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North Coast
On Israel’s north coast, ancient history peeps out between the palm trees. Sandy beaches run parallel to the cobalt-blue Mediterranean, luring surfers and sunbathers to their breezy shores. But beach life is a blink of the eye in this historic area: in Caesarea, the well-conserved ruins of Herod’s ambitious port stand proud against the sea, while life continues in the labyrinthine, centuries-old alleys in walled Akko.
The largest city is Haifa, a spirited port with a mixed Jewish and Arab population – and home to the region’s star sight, the Baha’i Gardens. Sprawling across Mt Carmel, Haifa simmers with art, culture and fast-paced nightlife. Venture inland to the catacombs of Beit She’arim or biblical end-times location Megiddo. For art and wine, Ein Hod and Zichron Ya’akov deserve exploration. Spare time to ponder all you’ve seen within the luminous sea grottoes of Rosh HaNikra or by a golden beach in Akhziv.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout North Coast.
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Baha’i Gardens
These formal gardens flowing down 19 steep terraces to a resplendent domed shrine – the final resting place of the prophet-herald of the Baha’i faith – are Haifa’s crowning attraction. There are bird’s-eye views from the platform at the top, but we highly recommend the free, 45-minute Panorama Tour. Tours begin daily (except Wednesday) at 11.30am in Hebrew and noon in English. Arrive half an hour ahead as it's first come, first served. Men and women must be covered from shoulders to knees. The gardens are tended by the Baha’i World Centre, the religion’s global headquarters. Emerald lawns and bright flower beds ripple down to the Shrine of the Báb, which is even more dazzling against a backdrop of deep blue Haifa Bay. Completed in 1953, this glinting dome guards the mortal remains of the Báb, the spiritual predecessor to the Baha’i faith’s main prophet Baha’ullah. After persecution and imprisonment, the Báb was executed in Persia in 1850 and his remains were secretly kept by his followers. They were brought to Haifa in 1909 and Baha’ullah chose this spot for the Báb’s burial place. Combining the style and proportions of European architecture with motifs inspired by Eastern traditions, it was designed by a Canadian architect, built with Italian stone and decorated with Portuguese fire-glazed tiles. Framing the shrine, the gardens were laid out on the slopes of Mt Carmel between 1989 and 2001. They were given Unesco World Heritage status in 2008 along with Akko’s Shrine of Baha’ullah. Impressively symmetrical, the well-tended terraces have a regal feel: gurgling fountains, flower beds, stone eagles, hedges trimmed into eight-pointed stars, and lawns with barely a blade of grass out of place. (Suddenly, the stringent rules of conduct – no food, no smoking, no setting foot on the lawns – make a whole lot of sense.) The gardens are illuminated throughout the night, a spiritual solace for the Báb’s years of imprisonment in near-darkness; you can enjoy this sparkling view from the German Colony. Buildings (closed to the public) around the gardens include the Universal House of Justice, a domed neoclassical structure with Corinthian columns from which the Baha’is’ spiritual and administrative affairs are governed; and the Archives, in a green-roofed structure that looks like the Parthenon, in which are kept more than 100 different translations of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the holy book of the Baha’i faith. To get to the start of the Panorama Tour from Carmel Centre (the Carmelit’s Gan HaEm stop), walk 1km north along Yefe Nof St, which affords the city’s finest bay views. Alternatively, from Bat Galim Egged bus 136 zigzags via Ben Gurion Blvd up to HaNassi Ave (parallel to Yefe Nof). The tour finishes down on HaTziyonut Blvd – to get back up to Carmel Centre, there is usually a sherut (10NIS) waiting; count on paying about 30NIS for a taxi. Bus 115 links the lower entrance on HaTziyonut Blvd with Haifa-Hof HaCarmel bus station and Talpiot market. Note that the line for the Panorama Tour can be long when there’s a cruise liner or US Navy ship in port. Admission is limited to 60 people (120 if there are two guides available). See the website for a monthly schedule of less regular tours in Russian and Arabic.
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Knights' Halls
Akko's crowning attractions are the stone-vaulted Knights' Halls. Wandering these echoing chambers gives captivating insights into the medieval knights who once patrolled, dined and prayed here. An audio guide (included in the ticket price) evokes the sounds and smells of life in the citadel, built 800 years ago by the Hospitallers (a monastic military order). The Beautiful Hall, where pilgrims en route to the Holy Land were welcomed, is most impressively preserved. Elsewhere, 13th-century tombs are displayed in the crypt of St John's Church, and graffiti of Christian symbols, left by pilgrims, is still visible at the intersection of two excavated main streets.
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Hecht Museum
This university campus museum showcases engrossing archaeological finds such as well-restored mosaics and troves of ancient coins, but the pièce de résistance is the Ma'agan Mikhael Shipwreck, a 2400-year-old merchant vessel unearthed in 1985. Originally 12.5m long, the ship would have hauled 15 tons of cargo and has a rare one-armed wooden anchor. Elsewhere, the art wing assembles mostly Impressionist and post-Impressionist works (part of founder Dr Reuben Hecht's own collection), including works by luminaries like Van Gogh and Modigliani. The Oscar Ghez Collection is a poignant display of the works by 18 Paris-based artists who perished in the Holocaust. Meanwhile, temporary art exhibitions place the spotlight on young artists, portraiture, Israeli art colonies and a host of other themes. The Hecht Museum is beneath the Eshkol Tower; follow signs to the building's lower floor and then continue along the corridor until you see amphorae.
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Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery
The Carmelite Order was established in the late 12th century when Crusader-era pilgrims, inspired by the prophet Elijah, opted for a hermitic life on the slopes of Mt Carmel. Today the order lives on around the world and in the 'Star of the Sea' monastery, whose current building was constructed in 1836 at the northern tip of Mt Carmel. The sea views are magnificent. Wear clothing that covers your knees and shoulders; men should remove hats. Inside the church, the beautifully painted ceiling and dome portray Elijah and the chariot of fire in which he is said to have ascended to heaven; King David with his harp; the saints of the order; the prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel and David; and the Holy Family with the four evangelists below. On the path leading to the church entrance, a pyramid with a wrought-iron cross on top serves as a memorial for 200 sick and wounded French troops, hospitalised here, who were slaughtered by the Ottomans after Napoleon returned to Paris in 1799. The monastery is accessible by cable car from Bat Galim's seafront promenade and by bus 115 from Hadar and Haifa-Hof HaCarmel; by buses 30 and 31 from Carmel Centre; and on foot from near Elijah's Cave.
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Clandestine Immigration & Naval Museum
Using a series of powerful video testimonials, this fascinating museum showcases the Zionist Movement’s determined efforts to infiltrate Jewish refugees from Europe into British-blockaded Palestine from 1934 to 1948. The centrepiece is a WWII landing craft rechristened the Af-Al-Pi-Chen (‘nevertheless’ in Hebrew) that carried 434 refugees to Palestine in 1947; intercepted by the British, they were sent to internment camps on Cyprus. The museum is run by the Ministry of Defense, so you'll need your passport to get in. Most compelling are the testimonials about life on board these surplus war ships; survivors describe gruelling conditions and overcrowding, but also an irrepressible optimism about their hopes of entering the Holy Land. Many never reached it, including the passengers on board the Exodus: this vastly overloaded steamer ship carried more than 4500 Holocaust survivors to Palestine in 1947 but was forced by the British to return to Europe.
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Caesarea National Park
The wave-lashed location of this large archaeological site enhances the experience of exploring its Roman- and Crusader-era ruins.You'll duck through magnificent stone vaults, stroll around a vast Herodian amphitheatre and peer at ruins left by numerous conquerors. A full-price ticket allows you into the Roman ruins and multimedia presentations; a harbour-only ticket, available at the northern entrance, buys access to the harbour area and the Crusader city. After closing time, entry to the harbour – including restaurants and bars – is free. Entering through the northerly Crusader gate, you'll pass the Cardo (excavated Byzantine street) and the site of a Crusader City. Just south is the temple platform; during Herod's time this was a shrine to Roma and Augustus, though a succession of places of worship were constructed and demolished over the years: a Byzantine church, a mosque, and a Crusader-era church. On the pier visitors can pop into multimedia displays on ancient Caesarea including the Time Tower and Caesarea Experience. Continuing south is the showpiece of the national park, the Herodian Amphitheatre, a 10,000-seat hippodrome where slaves and prisoners battled wild animals and chariots careened around a U-shaped track. Jutting out to sea after the southern end of the amphitheatre is the Roman-era Promontory Palace, while a Roman theatre – Israel's oldest – lies east. Caesarea National Park has two entrances: the northern (Crusader gate) entrance, which takes you through the Crusader ramparts to the harbour and its restaurants; and, 600m to the south, the southern (Roman Theatre) entrance. Coach tours often drop visitors off at one and pick them up at the other, but if you'd like to circle back to your car, the northern entrance is a better bet.
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Shrine of the Báb
Though it’s primarily a pilgrimage site, modestly dressed visitors are allowed to enter this domed shrine holding the remains of the Báb, spiritual predecessor to the Baha’i faith’s main prophet Baha’ullah. Canadian architect William Sutherland Maxwell designed the shrine to unify Middle Eastern and European styles. It was built in 1953 with Italian stone and covered Portuguese glazed tiles. After persecution and imprisonment, the Báb was executed in Persia in 1850 and his body kept by his followers until it was re-interred at this spot, chosen by Baha’ullah.
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Al Jazzar Mosque
The graceful silhouette of the green-domed Al Jazzar Mosque, with its slender, 124-stair minaret, dominates the northern end of Akko's old city. Al Jazzar himself designed the mosque in classic Ottoman Turkish style, and oversaw its construction in 1781. Inside are beautifully restored marble minbar (pulpit) and ornate mihrab (Mecca-facing niche), with delicate calligraphy soaring on the blue and green tiles above. Dress modestly (cover from shoulders to knees); women must cover their heads with a shawl. The mosque stands on the site of a former Crusader cathedral, the cellars of which were put into use by the Turks as cisterns. The columns in the courtyard were ‘adopted’ from Roman Caesarea. Around by the base of the minaret, the small twin-domed building contains the sarcophagi of Al Jazzar and his adopted son and successor, Süleyman.
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MadaTech
Kid-friendly science exhibits fill this elegant 1912 building, including hands-on displays in the astronomy rooms, optical illusions and a hall of mirrors (exhibits are labelled with the appropriate age group). The building was the first home of the Technion–Israel Institute and its soaring arches and echoing hallways are a delight to wander. When Albert Einstein visited in 1923, he planted a palm tree that still stands out front. Fuel for budding scientists (that is, slushies and popcorn) is on sale in the inner courtyard.