Things to do
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Built over ground that Christian tradition identifies as Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus, the church is shared under a fragile arrangement between six denominations, whose territory extends to which lamp hangs where. Queues for the edicule build through the morning. Arriving at opening, or in the last hour before closing, cuts the wait considerably.
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Dome of the Rock
Gold leaf and Ottoman tilework cover an octagonal shrine raised in the seventh century over the rock at the centre of the Haram al-Sharif, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Entry to the building itself is reserved for Muslims. Other visitors reach the esplanade by the Mughrabi Bridge during limited morning hours, subject to closure without notice.
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Israel Museum
Encyclopaedic collections of archaeology, Judaica and fine art fill a campus above the Knesset, along with a scale model of the city as it stood before the Roman siege. The Shrine of the Book holds the Dead Sea Scrolls under its white dome. Half a day covers the highlights, and the sculpture garden repays a late afternoon finish.
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Mahane Yehuda Market
Produce stalls, spice merchants and bakeries pack the lanes of the covered market west of the centre, which empties of shoppers by Friday afternoon and refills after dark as bars open behind shuttered fronts painted with murals. Thursday evening is loud and crowded. Nothing trades on Shabbat.
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Mount of Olives
Rising east of the Old City across the Kidron Valley, this ridge carries a Jewish cemetery in use for millennia and the churches of Gethsemane and Dominus Flevit on its slopes. The view back over the walls and the golden dome is the reason to climb. Early light favours photographers, and a taxi up with a walk down saves the steepest effort.
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Old City
Walls rebuilt under Suleiman enclose a square kilometre divided into Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarters, laced with covered souks and stepped lanes. The major sites sit within a short walk of one another, though the alleys rarely run straight. A circuit of the ramparts gives the clearest sense of how the quarters fit together.
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Tower of David
The citadel beside Jaffa Gate folds Herodian, Mamluk and Ottoman building into one compound, and its museum reopened after a long restoration with a route through the city's layered history. Ramparts give a circuit of views across both the Old City and the modern centre. An evening sound and light show runs in the courtyard.
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Via Dolorosa
Fourteen stations mark the route Christian tradition assigns to Jesus on the way to crucifixion, running from near Lions' Gate through the Muslim Quarter to end inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The lane is an ordinary working street for most of the week. Franciscans lead a procession along it each Friday afternoon.
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Western Wall
Massive Herodian stones form the exposed western retaining wall of the Temple Mount compound, and the plaza in front of them functions as an open-air synagogue with separate sections for men and women. Prayer notes go into the cracks between the courses. Access is free at any hour, modest dress is expected, and photography is discouraged on Shabbat.
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Yad Vashem
Israel's memorial to the victims of the Holocaust occupies a wooded ridge on Mount Herzl, with a prism-shaped history museum that ends on a terrace opening over the hills. The Hall of Names and the children's memorial are the parts that stay with visitors. Admission is free, the site closes for Shabbat, and the main museum is not intended for young children.