Israel
This 2.5-sq-km reserve is the best place in Israel to get a sense of what the natural and agricultural landscapes of the Holy Land looked like back in…
Must-see attractions in Israel & the Palestinian Territories
Nazareth
Hidden away in an alleyway off the souq, this humble Crusader-era structure, now a Catholic church, stands on the site of the synagogue where it is…
Israel
The centrepiece of this Benedictine complex is the grand, vaulted Church of the Resurrection, which dates to the mid-12th century. This Crusader-era…
Tel Aviv
Nothing to do with Independence Hall on the other side of town, this beautiful seafront park is great for its Mediterranean views and plenty of grass to…
Jerusalem
The Haas Promenade offers cypress-framed views across Jerusalem: picture the Old City with tower blocks rising behind and village-speckled valleys rolling…
West Bank
Located 2km beyond Buqi’in, this olive-oil factory practises fair-trade policy with its farmers. A tour of the factory includes a tasting, and if you want…
Golan Heights
Winner of many international awards, this highly regarded winery (total annual production: 5.5 million bottles) offers guided cellar tours (advance…
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
Jerusalem
The square bell tower of this Protestant church, the second built in Jerusalem, has ornamented the Old City's skyline since 1898. The Church of the…
North Coast
A long fine-sand beach stretches south from Dor, with swimming zones patrolled by lifeguards, tidal pools and ruins to explore nearby. Ancient Dor was an…
Tel Aviv
With spectacular views across the water to Jaffa, this beach takes the title for Tel Aviv's coolest stretch of sand thanks to the city's hipsters who hang…
Haifa
Situated about 100m up the hill from the tour entrance of the Baha’i Gardens, this viewing platform allows a bird’s-eye view over the Shrine of the Báb…
Dead Sea
About 11km south of the southern end of Ein Bokek, high above the west side of Rte 90, a column of salt-rich rock leans precariously away from the rest of…
Nazareth
Across the courtyard and a grassy park from the upper level of the Basilica of the Annunciation, this neo-Romanesque Franciscan church, built in 1914,…
North Coast
Sip dry reds, well-rounded rieslings and light, sparkling 'Buzz' wines at this winery founded in 1882. Reservations for tastings at the shop aren't…
Israel
Mikhmoret is a spectacular beach, where acres of sand dunes run alongside the Mediterranean coast. Also a residential moshav (cooperative settlement), it…
Golan Heights
Keep an eye out for this family-run boutique winery's light, summery rosé (made with cabernet sauvignon and syrah), their cabernet franc red and…
Tel Aviv
Named after the nearby hotel, Hilton Beach is divided into three parts: the city’s unofficial gay beach is in the middle, the dog-walkers' beach is to the…
Tel Aviv
Sandwiched between Alma Beach and Banana Beach, this 12-hectare stretch of seaside green space is a nice change of pace when you want to marvel at the…
West Bank
Canaan, the son of Taybeh Brewery founder Nadim Khoury, began making wine in this modern facility below the Taybeh Golden Hotel in 2013 and now produces…
Golan Heights
Quarrying into the base of Mt Avital, an extinct volcano, to extract gravel created an ugly scar on the landscape. It also exposed layers of volcanic…
Haifa
More than 60 open-air murals and sculptures form a route through the lanes and alleys of Wadi Nisnas, from superhero murals to mixed-media sculptures and…
Golan Heights
Kids will love this gravelly tree-shaded hillside, home to three species of deer (from Northern Europe, the Himalayas and Japan), ibexes, 85cm-high mini…
Jerusalem
Little known and seldom visited by tourists, this small section of the Second Temple–period Temple Mount enclosure (the upper rows of stones are from…
Golan Heights
An artisanal chocolate maker that offers tours (25 minutes) and chocolate-making workshops. Reservations are a must. If the chocolate doesn't tempt you,…
Jerusalem
This synagogue complex offers a taster of four places of worship, tightly packed together and able to be visited with a single ticket. The two oldest…
Tel Aviv
One of the oldest known harbours in the world, the port of Jaffa was mentioned in the Bible (as Joppa) and was once the disembarkation point for pilgrims…
North Coast
In 1939, as the situation of the Jews of Europe became increasingly dire, the British government issued a white paper limiting Jewish immigration to…
Jerusalem
Israel’s 120 lawmakers convene at the Knesset, a 1966 building belonging to the unfortunate multistorey-car-park school of architecture. Visitors can take…
Jerusalem
Sequestered on the rooftop of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, this monastery houses a few monks from the Church of Ethiopia who live among the ruins of…
Jerusalem
The history of the Zionist dream is detailed in the Herzl Museum, an idiosyncratic multimedia journey into the life of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern…
North Coast
Originally built by the noble De Milly family, what remains of Montfort Castle is a striking ruin, reached by a pleasant hike. The castle’s name was…
Jerusalem
Buried under rubble for centuries and only recently excavated, this house was destroyed in 70 CE when the Romans put the city to the torch. The…
Haifa
Holy to Jews, Christians, Muslims and Druze, this cave is where the prophet Elijah is believed to have prayed before challenging the priests of Ba’al on…
Jerusalem
This easterly gate of Jerusalem's Old City points towards the Mount of Olives and Gethsemane. Although originally called Bab Al Ghor (Jordan Valley Gate),…
Jerusalem
Towering like a Highland castle, St Andrew's Church has been a small corner of Scotland ever since its first stone was laid in 1927. The so-called …
Jerusalem
Accessible only during services, the interior of this 12th-century cathedral is infused with incense smoke. Blue-and-white tiles and glittering icons…
Jerusalem
Erected by Crusaders two millennia after King David's death, this ground-floor tomb is of dubious authenticity but is nonetheless a holy place for Jews…
Jerusalem
This is the oldest church in Jerusalem, built in the mid-5th century and restored after the Persians destroyed it in 614. It is accessed from Christian…
Jerusalem
Austrian industrialist Oskar Schindler (1908–74) earned the honorific of Righteous Among the Nations, awarded by Israel to non-Jews who risked their lives…
Dome of the Ascension/Chapel of the Ascension
East Jerusalem
It's easy to overlook this chapel, which is diminutive and decrepit. Thought to mark the site where Jesus ascended to heaven (Luke 24:50–51), it was built…
