Some consider King David’s Tomb, on the holy site of Jerusalem’s Mount Zion, to be the burial place of King David of Israel, but whether he was actually buried there is debated. Regardless of the tomb’s existence, the place has deep significance for Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and many pilgrims journey to pay their respects each year.
Once a busy market street during the Roman and Byzantine Empire, the Cardo is a picturesque cobbled lane in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Byzantine-era ruins of the Cardo were part of a 6th-century colonnade. Another section has been renovated as a shopping street and is now lined with jewelry boutiques, antique shops, and art galleries.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City is a raised stone plateau that’s home to some of the most significant religious structures in the world, including the Dome of the Rock, the Al Aqsa Mosque, and the Western Wall. The Temple Mount covers a 35-acre area known as al-Haram al-Sharif, and is considered to be a sacred place in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
Just east of the Old City, the Mount of Olives is one of Jerusalem’s top scriptural sites—a major pilgrimage spot for Christians that was used as a Jewish cemetery for more than 3,000 years. The Acts of the Apostles describe the Mount of Olives as the place from where Jesus ascended to heaven.
For a slice of Jerusalem life in all its chaotic glory, look no further than Machane Yehuda Market, a bustling bazaar with a history dating back to Ottoman times. By day, shop fresh produce, pastries, flowers, and more; by night, enjoy the buzzing bar and restaurant scene. On Saturdays, the shutters reveal hundreds of vibrant murals.
The City of David National Park is known as the birthplace of Jerusalem, and it holds some of the oldest and most historically significant sites in Israel, predating the adjacent Old City of Jerusalem. Get swept back in time as you explore archeological exhibits, underground tunnels, and biblical sites dating back more than 3,000 years.
Renowned for its historical, religious, and architectural significance, the Church of St. Anne is recognized as the best-preserved Crusader church in Jerusalem and the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem near the Temple Mount, the fortress attracts religious pilgrims along with visitors intrigued by the building’s unique acoustics and adjacent Bethesda Pools.
The Western Wall Tunnels in Jerusalem offer a behind-the-scenes exploration of one of the most significant holy sites in Judaism: the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall or Kotel). An underground continuation of the sacred prayer site, the Western Wall Tunnels provide worshipers and visitors a unique perspective on the history of the ancient limestone wall.
The Gospel of John tells that Jesus healed a paralysed man at the Pool of Bethesda. Many Christians and some archaeologists believe these ancient baths, on the grounds of the 12th-century Church of St. Anne, are the biblical Bethesda pools. Topped by the remains of a Byzantine basilica, the ruins are atmospheric but no water remains.
During the sixteenth century the Ottoman Turkish sultan Suleiman rebuilt the Old City walls of Jerusalem and included six different gates into the Old City. Jaffa Gate (Bab al-Khalil) is one of the originals, named after its orientation, pointing toward the harbor of Jaffa in Tel Aviv. This gate on the western wall comprises the original dog-legged pedestrian tunnel leading into the Old City, as well as a car-friendly passage constructed in 1898 to allow German Kaiser Wilhelm II to ride into the city. As the main entrance into the Old City, the gate makes a perfect starting point for modern-day explorations. Just inside the gate sits a lively souk which leads into the Christian and Jewish quarters.
The smallest of the Old City’s four quarters in Jerusalem, the Armenian Quarter has roots dating back to the 4th century. That makes the tiny, 2,000-strong neighborhood the oldest Armenian diaspora in the world. Travelers come to soak up the old-world atmosphere and visit 12th-century landmarks such as St. Mark’s Chapel and the Cathedral of St. James.
Built in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock is one of the most famous Muslim shrines in the world. The iconic gilded wooden dome and ornate octagonal base marks the location where the Prophet Muhammad was believed to have ascended to heaven. Located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, the shrine is also home to the Foundation Stone and is an important holy site.
The Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery is one of the oldest and most significant burial grounds in all of Jerusalem. The more than 70,000 tombs that cover the hillsides at the base of the Mount of Olives create a dynamic visual that dates back more than 3,000 years and holds the remains of some of Judaism's most important historical figures.
Located just outside the gates of the Old City at the base of the Mount of Olives, this Eastern Orthodox-style church is believed by many Christians to contain the empty tomb of Mary, Jesus’s mother. Legend has it that Mary's body had disappeared when the tomb was opened because she had ascended to heaven—an event known in Christianity as the Assumption.
Atop Temple Mount, within Old Jerusalem’s al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, the al-Aqsa Mosque has the distinction of being the third-holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. Its name translates to “the farthest mosque,” in reference to the journey Muhammad made on his way to heaven to receive instructions from Allah.
Dominus Flevit Church is a small Franciscan church located halfway up the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. While the building only dates back to 1955, the site contains the ruins of a 5th-century Byzantine church and necropolis (you can still see the ancient structure’s mosaic floor and tombs.) The church is also known for its panoramic view overlooking the Temple Mount.
When Ottoman Turkish Sultan Suleiman was rebuilding the Old City walls of Jerusalem during the sixteenth century, the architects neglected to consider a Franciscan monastery just outside the walls. What is today the Zion Gate (Bab an-Nawi Dawud) was punched through the wall to provide the monastery access to the Old City. During the 1948 War of Independence the gate was the site of fierce fighting between Jordanians and Palmach forces; the facade still bears bullet holes. One of eight gates in the wall, Zion Gate is situated on the south side of the city, looking out toward Mount Zion. For modern day visitors, the gate serves as one of the primary entrances into the Jewish and Armenian quarters.
Located at the peak of the Mount of Olives, this panoramic landmark commemorates the spot where Christians believe that Jesus ascended to heaven after his death. The star attraction is an imprint in a stone slab considered to be the footprint of Jesus. The site also contains a centuries-old mosque built after the Crusader era and is regularly visited by pilgrims and tourists.
One of the nation’s top museums, the Israel Museum Jerusalem hosts thousands of exhibits spanning 5,000 years of history. Highlights include archaeological treasures, the Dead Sea Scrolls, four reconstructed synagogues, a huge scale model of Temple-era Jerusalem, and artworks by Claude Monet, Egon Schiele, Pablo Picasso, and more.
Despite the name, the Tower of David (Museum of the History of Jerusalem was actually built as a palace for Herod—and may even have been where Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death. Rebuilt over centuries, the citadel hosts Jerusalem history displays, jail cells used by Jewish freedom fighters, temporary exhibitions, and regular shows.
Walk the ancient stone waterway beneath Israel's ancient City of David, known as Hezekiah's Tunnel (Siloam Tunnel). It's been channeling water into Jerusalem for 2,000-plus years, and today provides a route through the city’s underground history. Expect a wet, caving-like experience thanks to a constant flow of water.
The main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem for more than 1,000 years, the Damascus Gate is also known as Bab al-Amud, Nablus Gate, St. Stephen’s Gate, and Sha’ar Shechem. A grand, Ottoman-era confection, shaped rather like a crown, today it marks the boundary between Palestinian East Jerusalem and Israeli West Jerusalem.
Home to a large Jewish Haredi (ultra-Orthodox, community), the lively yet cloistered neighborhood of Mea Shearim (Me’a She’arim) is a world of its own. With its winding streets, kosher shops and eateries, and traditionally-dressed inhabitants—skirts and stockings for the women and girls, black coats and fur hats for the men—the neighborhood feels like an Eastern European Shtetl where time has stood still.
Yad Vashem (World Holocaust Remembrance Center) in Jerusalem is the world’s most important Holocaust museum—a memorial to the 6 million Jewish lives lost. The complex comprises two museums, the Holocaust History Museum and an Art Museum, as well as an exhibition pavilion, learning center, and a synagogue. The centerpiece is the history museum, housed within a triangular prism-shaped structure running through the center of campus. Nine underground galleries recount the story of the Holocaust from a Jewish perspective through artifacts, survivor testimonies, personal possessions and audio-visual presentations. A visit to the museum ends in the Hall of Names, a place where the names and stories of millions of victims are recorded.
Underneath Jerusalem, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city’s crowded alleys and ancient attractions, there is more than a mile (2 kilometers of pathways where some of the most exciting archaeological finds of the ancient world have been uncovered. Take a trip underground and discover 2,000 years of history.
One of the most significant sites in Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter, the walled Church of St. James serves as the cathedral of the Armenian Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Georgians first built a church on the site — believed to be the location where St. James was beheaded — during the eleventh century. The structure was resorted by Armenians during the twelfth century. Besides its ties to the martyred disciple, the Church of St. James also houses the tomb of another James, the oldest brother of Jesus and the author of the Epistle of James, who was himself martyred in 62 AD. The church ranks among the most ornate houses of worship anywhere in the holy land, adorned with hanging lamps, gilded icons and colorful woven carpets. The courtyard of the church features a series of interesting carved stone crosses, called khatchkars.
The Room of the Last Supper—aka the Cenacle, based on the Latin word for dining room, Coenaculum—is a sacred religious site visited by many pilgrims each year. In the Christian tradition, believers say that in this very room, on the holy Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Jesus shared his last Passover supper with his apostles on the night before his death.
