Haifa
Kid-friendly science exhibits fill this elegant 1912 building, including hands-on displays in the astronomy rooms, optical illusions and a hall of mirrors…
Must-see attractions in Israel
Upper Galilee & Golan
Tsfat’s oldest synagogue – it's mentioned in documents from as far back as 1522 – was frequented by the Ari, the great 16th-century Kabbalist, who…
Tel Aviv
No visit to Tel Aviv is complete without a seaside stroll, and after recent renovations to the city’s boardwalk (tayelet in Hebrew), it is an absolute…
Eilat
Pebbly North Beach and its promenade are often very crowded – for some people, that's one of the main draws. This is by far the most popular place in…
North Coast
Aqua waves lash the shore of this long sandy beach, equidistant between Tel Aviv and Haifa (30 minutes by car). With free showers and toilets, a patrolled…
The Negev
The graves of David (1886–1973) and Paula (1892–1968) Ben-Gurion lie in a spectacular clifftop setting overlooking sublimely beautiful Wadi Tzin (Zin)…
Cana Greek Orthodox Wedding Church & Monastery
Lower Galilee
This richly decorated, late-19th-century church – topped by a round tower and a brown dome – shelters two ancient jars believed to have been used…
The Negev
This dignified WWI cemetery, its gardens and grave markers neatly tended, is the final resting place of 1241 Commonwealth soldiers, including 174…
Sea of Galilee
Shaded and serene, this luxuriantly leafy lakeside cemetery, established in 1911, is the final resting place of socialist Zionist pioneers such as Berl…
Sea of Galilee
Opened in 1993, this lakeside cultural centre – one of Israel’s most beautiful buildings – is known for its art exhibitions, first-run cinema (two screens…
The Negev
Nestled in a valley richly planted with olive and other fruit trees, surrounded by stony Negev slopes, this family-run boutique winery was built on the…
Mitzpe Ramon
This pocket-sized wildlife park is an excellent place to see desert creatures you're unlikely to encounter in the wild because they are either nocturnal,…
Lower Galilee
Almost as remarkable for its modernist building (inaugurated in 1948, with additions from the 1950s) as its outstanding art collection (mainly by Israeli…
Lower Galilee
UK-born Frances and her Moroccan-born husband David have turned a wine-making hobby into a micro-winery that produces just 2100 bottles a year. You can…
Golan Heights
In 2001, after studying wine-making in Australia, Tal Pelter founded a winery that now turns shiraz and chenin blanc grapes (among others) into 300,000…
Akko
The original Ottoman-era market on this spot was burned down within a year of being built; local legends blame a careless hookah smoker for the blaze. The…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Adir has built a reputation for producing outstanding wines and equally good goat cheeses and for serving great dairy meals. Sampling three wines, four…
Upper Galilee & Golan
UK-born potter Daniel Flatauer works in the English studio pottery tradition, producing tableware, kitchenware and Judaica that is both functional and…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Continuing Tsfat’s centuries-old textile tradition, begun by Jews fleeing the Inquisition, Orna and Yair Moore’s studio produces richly textured…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Opened in 1952, this group gallery – housed in the desanctified, Ottoman-era Market Mosque – displays, sells and ships works by about 50 painters and…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Denver-born David Friedman uses the mysteries of the Hebrew alphabet, Kabbalistic symbols such as the Tree of Life, and the universal language of colour…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Avraham Loewenthal, who hails from Detroit, is happy to explain the symbolism of his inspirational paintings and prints, whose abstract forms are rooted…
Mitzpe Ramon
Affords spectacular views of Makhtesh Ramon. Ibexes often wander along the cliff rim around here
Israel
The world-renowned Weizmann Institute of Science is an educational campus open to the public, comprising a visitors centre, ecological gardens and the…
North Coast
So irresistible is the pull of this sparkling stretch of coast that nonconformist activist Eli Avivi declared it an independent state in 1971, irritating…
Haifa
Challenging and contemporary, the Museum of Art's three exhibition spaces showcase mixed media and photography by Israeli and international artists. If…
Akko
Fortified, wrecked and refortified by Muslims, Crusaders and Mamluks, old Akko is encircled by a sea wall to the west, south and southeast, and by…
Tel Aviv
Once known as the Diaspora Museum and recently revamped as the Museum of the Jewish People, Beit Hatfutsot is located on the leafy campus of Tel Aviv…
Dead Sea
Fed by crystal-clear springs, this lush oasis stretches for 6.5km along the base of the escarpment that forms the western edge of the Dead Sea valley…
Upper Galilee & Golan
The graves of many of Tsfat’s greatest sages and Kabbalists are about one-third of the way down the slope of the Ancient Jewish Cemetery, just below a…
Carmelite Monastery of St Elijah
North Coast
Spectacular views and surprising kitsch greet visitors to this lofty monastery. The Carmelite Monastery of St Elijah is known to Arab and Jewish Israelis…
Tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba’al HaNess
Tiberias
A complex of religious buildings has grown around the reputed burial place of Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess, a 2nd-century sage often cited in the Mishnah (ba…
Upper Galilee & Golan
This museum's archaeology section focuses on nearby Tel Dan Nature Reserve, while in the old-fashioned but informative (and, in its own way, beautiful)…
Dead Sea
Atop a bluff overlooking the Dead Sea Works stands this modern sculpture, a rusted-steel column with old steel railway ties striving to climb it like…
Sea of Galilee
This hugely popular, eucalyptus-shaded baptism site, run by Kibbutz Kinneret, is on the Jordan River 100m south of where it flows out of the Sea of…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Housed in a 150-year-old building that once served as the seat of Tsfat’s rabbinical court, this museum illustrates Jewish life in Tsfat during the 19th…
Upper Galilee & Golan
Named after the 15th-century Spanish scholar Rabbi Yitzhak Abuhav, this synagogue was founded in the 16th century but moved to its present location after…
Tel Aviv
Offering a fascinating glimpse of fantastic beasts, this is close as you'll get to the Serengeti plains in Israel. It's both a drive-through safari and a…
Sea of Galilee
Mentioned in the Talmud as a place of idol worship, this Gentile fishing village – discovered by chance in the early 1970s – is where Jesus is believed to…
The Negev
At the the Boker Valley Vineyards Farm, run by a friendly Israeli-Dutch family, the heady aromas of red wine permeate the cooperative wine cellar, where…
