A Good Tour: Center City

A Good Tour: Center City

Jerusalem is a good city to stroll. Beyond its famous shrines and antiquities, the limestone buildings, shaded courtyards, and colorful peoplescapes of the center city make for an absorbing backstreet experience. The first part of the walk -- up to the YMCA -- is good anytime; avoid the rest late Friday and on Saturday, when the downtown area is closed for the Jewish Sabbath. The route will take approximately 1 1/2 hrs to walk.

Begin at the landmark Montefiore's Windmill, across the valley from Mount Zion. Immediately below the adjacent patio is the long crenelated roof of Mishkenot Sha'ananim, the first neighborhood outside the walls of Jerusalem, built by Sir Moses (Moshe) Montefiore in 1860 as a more benign alternative to the wretched conditions of the Jewish Quarter at the time. Today it's a prestigious guest house for visiting artists, writers, and musicians.

Separating you from Mt. Zion and the Old City is the deep Hinnom Valley, the biblical border between the Israelite tribes of Judah (to the south) and Benjamin (to the north), and the site of human sacrificial rites in the 7th century BC. A few hundred yards off to your right (as you face the valley) is the fortress-like St. Andrew's Scots Church, right above the bend in the valley known as Ketef Hinnom (the Hinnom Shoulder). An excavation in the late 1970s on the rock scarp below the church uncovered a series of rock-hewn tombs and a treasure trove of archaeological finds.

Stroll through the attractive cobblestone streets and greenery of the Yemin Moshe neighborhood, abutting the windmill, and up through the small park that separates it from King David Street. The landmark King David Hotel is a handsome, rectangular limestone building with a back terrace overlooking well-kept gardens and the Old City walls. Drinks or dessert are not cheap here, but the location and the Hollywood echoes (Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint in Exodus) count for something. Across the street is the imposing YMCA : take the elevator to the top of its tower for stunning panoramas.

Turn onto Abraham Lincoln Street, alongside the YMCA and opposite the gas station. From the small intersection 70 yards beyond it, a narrow pedestrian lane (George Eliot Street) continues in the same direction, emerging at Agron Street, next to the U.S. Consulate-General. Cross Agron and walk over the lawns of Independence Park. The park's crossroad, 50 yards to your right, emerges at Hillel Street, where there are several excellent coffee shops.

Across Hillel is Yoel Moshe Salomon Street, and to the right and parallel to it is Yosef Rivlin Street, named after two of the seven founders of Nahalat Shiva, the second neighborhood built outside the city walls, in 1869. Hidden courtyards and funky stores and eateries make this a fun time-out option. At the other end of Salomon Street is Zion Square, where Jaffa Road, Jerusalem's main thoroughfare, is met by Ben Yehuda Street, a pedestrians-only commercial street.

At the top of Ben Yehuda Street, cross King George Street, turn right, and take your first left onto Agrippas Street. (The falafel stand on the corner is your landmark.) A five-minute walk up the street, on your right, is the entrance to the colorful, often raucous, always interesting Machaneh Yehuda produce market. It extends for one city block, to Jaffa Road.