The 8 Best Attractions in Jerusalem (2026)

Updated July 2026 · 8 picks

The best attractions in Jerusalem in 2026 are the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Old City itself, explored from the Tower of David. Jerusalem packs three thousand years of history and the holiest sites of Judaism, Christianity and Islam into a single walled square kilometre. Below are eight essential sights, with what each one is and how best to see it.

1. The Western Wall — Jewish Quarter, Old City

The last standing wall of the ancient Temple compound — Judaism's holiest place of prayer.

₪ BudgetBest for Families · Solo · Couples

The Western Wall (the Kotel) is the surviving retaining wall of the Second Temple compound, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, and the holiest site at which Jews are permitted to pray. Standing in the great plaza before its massive, worn limestone blocks — many of them two thousand years old — is the defining experience of a visit to Jerusalem, whatever your faith.

The wall is in constant use, day and night, with worshippers praying, reading and tucking written notes into its ancient crevices. The prayer area is divided into separate men's and women's sections, and modest dress and a head covering (provided at the entrance) are required. Access to the plaza is free and open around the clock.

For more context, the Western Wall Tunnels tour — booked separately — burrows along the hidden, subterranean length of the wall and is one of the best guided experiences in the Old City. Come at least once after dark, when the floodlit stone and the quiet make the place especially moving.

Good to know: Free and open 24 hours. Visit once by day and once after dark, and book the separate Western Wall Tunnels tour for the fuller story.

Google Maps Website

2. Church of the Holy Sepulchre — Christian Quarter, Old City

The site venerated as the place of Jesus's crucifixion, burial and resurrection — Christianity's holiest church.

₪ BudgetBest for Families · Solo · Couples

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre stands over the sites traditionally identified as Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, and the tomb from which Christians believe he rose. For most Christian traditions it is the holiest church in the world, and it has drawn pilgrims continuously for some seventeen centuries.

Inside, it is a labyrinthine, incense-heavy warren shared — sometimes uneasily — by six Christian denominations, from the towering Rotunda over the Tomb of Christ to the rock of Calvary up a steep stair. The atmosphere is unlike anywhere else: candlelit, ancient, crowded with pilgrims from every corner of the earth, and thick with ritual.

Entry is free. Expect queues to enter the Edicule, the small shrine over the tomb itself, especially at peak times; going early in the morning is the best way to experience it with some measure of calm.

Good to know: Free to enter, but the line for the Tomb of Christ can be very long — arrive early in the morning to see it more calmly.

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3. Tower of David — Jaffa Gate, Old City

The Old City's ancient citadel, now a museum of Jerusalem's history — and its best introduction and viewpoint.

₪₪ Mid-rangeBest for Families · Couples

The Tower of David is the medieval citadel beside the Jaffa Gate, built and rebuilt over millennia on foundations going back to the Second Temple period. Recently and extensively renovated, it now houses an excellent museum that tells the sweeping story of Jerusalem across four thousand years, making it the ideal first stop to orient yourself before diving into the Old City.

Beyond the well-designed galleries, the ramparts and towers offer some of the finest panoramic views across the Old City's rooftops, domes and quarters. After dark, the citadel hosts a striking sound-and-light show projected onto its ancient walls, telling the city's history in image and music.

It's a ticketed site and worth the admission for both the museum and the views. Start here on your first morning to make sense of everything you'll see afterwards.

Good to know: Visit on your first morning as an orientation to the whole Old City, then climb the ramparts for the best rooftop panorama.

Google Maps Website

4. Machane Yehuda Market — City centre

Jerusalem's great food market — a sensory overload by day, a buzzing bar-and-restaurant scene by night.

₪ BudgetBest for Families · Groups · Solo

Machane Yehuda, universally called 'the shuk', is Jerusalem's central market and one of the city's genuine highlights. By day its lanes overflow with mountains of spices, produce, halva, cheese, olives, baked goods and street food, packed with shoppers stocking up — never busier or more theatrical than on a Friday before Shabbat.

In the past decade the shuk has transformed after dark: many stalls give way to bars, restaurants and cafés, and the market becomes one of the liveliest nightlife spots in the city, shutter art glowing under the lights. It's the best place in Jerusalem to eat your way through a meal of small bites, from fresh-baked rugelach to hummus to Iraqi and Kurdish specialities.

Entry is free, and a food tour is a great way to understand what you're looking at. Go on a Friday morning for the full, chaotic pre-Shabbat energy, or in the evening for the bar scene.

Good to know: Friday morning is peak pre-Shabbat frenzy; weekday evenings show off the bar-and-restaurant side. Note it winds down for Shabbat itself.

Google Maps Website

5. Mount of Olives — East Jerusalem

The classic panoramic view over the Old City and Temple Mount, above an ancient Jewish cemetery and Gethsemane.

₪ BudgetBest for Couples · Solo

The Mount of Olives rises east of the Old City, and its summit offers the postcard view of Jerusalem — the golden Dome of the Rock, the Temple Mount and the Old City walls spread out below, best in the soft light of early morning. It's one of the most photographed vantage points in the country and an essential stop for grasping the city's layout.

The slopes carry immense religious weight: an ancient and still-active Jewish cemetery covers the hillside, and the foot of the mount holds the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, associated with Jesus's final night. A walk down from the summit takes you past a string of churches to the Kidron Valley.

The viewpoint is free and open, and many visitors combine it with the walk down through Gethsemane. Go early for the light and the quiet, and consider a taxi up so you can stroll down rather than climb.

Good to know: Come at sunrise or early morning for the best light on the Old City, and walk downhill through Gethsemane rather than climbing up.

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6. City of David — Silwan, below the Old City

The archaeological heart of ancient Jerusalem, including a walk through Hezekiah's 2,700-year-old water tunnel.

₪₪ Mid-rangeBest for Families · Couples

Just outside the Old City walls, below the Dung Gate, lies the original core of Jerusalem — the City of David, where the biblical city first stood some three thousand years ago. It's one of the country's most active archaeological sites, and a visit takes you down through layers of excavated ruins that bring the ancient city vividly to life.

The headline experience is Hezekiah's Tunnel, an underground water channel hewn through solid rock around 700 BCE to bring water inside the city walls. You can wade through its dark, narrow, knee-deep length by the light of a phone — an unforgettable, slightly adventurous half-hour — or take a parallel dry tunnel if you'd rather stay dry.

It's a ticketed site, best done with a guide or the audio tour to make sense of the archaeology, and it sits in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan, a politically sensitive area. Wear shoes and clothes you don't mind getting wet if you plan to do the water tunnel.

Good to know: For the wet Hezekiah's Tunnel, bring water shoes or sandals and a phone torch — or choose the parallel dry tunnel to stay dry.

Google Maps Website

7. Via Dolorosa — Muslim & Christian Quarters, Old City

The traditional route of Jesus's final walk to crucifixion, winding through the Old City's markets.

₪ BudgetBest for Solo · Couples · Families

The Via Dolorosa — the 'Way of Sorrows' — is the processional route that Christian tradition holds Jesus walked, carrying the cross, from his condemnation to Golgotha. It threads through the bustling lanes and covered markets of the Muslim and Christian Quarters, marked by fourteen Stations of the Cross, the last five of which lie inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Walking it is less about grand monuments than about atmosphere: the stations are often modest plaques or small chapels set amid shops, vendors and the everyday chaos of the Old City, which many find makes the route more moving rather than less. Every Friday afternoon, Franciscan friars lead a public procession along the way that anyone may join.

It's free to walk at any time. A map or a guide helps you find the stations, which are easy to miss among the market stalls; following the route on foot is a fitting way to end at the Holy Sepulchre.

Good to know: The stations are easy to miss among the shops — use a map or join the Franciscan procession held every Friday afternoon.

Google Maps Website

8. Ramparts Walk — Old City walls

A walk atop the 16th-century Ottoman city walls, with a rooftop-level view into the Old City's quarters.

₪ BudgetBest for Couples · Solo

The Ramparts Walk lets you climb onto the great stone walls that Suleiman the Magnificent built around the Old City in the 16th century, and follow them along the top. From up here you look down into the courtyards, markets and quarters on one side and out over the modern city on the other — a completely different perspective from the crowded lanes below.

There are two separate sections, starting near the Jaffa Gate, and each takes roughly half an hour to walk. It's a quiet, often overlooked experience that rewards you with unusual angles and photographs of the city, away from the crush at street level.

It's a ticketed attraction with set opening hours, so check times before you go. Wear decent shoes for the uneven stone, and bring water and a hat in summer, as there's little shade up on the walls.

Good to know: Two sections run from near the Jaffa Gate; check opening hours first, and bring a hat and water — there's no shade up on the walls.

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

What is the number one thing to see in Jerusalem?

The Western Wall, in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, is the single most iconic sight and the holiest place where Jews can pray — a fitting first stop. From there, the Old City's four quarters put the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Via Dolorosa and the views over the Temple Mount all within a short walk.

How many days do you need in Jerusalem?

Two full days lets you cover the Old City properly plus one or two major sites outside the walls, like Yad Vashem or the Mount of Olives. Three days is better if you want to slow down, add the museums, and take in the modern city and Machane Yehuda market without rushing.

Is it free to visit the Old City sites in Jerusalem?

Many of the most important sites are free to enter, including the Western Wall plaza and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Others charge admission — the Tower of David museum, the City of David and the Ramparts Walk among them. The Old City's streets, markets and much of its atmosphere cost nothing at all.

What should I know about visiting religious sites in Jerusalem?

Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees for everyone, and a head covering is provided or expected at some sites. The Western Wall has separate men's and women's prayer sections. Many sites are quieter and more restricted on the respective holy days (Friday for Islam, Saturday for Judaism, Sunday for Christianity), so plan around them.

1. The Western Wall — Jewish Quarter, Old City

2. Church of the Holy Sepulchre — Christian Quarter, Old City

3. Tower of David — Jaffa Gate, Old City

4. Machane Yehuda Market — City centre

5. Mount of Olives — East Jerusalem

6. City of David — Silwan, below the Old City

7. Via Dolorosa — Muslim & Christian Quarters, Old City

8. Ramparts Walk — Old City walls

Frequently asked questions

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