Moldejazz

Moldejazz has run since 1961, which makes it one of the oldest jazz festivals in Europe, and each July it takes over a town of around twenty-five thousand people with several hundred concerts over six days: a main programme in the Bjornsonhuset and the Romsdal Museum's outdoor arena, club concerts, church performances, and free street music that fills the centre. It has hosted most of the significant figures in jazz over six decades, and each year appoints an artist in residence. The festival is credited with shaping the modern Norwegian jazz scene, and its parade and outdoor stages give it a broader audience than the ticketed programme alone. Molde itself sits on the fjord with a mountain panorama behind.

What you actually see

• The main concerts - headline performances in the town's halls and arenas.
• The street music - free concerts filling the centre through the week.
• The artist in residence - a musician programmed across several nights.
• The fjord setting - the town and its mountain panorama during the festival.

When to go

Mid-July, the fixed festival week; the programme is announced in spring and headline concerts sell out. Outside the festival Molde is a quiet fjord town with its Varden viewpoint and rose gardens.

Honest expectations

Accommodation in Molde is limited and books out months ahead, with many visitors staying in neighbouring towns. Ticket prices for headline acts are high. The town is small and crowded during the week.

Nearby

Varden viewpoint is above the town; the Atlantic Road and Trollstigen lie west and south.