It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valley.

The river flows through the Romsdalen valley, which features some of the most spectacular scenery in the entire country.

Trollveggen (the Troll Wall) one of the cliff formations in the valley, has a vertical drop of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).

Trains on the Rauma Line terminate at the port of Åndalsnes, with bus connections to the nearby towns of Molde and Ålesund.

During World War II, after the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, British troops landed in Åndalsnes as a part of a pincer movement to take the mid-Norwegian city of Trondheim.