: Check the daily schedule at the Ålesund Aquarium for feeding times, activities etc.

Sukkertoppen (Sugar Loaf Top)

Given the surrounding natural beauty, we really wanted to do some hiking in Ålesund, but on our last day we awoke to heavy rain. Rather than try to find an indoor activity, we waited it out.

Thankfully our patience was rewarded and by early afternoon we were on a bus to Hessa Island, home of Sukkertoppen (or Sugar Loaf Top) which is the most popular mountain hike in Ålesund.

With the heavy rain in the morning, the trail was quite muddy and slippery, making the 6 km / 3.7 mile round trip longer than we had anticipated. It was difficult at times carrying kids on our backs while dodging the rocks and tree roots, but we had become pretty adept at hiking with kids on our backs and felt comfortable doing it.

Once out of the trees, the views on the way up and at the top of Sukkertoppen were worth every step! You can see Ålesund and virtually all of the surrounding islands along with the inlets to some fjords. At 300 m / 1,000 feet above sea level, there is enough elevation to get great views in all directions.

Not really anticipating how the how the mud and slick rock would make the descent even more difficult, we had to be extra careful, which made this portion take longer than it typically would. We highly recommend the Sukkertoppen hike, but if you are carrying a baby or toddler ensure you are comfortable doing so in these conditions.

You can view and download the Sukkertoppen hiking trail map on AllTrails.

Follow Along on our Family Trip to Norway

We hope you enjoyed reading about our 4 days in Ålesund with kids. If you’d like to continue along on our 25-day family trip to Norway, we took the Hurtigruten ship to visit Geirangerfjord with kids – one of the most scenic places in all of Norway!

We also used Ålesund as the starting point for a fun Norway road trip with kids, which took us to the Atlantic Road and Trollstigen.

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