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 Ben Gurion Airport to Jerusalem: Train, Bus, Taxi and Arriving on Shabbat 4 min
- 02 Where to Stay in Jerusalem: Neighbourhoods for Every Kind of Visitor 3 min
- 03 How Much Does a Trip to Jerusalem Cost? A Realistic Daily Budget 3 min
- 04 The Old City and the Western Wall: A Practical Visitor's Guide 3 min
- 05 Getting Around Jerusalem: Light Rail, Buses and the Rav-Kav 4 min
- 06 The Jerusalem Light Rail: Lines, Key Stops, Hours, Fares and How to Pay 4 min
- 07 Shabbat in Jerusalem for Visitors: What's Open, Where to Eat and What to Do 3 min
- 08 Shabbat and Chagim in Jerusalem: What Closes, What Opens and How the Year Runs 4 min
- 09 Eating Out in Jerusalem: How to Choose, and Where to Start 4 min
- 10 Kashrut in Israel Explained: Rabbanut, Mehadrin, Badatz and What Matches the OU 8 min
- 11 Jerusalem Neighbourhoods for English-Speakers: Where to Live and Why 6 min
- 12 Is Jerusalem Safe? A Resident's Guide to Security, Sirens and Everyday Safety 4 min
- 13 Jerusalem Weather by Month: What to Expect and What to Pack 3 min
- 14 Jerusalem with Kids: Things to Do by Age, Rainy-Day Options and Tips 3 min
- 15 Jerusalem at Night and for Free: Evenings Out and Things That Cost Nothing 3 min
- 16 The Dead Sea from Jerusalem Without a Car: Buses, Tours and Which Beach 3 min
- 17 Holiday Apartment Rentals in Jerusalem: Sukkot, Pesach and a Shabbat Checklist 3 min
- 18 Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and Back: Train, Bus, Sherut and Shabbat 2 min
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
Gazelle Valley Park Parks & nature · Givat Mordechai / Katamonim A 260-dunam urban nature reserve in the middle of Jerusalem with a free-roaming herd of mountain gazelles, a lake, bird hides and a flat paved circuit. Entry is free and no booking is needed. No dogs are allowed anywhere in the park. 
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo Zoo & animal attractions · Malha Jerusalem's zoo, in a wooded valley below Malha, keeps animals named in the Bible alongside a wide international collection, spread around a lake and a hillside of large open enclosures. It is one of the few paid attractions in the city that stays open on Shabbat. Buy tickets online before Shabbat and holidays; the ticket office shuts two hours before the zoo. Abraham Tours Jerusalem Free Tour (Old City) Historic sites & tours · Old City - meets outside Jaffa Gate A daily two-hour tips-based walking tour of the Old City's four quarters in English, meeting in the plaza outside Jaffa Gate, with viewpoints over the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Guides are licensed by Israel's Ministry of Tourism. Reserve online - free tours fill up, especially in spring and autumn.