Giske Marble Church, Alnes Lighthouse, and Runde Bird Island

Immediately northwest and southwest of Ålesund, a string of outer islands faces the open North Atlantic Ocean across Giske and Herøy municipalities. Thanks to the Vigra Fixed Link (Vigrasambandet, opened between 1987 and 1989 and toll-free since 25 October 2009), you can drive or take a FRAM local bus from Nørvøya in central Ålesund through the 3,520-metre Ellingsøy Tunnel (140 metres below sea level) and the 4,222-metre Valderøy Tunnel (137 metres below sea level) to Valderøya, where the 552-metre low-arch Giske Bridge crosses to Giske and the 3,844-metre undersea Godøy Tunnel continues to Godøya in under half an hour.

Driving the Vigra Fixed Link Subsea Tunnels from Nørvøya

Before the late 1980s, reaching the outer islands of Giske Municipality required coordinating multiple short car ferries across exposed sounds. The completion of Vigrasambandet between 1987 and 1989 connected Ellingsøya, Valderøya, Vigra (home to Ålesund Airport, Vigra), Giske, and Godøya directly to Nørvøya by road, and after the road tolls were paid off and removed on 25 October 2009, the island chain became an effortless half-day excursion from central Brosundet. As you emerge from the Valderøy Tunnel onto Valderøya and curve west onto the 552-metre Giske Bridge, the low green fields and sandy beaches of Giske open ahead against the steep mountain profile of Godøya.

Giske Island, the Arnungane Clan, and the 12th-Century White Marble Chapel

Flat, fertile Giske (home to 815 village residents in 2025) was the seat of the powerful Viking and medieval Arnungane (Giske) noble clan from the 10th century until the estate passed to the Danish-Norwegian crown in 1582, and Norse tradition links the island to Ragnvald Mørejarl and Normandy's founder Gange-Rolv (Rollo), whose statue stands in Byparken below Mount Aksla. On the southern shore at Giskegjerdet, 10 kilometres from Ålesund, stands Giske Church (Giske kyrkje), a Romanesque private estate chapel built around 1130 (first mentioned in a 1308 will and a 1345 papal letter) with a 12.3-by-8.8-metre single nave clad externally in dressed white marble blocks brought by boat.

After standing semi-ruined for generations following the Reformation, the 125-seat marble church was restored in 1756 by estate owner Hans Henrik Holtermann and chronicled by Sunnmøre pastor-naturalist Hans Strøm. Inside, the whitewashed walls contrast with a richly painted 1756 Baroque epitaph, pulpit, and altarpiece carved entirely with a sheath knife by 22-year-old local woodcarver Jakob Sørensen Giskegaard, remembered across Sunnmøre as Tavle-Jacob (1734 to 1827).

Godøya, Storhornet (497 m), and the 22.5-Metre Alnes Lighthouse

From the western shore of Giske, the 3,844-metre undersea Godøy Tunnel descends beneath Giskesundet and climbs onto 10.9-square-kilometre Godøya below the 497-metre peak of Storhornet. Rather than following the old cliffside coastal track around the mountain, the road pierces the 436-metre ridge of Sloktinden through a rock tunnel to emerge in the north-coast fishing village of Alnes, framed by a sweeping crescent of white sand beach and Atlantic surf.

Out on the low grassy headland stands Alnes Lighthouse (Alnes fyr), where local fishermen petitioned for a guiding light established in 1852 to 1853 and rebuilt in 1876. The current 22.5-metre red-and-white diagonal-striped wooden-clad angle-iron tower dates from 1937 and was automated in 1982. Since 1993, the restored keeper's house, tower, and new timber exhibition hall have operated as a cultural centre with maritime displays, paintings by local artist Ørnulf Opdahl, a café serving cakes and Sunnmøre dishes, and wooden stairs inside the 1937 tower leading up to the lantern gallery.

Runde Island's 294-Metre Sea Cliffs and 30,000 Pairs of Puffins

For a full-day wildlife excursion south of Ålesund, take the Hareid to Sulesund car ferry (where MRF ferry sveler have been baked on board since 1971) or the fast passenger catamaran from Skateflua and drive across the islands of Herøy Municipality over the 1982 Runde Bridge from Remøy to the 6.2-square-kilometre island of Runde, designated a Ramsar wetland site in 2013. Along its western sea cliffs rising 294 metres at Rundabranden and 332 metres at Varden, Norway's southernmost major seabird colony hosts around 100,000 nesting pairs of seabirds, led by roughly 30,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins (lundefugl) at Lundeura alongside northern gannets, kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots, shags, and white-tailed eagles.

Hiking to Lundeura and Visiting Between May and July

Marked hiking paths climb from Goksøyr on the northern shore of Runde up to the cliff-edge viewpoints above Lundeura and Rundabranden while keeping walkers outside the fenced nesting slopes during the breeding season. Late May through July is the prime window to watch thousands of puffins wheel in from the Norwegian Sea at dusk with beaks full of sand eels.

Runde Lighthouse (1767) and the 1725 Akerendam Gold Treasure

At the northwestern rocky point of Kvalneset stands Runde Lighthouse, established in 1767 as Norway's fifth oldest lighthouse station and crowned today by a 1935 concrete tower alongside keepers' houses managed as a self-service DNT hiking cabin. Directly offshore from Kvalneset, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship Akerendam sank in a snowstorm on its maiden voyage in March 1725 with all 200 crew; in 1972, three recreational scuba divers recovered some 57,000 gold and silver coins (including 6,600 gold ducats), known as the Runde Treasure and exhibited in part at the Runde Environmental Centre (opened in 2009).

• Giske Marble Church (c. 1130): White marble Romanesque chapel on flat Giske island (552-metre bridge from Valderøya), restored in 1756 with Tavle-Jacob's carved Baroque altarpiece and pulpit.
• Alnes Lighthouse on Godøya: Reached via the 3,844-metre undersea Godøy Tunnel; features a 22.5-metre 1937 striped tower, 1993 cultural centre, café, and Atlantic sand beach below 497-metre Storhornet and 436-metre Sloktinden.
• Runde Bird Cliffs (Lundeura and Rundabranden): Connected by the 1982 Runde Bridge in Herøy; hosts 100,000 nesting seabirds including 30,000 pairs of puffins between May and July along cliffs rising 294 to 332 metres.
• Runde Lighthouse (1767) and Environmental Centre (2009): Historic lighthouse at Kvalneset with a 1935 concrete tower and exhibition centre showcasing coins from the 1725 Akerendam shipwreck treasure recovered in 1972.

Because Giske and Godøya lie less than half an hour by road from central Ålesund through the toll-free Vigra Fixed Link subsea tunnels, you can easily visit Giske Marble Church and Alnes Lighthouse on a morning or afternoon drive, while reserving a separate day with calm weather to cross the Hareid to Sulesund ferry and the 1982 Runde Bridge for the evening puffin flights above Lundeura.