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Outside Jaffa Gate, Hutzot Hayotzer is home to goldsmiths and silversmiths specializing in jewelry, fine art, and Judaica, generally done in a modern, minimalist style. The work is of extremely high quality and priced accordingly.
Hutzot Hayotzer, 94117, Israel
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Every Friday, local artists and craftspeople hawk handmade jewelry and bags, whimsical puppets, hefty wooden cutting boards, and other pieces at this art market in central Jerusalem. The pace is relaxed and friendly. Stalls run from the pedestrian section of Bezalel Street and continue onto Shatz Street to the small Schieber Park.
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The family of Bilal Abu Khalaf has been trading in fine fabrics for Jerusalem's elite for three generations. The shop is a treasure trove of Damascene silks woven with golden thread, Moroccan brocade set with semiprecious stones, and the finest fabrics from Kashmir. Phone ahead to arrange a riveting 20-minute presentation of the shop's most beautiful treasures, and an explanation of the Crusader church visible through the glass floor.
164 Suq Aftimus, 9114101, Israel
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This 80-year-old shop carries colorful Persian, Bedouin, and Armenian pottery and ceramics, weavings, painted silks, and jewelry.
4 Koresh St., 9414404, Israel
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Local designer Daniella Lehavi makes distinctive, well-crafted leather bags, shoes, and accessories.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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These delicate items in fine porcelain are all hand-painted in rich shades of blue, red, and gold. Traditional Jewish ritual objects include fine papercuts and a range of ornamental ketubot (wedding contracts). Less expensive items include napkin rings and bottle stoppers.
19 Harashei Barzel St., 94633, Israel
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Arman Darian's exacting painting can be seen in prestigious buildings around Israel and the world. Besides ceramic pieces with Jewish themes, the shop carries hand-painted tables and mirrors and has a plentiful selection of bargain-priced seconds. You can often catch Darian and his staff working on new designs.
12 Shlomzion Hamalka St., 94146, Israel
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Kevork Kahvedjian's collection of 3,500 photographic prints of Jerusalem and the Holy Land dating back to 1860 provides a window into a vanished world. Many of them have been published in history books and adorn the walls of local hotels and restaurants. All are available as high-quality prints in various sizes, mounted and ready for framing.
14 Al-Khanka St., 9114101, Israel
Shop Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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The artist studios and shops are part of the Nocturno complex, including a home and fashion store that hosts pop-up sales of Israeli designers and the studio of jewelry designer Efrat Yefenof.
7 Bezalel St, 9459107, Israel
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Well-crafted wooden toys and games fill the shelves of this vaulted underground shop. Kids are welcome to try out many of them. Gaya also has a branch at the First Station.
7 Yoel Salomon St., 9463307, Israel
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This shop beckons with its delightfully colorful tiled steps. The functional and ornamental pottery is made by a dozen Israeli artists, and many pieces are bright and cheerful.
27 Yoel Salomon St., 94633, Israel
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Here you'll discover the work of 20 excellent Israeli craftspeople working in ceramics, glass, jewelry, sculpture, and wood. You can join them for a crafts workshop in their studios on the second floor. The store offers guided tours in English on the history of art in Jerusalem as well as on the building itself, which served as a hospital during the British Mandate.
12 Hebron Rd., 9354206, Israel
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Meticulously crafted Armenian tiles and pottery can be found in this family-run store of local artisan Hagop Karakashian, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Their high-quality work includes plates, bowls, tiles, and plaques painted with peacocks and flowers and can be shipped all over the world.
3 Greek Orthodox Patriarchate St., 91192, Israel
Shop Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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This shop sells traditional and affordable papercuts, a well-established Jewish art form. These pieces make unusual gifts—to say nothing of being both light and easy to pack. They can be customized with your name.
21 Yoel Salomon St., 94633, Israel
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Bordered by Old City's Jaffa Gate on one end and the Mamilla Hotel on the other, this open-air shopping center features such familiar clothing chains as Nike, The Northface, Mango, and Zara. There's also a growing number of independent Israeli fashion and jewelry designers. The restaurants and cafés all have spectacular views, and the street is lined by Israeli sculptures.
Alrov Mamilla Ave., 94182, Israel
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This pedestrian-only strip of Ben-Yehuda Street makes for a fun shopping experience. Street musicians serenade passersby and those seated at the many outdoor cafés. Summer evenings are lively, as the mall fills with peddlers of cheap jewelry and crafts. Some of the city's best restaurants are tucked into the nearby alleys.
Ben-Yehuda St., 94622, Israel
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Simple, classic styles in very comfortable fabrics are this well-known Israeli clothing designer's hallmark.
6 Yitzhak Kariv St., 94182, Israel
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Sabon—Hebrew for soap—sells its aromatic herb-infused soaps, creams, and lotions all around the world. The ritual hand washing in the shop is a delight. There's another branch in the Malcha Mall.
35 Emek Refa'im St., 93104, Israel
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This shop just inside the New Gate stocks intricately hand-painted ceramic tiles in any shape or size, from small decorative tiles to elaborate tiled mirrors, tables, and trays. From the Jaffa Gate, take the first left onto Latin Patriarch Road.
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Muslim Quarter
Jerusalem's main market is the souk in the Old City, spread over a warren of intersecting streets. This is where much of Arab Jerusalem shops. It's awash with color and redolent with the clashing scents of exotic spices. Baskets of produce vie for attention with hanging shanks of lamb, fresh fish on ice, and fresh-baked delicacies. Food stalls are interspersed with purveyors of fabrics and shoes. The baubles and trinkets of the tourist trade often seem secondary, except along the well-trodden paths of the Via Dolorosa, David Street, and Christian Quarter Road.
Haggling with merchants in the Arab market—a time-honored tradition—is not for everyone. If you know what you want and what you are willing to pay, it can be fun to try to knock the price down; if not, seek out shops with set prices, either in the Old City or outside its walls.
