Jerusalem for visitors
What to know before a first trip: getting around, what closes for Shabbat, kashrut, where to eat and what to see.
Start here
In this order — each one assumes the one before it.
- 01 Getting Around Jerusalem: Light Rail, Buses and the Rav-Kav
- 02 Shabbat and Chagim in Jerusalem: What Closes, What Opens and How the Year Runs
- 03 Eating Out in Jerusalem: How to Choose, and Where to Start
- 04 Kashrut in Israel Explained: Rabbanut, Mehadrin, Badatz and What Matches the OU
- 05 Jerusalem Neighbourhoods for English-Speakers: Where to Live and Why
- 06 Is Jerusalem Safe? A Resident's Guide to Security, Sirens and Everyday Safety
Sort these out
Things with a deadline, a rule, or an entitlement worth claiming.
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Apply for ETA-IL before you fly
Travellers from visa-exempt countries need an Electronic Travel Authorization before arrival. Apply at least 72 hours ahead; it is valid for two years or until your passport expires.
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Get a Rav-Kav before your first bus
An anonymous Rav-Kav needs no ID and costs a few shekels. Drivers do not take cash and cannot load the card, so load it first at a station, a machine, a pharmacy or in the app.
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Plan Friday and Shabbat around the transport
Buses, the light rail and trains stop well before sunset on Friday and restart after dark on Saturday. Friday's last departures are early afternoon, so book the day's last activity accordingly.
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Claim VAT back at the airport, not after
Tourists can reclaim VAT on goods above a minimum invoice value, but only on departure and only for goods — not hotels, meals or tours. Nothing can be claimed once you have left.
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Consider an Israel Pass for national parks
The Parks Authority sells combined tickets covering a set number of national parks and reserves, valid two weeks from first entry and sold online only. The City of David is not included.
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Check Temple Mount access the same morning
Non-Muslim visiting is Sunday to Thursday only, through the Mughrabi ramp at the southern end of the Western Wall plaza, in short fixed windows. No official timetable is published and it closes without notice, so ask locally that morning.
Where to look
Where to go
All the plans
Teddy Park Parks & nature · Mamilla / Yemin Moshe A small park below Jaffa Gate whose centrepiece is a computer-controlled fountain of 256 water jets and 1,800 light fittings that runs free sound-and-light shows several times a day. Children play in the jets between shows. Daytime shows run at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00 (water only); the 20:00 show adds lights and music. 
Israel Museum (Ruth Youth Wing) Museums & galleries · Givat Ram (Museum Row) The Israel Museum's wing for art education: changing exhibitions pitched at children, working art studios, a library of illustrated children's books and a recycling room. It sits inside the main campus and is covered by the museum ticket. It is inside the main campus, so you use the same entrance and ticket desk as the big museum. 
Tower of David Night Spectacular Historic sites & tours · Old City - Jaffa Gate A 40-minute sound-and-light show projected onto the walls of the Tower of David citadel, telling Jerusalem's story in images and music with no spoken language. Two versions run - the classic Night Spectacular and 'King David' - ticketed separately from the museum. No entry for latecomers - arrive at the box office at least 15 minutes early.