Related Jerusalem Favorites Tips

Favorite thing: One of its many unique qualities is that Jerusalem almost completely shuts down on Shabbat. This is a time of incredible quiet, like nothing you can experience in any other major city, when the observant Jews head for the Western Wall, synagogues and family gatherings, and less observant Jews enjoy their one day off from work, spend the day with their families, relax and take in the breathtaking beauty of the city. A handful of restaurants stay open and people still roam the streets, but most activity ends mid-day Friday and doesn't pick up again until after dark on Saturday.İt can be difficult for non jewish foreigners...

Favorite thing: We reached the wall that separates Jerusalem fromPalestinian territories during our trip to Bethlem. The driver left us on the israelian side, we went through the wall and a palestinian guide were waiting for us on the other side as really a few palestinian are admitted to enter Jerusalem.

Fondest memory: Passing through the wall was definitly an experience, in all the american movies when you get out of a prison, before going outside there is a big space where you walk to reach the final gate, that is the best description that I could find to let friends understand how you feel: in prison.

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Fondest memory: The dome of the rock in Jerusalem is a sort of comet star, when you get lost you look for a high place where to search for it and you find the direction, well at least this happened to us, specially because it's easy to get lost in the huge suk. Al Aqsa mosque is the third holy place for muslim prayers in the world after Mecca and Medina, unfortunatly we could not visit it because it was only opened from 7.30 am to 10 am and there always was a huge que, so, we decided to skip it, though as I said, it's impossible to skip the dome, definitly one of the most popular subject for pictures in the world.
This and nothing else can be my fondest memory of Jerusalem.

Favorite thing: If you are still in the market for an expert guide, recommend you try Suzanne Pomeranz (suztours@gmail.com). My companion and I just finished a four day guided tour with her and it was great and reasonably priced. Let me know if you want more info.

Favorite thing: We recently completed a four day guided tour of Jerusalem and used the very capable services of Ms. Suzanne Pomeranz (suztours@gmail.com) to plan and do the tour. She is an American mother tongue but very experienced guide and we were very pleased with her service and work with us throughout the process. From before we arrived until we left, she orchestrated the entire trip from the smallest details to fully meeting our expectations for the trip. We found that whether we were seeking insight to a wide range of attractions or trying to better understand Israeli politics, Suzanne was knowledgeable, willing to go into any level of detail and to encourage us to work hard to take advantage of our limited time in the city. We highly recommend her to any group or couple seeking to cover the waterfront as much as possible even if limited on time on the ground.

Favorite thing: If you burned a hole in your pocket to get to Israel, here are a few suggestions for freebies around Jerusalem to keep your budget down:

1) Yad Vashem – Holocaust museum on Mt. Herzl
2) Rockefeller Museum – Archeology museum in East Jerusalem
3) Round-the-clock entertainment on Ben Yehuda Street
4) Knesset tours (8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) – Bring your passport; call 02-6753538 in advance)
5) Anna Ticho House on Harav Kook St. – Art exhibit and historic house (downtown Jerusalem)
6) Mormon University on Mt. Scopus: Free concerts & tour (call 02- 6265621 to reserve a seat)
7) Kikar Safra – Free tours of Jerusalem Municipality & scale model of Jerusalem, Kikar Safra, Jaffa Road
8) Jerusalem Theater – Free concerts every Monday at 5 p.m.
9) Guided city tours – Free, Hebrew and English, Saturday
mornings at 10 a.m. (prompt!), leaving from Kikar Safra (for more information, call 02-531460 or 106 - The tour is 3 hours.
10) Mahane Yehuda - Open market
11) Mea Shearim – Ultra-orthodox neighborhood (modest dress!)
12) Yellow Submarine - Free Jazz concerts on Tuesday nights, Talpiot industrial zone
13) Jerusalem Botanical Gardens - Only if you get there before 7:30 in the morning, before the guard comes.

Entrance to the Israel Museum is free on some holidays.

And of course, the Old City of Jerusalem is the biggest freebie of them all.

Favorite thing: Shabbat is the Jewish holy day. It begins approximately 1 hour before sundown on Friday and continues until about 1 + hour after sundown on Saturday.

In Jerusalem the Old City is open. You can certainly shop and eat there, visit the sites and forget Shabbat. You will need to walk or take a taxi to get there.

In the western part of the city most everything is closed. There are some restaurants open on Hillel and Agron streets. Hotels serve their visitors as usual, but even hotel shops are closed.

The Israel Museum is open on Shabbat, take a taxi to get there. The gift shop will probably be closed but I am not absolutely sure about that.

Taxi rates do increase on Shabbat, using the number 2 level of rates rather than the number 1 level as on weekdays.

Fondest memory: The peace and quiet of Shabbat

Favorite thing: Israel Discount Bank is one of Israel's leading financial groups.

The New Israeli Shekel / Sheqel is Israel’s currency. There are coins of 5, 10, 50 agorot (like cents), and 1, 5, 10, 20,50,100 & 200 shekels notes. The 200 Shekels notes are not easily traded, and one should try to avoid receiving them when exchanging money. Money can be exchanged at any of the street exchange bureaux, ATMs or any of Israel’s major banks.

When exchanging money at a bank, you will be charged a fixed exchange fee, and if you choose to use an exchange place on the street, you will not be charged for the transaction, but will receive a lower rate than the banks supply.

If you do choose to use the bank, try not to exchange money on Sundays. The reason is that while the Israeli banks are open on Sundays, there is no world currency trade on Sunday, and the banks charge a commission that is 10 times higher than on any other day of the week.

There are many ATMs around Israel that are all connected to European and American banking systems. When using an ATM, you will be charged by your credit card provider, as well as an ATM fee. Your credit card provider will also determine what the exchange rate is, and it will usually be the highest rate possible for that date.

Generally speaking, exchange places are always cheaper than the banks and ATMs, but if you choose to exchange money at a change spot, make sure to look at the rates of a few places before making your choice.

Some Israeli businesses will accept Travelers’ cheques, although most of them won’t. If you insist on using travelers’ cheques, This leaves you with the alternative of cashing them at any of the Israeli post offices, which are the only commission – free way to cash travelers cheques in Israel. Cash can also be sent to post office branches using Western Union services.