We visited Jerusalem as the starting point for a two week trip around Israel. We based ourselves here for four days, spending three days exploring the city and the fourth on a tour of Palestine. We had a great time in Jerusalem, except for the hotel, which is to be avoided. I have mentioned the hotel in my itinerary in the hope that others won’t make the same mistake we did and reserve a room in this stinky hell hole.
Note: We took this trip a few years ago. The British Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Israel. Check the website, or your own government’s travel advice, for up-to-date information before making travel plans.
How to get to Jerusalem
We flew to Ben Gurion Airport, which serves both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It’s quite a long way (around 33 miles) from Jerusalem. You can get there by taxi, shared mini bus (sherut) or bus. We opted for a sherut, which takes you to your accommodation, albeit by a circuitous route, but is is cheaper than a taxi.
Getting around Jerusalem
The walled, cobbled old town of Jerusalem is pedestrian. The bus system in Jerusalem is a bit complicated; there are separate Jewish and Arab buses. The attractions in the new town (Yad Vashem, the Israel Museum) can be reached by tram or Jewish bus. The Mount of Olives is reached by Arab Bus.
Where to Stay in Jerusalem
We stayed at The New Metropole Hotel, which is probably the worst place I’ve ever stayed. Most of the attractions are in the old town. Most hotels are in the new town. It’s a balance of convenience versus accommodation. We stayed at a cheap hotel right next to Damascus Gate. Very convenient, accommodation 0/10.
Jerusalem in 3 Days Itinerary
| Travel to Jerusalem Accommodation | |
| Day 1 | Damascus Gate Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Citadel Room of the Last Supper King David’s Tomb Church of the Dormition Church of St Peter in Gallicantu Via Dolorosa Dinner at Family Restaurant |
| Day 2 | Temple Mount Western Wall Cardo Maximus Yad Vashem Dinner at Moshiko Felafel |
| Day 3 | Israel Museum Mount of Olives: – Mosque of the Ascension – Dominus Flevit – Pater Noster – Garden of Gethsemene – Church of All Nations Shabbat at the Western Wall Dinner at Family Restaurant |
Travel to Jerusalem
The flight to Ben Gurion Airport was uneventful, despite the Cadbury’s special offers in Duty Free, meaning a plane full of people armed with Fruit & Nut. We arrived at the airport and tried to follow signs to the Jerusalem bus without success. We gave up and took a shared taxi (sherut). Our fellow passengers included a family who lived not particularly on the way to Jerusalem, but we made it eventually, but a somewhat circuitous route.
Accommodation
We were dropped at the Metropole Hotel, which was unfortunate, as we were staying at the New Metropole Hotel. Luckily, it was only a few doors away from our hotel, and we traipsed up the hill and checked in.
Our hotel was in the predominantly Arab area of East Jerusalem. It had seen better days. The biggest issue was the leak from the upstairs toilet through our bedroom ceiling. We called the manager. He said if we didn’t like it, we should check into a more expensive hotel. We googled alternative hotels, all very expensive, and decided to lump it. After some experimentation, we came up with a bin/cushion combo. The bin caught the drips and the cushion muffled the dripping sound. It had been a long day, so it didn’t matter too much – we could have slept through pretty much anything.
Jerusalem Day 1
Following a very good breakfast at the hotel (much to our surprise), it was time to explore Old Jerusalem, a place which just oozes history.
Damascus Gate
We entered through Damascus Gate, part police checkpoint, part time warp.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
First stop, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where Jesus was crucified.
Fact: pilgrims are mental. I’m not sure if they start off this way or some sort of mass hysteria takes over, but it adds an extra element of entertainment to a trip to the Holy Land. Inside the door is the Stone of Anointing, where Jesus was prepared for burial. The stone dates from 1810, so a leap of faith is required, but there was a scrum of people desperate to kiss it and rub it with an oily rag to extract some stone juice (hence the need to replace the original which was evidently all juiced out).
The Citadel
Next, The Citadel; King Herod’s palace. Great views across the city and an eclectic array of artefacts. My favourite; a diorama showing Muslims chasing Christians out of Jerusalem and vice versa.
The Room of the Last Supper
On to the Room of the Last Supper – one word – bonkers. The Holy Spirit is said to be present here. We followed a group of Kenyan pilgrims. Immediately, the entire group were hit by the Holy Spirit; lots of shouting (in tongues – obviously) and crying. Cue a group of Korean pilgrims. They wanted some Holy Spirit too, so set about touching the Kenyans. Lots more shouting and crying.
King David’s Tomb
Meanwhile, downstairs is King David’s Tomb. The tomb has separate entrances for men and women, which means the iconic king has essentially been cut in half. We split up to visit separate ends, not sure which end I got.
Church of the Dormition
Next stop, the Church of the Dormition, which marks where Jesus’ mother Mary died.
More pilgrim madness; a sing-off between rival pilgrim groups. A bit like a surreal remake of Step Up.
Church of St Peter in Gallicantu
Onwards to the Church of St Peter in Gallicantu, built where Peter denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed, hence the proliferation of cocks.
My guide book said the grave of Oskar Schindler is also nearby, but despite an extensive search, we failed to find it and finally gave up.
Via Dolorosa
Time to tackle the Via Dolorosa – the route Jesus walked with his cross. Each of the 14 stations is marked with a plaque, so it’s easy to follow (that and the thousands of people following the same route through what is essentially a maze). After 9 stations, we decided we were all cultured out and stopped for a beer.
Dinner at Family Restaurant
We had dinner, a mezze including great hummus at the excellent Family Restaurant. I didn’t know I liked hummus, having only had it in plastic tubs from the supermarket, but freshly prepared it’s a whole different dish.
Then we walked back to the hotel (moved to a dry room – yay!) through the old city which, although bustling during the day, really comes to life at night with the market in full swing. Props to the spice seller who used his product to build a spicy Dome of the Rock.
Jerusalem Day 2
Yesterday Christianity – today Islam and Judaism.
Temple Mount
We started with Temple Mount, location of the Al Aqsa Mosque, where Mohammed ascended to heaven, and the Dome of the Rock. The queue was massive, and entry was complicated by the fact that the old man was carrying contraband (a tablet) but we made it in eventually.
The Dome of the Rock looked spectacular, shining in the morning sun. And there was a great view across Jerusalem. But there wasn’t much else to do, as non-Muslims aren’t allowed in any of the buildings, so we descended.
The Western Wall
Back at the bottom, the Western Wall, remnant of the original temple in Jerusalem. Again, we had to enter separately. The Ladies’ section was quiet and demure. It was a lot more lively the other side of the fence, where there appeared to be a Jewish version of the Conga in progress.
Cardo Maximus
Time to venture further afield. We exited the old city through the Cardo Maximus; the original Roman high street, still in incredible condition for for a two thousand year old structure.
Yad Vashem
We took a tram to Yad Vashem, a huge site containing the Holocaust History Museum and various memorials to the victims of the Holocaust.
Apart from the museum, key points are the Hall of Names (a hall containing names and personal details of millions of Holocaust victims) and the Children’s Memorial (an underground room where images of some of the 1.5 million child victims of the Holocaust are displayed in the darkness).
Yad Vashem is open daily except Saturday from 9 am until 4 pm (1 pm on Friday). With late opening (7.30 pm) on Monday and Thursday. Entry is free, but reservations must be made in advance.
Dinner at Moshiko Falafel
Before we returned to our hotel, we stopped for dinner – more hummus – at Moshiko Falafel, which was very tasty.
Jerusalem Day 3
Israel Museum
First up this morning, Israel Museum, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls and a large sculpture garden (I have a confession – I have a sculpture fetish). Bus No 66 takes you across town to Israel Museum/Wise. We set off up the hill to the nearest Jewish bus stop. We thought we’d located it; a sign and a bench and some bins (quite a lot of bins with hindsight), but the bus sped past us and stopped 100 metres further up the road. We were sitting at a recycling centre. Second time lucky, we caught the bus to the museum. Upon arrival, we discovered an added bonus; an exhibition by the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Each piece was accompanied by a detailed description of the thought process behind it. A fun game – look at the ark work and try to guess its meaning; a prize for the person who is closest.
Dead Sea Scrolls
We made our exit through the excellent Sculpture Garden, and on to the pièce de résistance; the Shrine of the Book, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It turned out, the scrolls on display were in fact replicas. Nevertheless, there was a fierce security guard chasing away would-be photographers. It was a challenge I couldn’t resist – I waited until he had chased someone through 180 degrees and struck.
The return bus trip took forever; it was Friday afternoon, almost Sabbath and everyone was rushing to travel/shop/eat before sundown i.e. not rushing at all as the traffic was gridlocked.
Mount of Olives
Having mastered Jewish buses, it was off to the Arab Bus Station (Sultan Sulliman Terminal) for a bus to the Mount of Olives. This time we had a different problem: We are British, we don’t know how to not queue. Bus No 255 will take you up the Mount of Olives to Chapel of the Ascension. The bus was already there, but full, so we had to wait for the next one. When it arrived, we were at the front of the queue. By the time it was full, we were second from the front. I’m not sure how this happened but it was obviously an epic fail. We waited for a third bus, determined to adapt our boarding technique but without success until an elderly gentleman intervened and said something to his fellow travellers which caused them to take pity on us and let us onto the bus.
The Mount of Olives, besides offering spectacular views across Jerusalem, is where Jesus spent his final days. I’m not particularly religious, but went to Sunday School as a child. So it was interesting to see places which featured in the stories I was told. Basically, any site mentioned in the Bible, now has a church on it.
Mosque of the Ascension
However, we started our visit with a mosque; the Mosque of the Ascension, where there is a stone allegedly containing Jesus’ footprint made as he ascended from heaven. While we stood wondering how on earth it looked anything like a footstep, pilgrims threw themselves at it, showering it with kisses.
Dominus Flevit
We worked our way down the mountain, past a selection of churches; first, Dominus Flevit, where Jesus Wept, as told in the shortest verse in the Bible, in reaction to the death of his friend Lazarus. Here, there now stands a church in the shape of a teardrop.
Pater Noster
Next, Pater Noster, where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer. Here, a courtyard is lined with the words of the Lord’s Prayer in every language spoken by Christians around the world.
Garden of Gethsemene
Finally, the Garden of Gethsemene. Here, little has changed since Jesus’ time. Some of the olive trees are over a thousand years old so there is a (admittedly slight) possibility that they were there at the same time as Jesus (cue more pilgrim kissing and the like).
Church of All Nations
Next door is the Church of All Nations. Here, you can see a rock where Jesus is believed to pray the day before he died. This completed our Mount of Olives church extravaganza.
Shabbat at the Western Wall
We headed back through the old city, planning to purchase food and beer en route to the hotel. There was a party atmosphere with many thousands of Jews heading to the Western Wall to celebrate the start of Shabbat. We stopped to watch a while. We reached the supermarket just after sundown. Rookie error; it was, of course, shut.
Dinner at Family Restaurant
Consolation – another trip to the excellent Family Restaurant for more of their amazing hummus.
Then back to the hotel for an early night ready for our trip to Palestine in the morning. You can read about our day trip to the Palestinian West back here.
- Trip taken: October 2017
- Updated: June 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For guides to more destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full list of Independent Travel Itineraries here.
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