Lærdalsøyri is one of Norway's best preserved wooden towns. Over 160 buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries line the narrow streets of Gamle Lærdalsøyri, the old quarter. This wasn't always a quiet tourist destination - for centuries it was the most important trading post between east and west Norway. Goods arrived by boat up the Sognefjord and continued overland via the King's Road.

On the night of 18 January 2014, fire broke out in a residential house in Kyrkjeteigen, in the newer part of town east of the historic centre. Strong, dry easterly winds turned it into an inferno within minutes. Nine minutes after the first alarm, the neighbouring house was ablaze. Within the hour, embers rained across the whole town. Some families had just ten minutes to grab what they could - passports, a bunad, photo albums - before their homes were engulfed. The mayor rescued a 93-year-old woman by smashing through her back door window; she had gone to bed and knew nothing of the fire. By morning, 42 buildings were destroyed and 71 people had lost their homes. Miraculously, no one died. It was Norway's largest town fire since World War II.

The historic old town was threatened but largely saved - heroic efforts from firefighters, military forces, and locals with farm slurry tankers held back the flames. Today the old quarter has small shops, cafés, and galleries in the surviving buildings. The main street Øyragata follows the old King's Road.