Things to do
5-
Acre Old City
A walled Ottoman port north along the bay conceals a Crusader city beneath it, including a vaulted knights' hall and a tunnel the Templars dug towards the harbour. The Al-Jazzar Mosque, the Turkish bazaar and a working fishing quay sit above ground. Trains and buses make the trip from Haifa in about half an hour, and one combined ticket covers the underground halls.
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Baháʼí Gardens
Nineteen terraces of clipped hedge, gravel and fountain climb the mountain on a single axis around the gold-domed Shrine of the Báb, laid out as a place of pilgrimage for the Baháʼí faith. The upper balcony and the lower gate open daily without charge. Walking the full descent is possible only on the free guided tour, which runs at set times and cannot be joined late.
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German Colony
Templers from southern Germany laid out this straight avenue of stone houses in the eighteen sixties, and their carved lintels still carry German inscriptions. Restaurants and bars now fill the ground floors, with the Baháʼí terraces rising at the far end of the axis. Evening is when the street works, lit along its whole length.
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Stella Maris Monastery
Carmelite friars hold a headland church at the northwestern tip of the mountain, raised over a cave linked in tradition to the prophet Elijah and topped by a painted dome of Old Testament scenes. A cable car climbs to it from the beach at Bat Galim. Modest dress is required inside, and the terrace opposite gives the view over the bay.
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Wadi Nisnas
Lanes of an Arab quarter below the German Colony carry butchers, bakeries, spice shops and hummus counters, with murals and sculpture left behind by a December festival that fills the neighbourhood with art. Late morning is the busiest stretch. Many counters shut in the afternoon, so lunch is better taken early.