Best of Jerusalem in 1 to 3 Days

Best of Jerusalem in 1 to 3 Days

If You Have 1 Day: Highlights

Catch the morning view from the Mount of Olives Observation Point. Enter the Old City through Jaffa Gate, and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Cut through the Arab bazaar to the Jewish Quarter to explore its archaeological treasures (and enjoy a good coffee). Head to the Western Wall, with a view en route of the Muslim shrines on the Temple Mount. Take a cab from Dung Gate to the Israel Museum (Dead Sea Scrolls, archaeology, Judaica, and art) or Yad Vashem (an Holocoaust museum).

If You Have 1 Day: Christian Orientation

Begin with an early view from the Mount of Olives Observation Point, and then walk down to the Garden of Gethsemane, with its ancient olive trees. If you're Catholic, add a visit to the Pater Noster Convent and Dominus Flevit church. Enter the Old City through the Lions' (St. Stephen's) Gates, and visit the Pools of Bethesda and St. Anne's Church (the healing of the lame man). The street becomes the Via Dolorosa: follow the Stations of the Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Have lunch in the Christian or Jewish Quarters, explore the archaeological finds of the Jewish Quarter, and end at the Western Wall. If you're Protestant, don't miss the Garden Tomb on Nablus Road. If time allows, detour to Mt. Zion, with its Room of the Last Supper and Dormition Abbey, before the Western Wall.

If You Have 3 Days: Highlights

Begin with the view from the Haas Promenade; then explore the City of David. Enter the Old City at Dung Gate to visit the Western Wall, and perhaps the Western Wall Tunnel or Ophel Archaeological Garden. Have lunch in the Jewish Quarter, poke around its sights and stores, and leave the Old City via the Arab market and Jaffa Gate. End the day at the vibrant Machaneh Yehuda produce market.

On the second day, visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Head to Jaffa Gate for the tour of the Tower of David Museum, which covers Jerusalem's action-packed history with visuals, not artifacts. Cab over to the Israel Museum. If time allows, head to downtown Ben Yehuda Street for coffee and people-watching.

Begin the third day at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum. Visit the Chagall Windows & Hadassah Hospital. Have lunch in picturesque Ein Kerem (with or without the Church of the Visitation). Take the rest of the afternoon off for a well-earned break at your hotel pool or in the stores.