Jerusalem Travel Blog

A surprising number of Jerusalem hotels have restaurants worth visiting, even if you’re not a guest there. One or two, like the Kohinoor Indian restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, or Scala across town at the David Citadel Hotel are specialty destination restaurants worthy of attention. The Kohinoor...

Everyone knows all about Jerusalem’s multitude of holy sites; historical places and interesting museums, but few people know that less than an hour’s drive away, visitors can enjoy a relaxing day touring boutique wineries and goat cheese farms set in scenery that rivals that of Provence or...

Jerusalem has a number of restaurants scattered throughout the city that fit the ‘romantic’ category.  That means they’re small; quiet with discreet service; have a to-die-for view or a secluded, exotic location and a menu that includes some luscious foods and heady wine that will...

Dessert in Israel at this time of year means sufganiyot--loosely translated as donuts, but in fact the fried goodies that come packed with all manner of yummy fillings bear little resemblance to American donuts. The delicious balls of calories are prepared in honor of Chanukah, when it’s traditional...

Jerusalem shows itself off best via its neighborhoods, and the best places to take visitors for dinner are those that showcase the varied architecture and cuisine of the city. Take the Rooftop Restaurant of the Mamilla Hotel, for example.  No doubt your visitors will have spent a good portion of their...

Yes, Tel Aviv is on the coast and Jerusalem is inland in the Judean hills far from the water, but that doesn’t mean that you should only expect to eat great seafood in Tel Aviv. If we’re talking about seafood in Israel, however, take into consideration that kosher restaurants won’t...

More than 50,000 Jews came to the Western Wall for the Blessing of the Priests last Thursday. Tens of thousands of Christians mobbed the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Via Dolorosa during Easter celebrations — but now the festivities are drawing to a close, as the Passover holiday ends on...

OK–everyone knows Valentine’s Day is named for St. Valentine–not exactly a Jewish sounding holiday.  There is actually a Jewish Valentine’s Day-like holiday in the Hebrew month of Av, that falls in the middle of summer, but since the rest of the world is celebrating Valentine’s...

The McDonald’s fast food chain introduced it’s new product geared to Israeli tastes a few days ago–known as the McFalafel, the meal consists of felafel balls, Israeli salad and techina, wrapped in an Iraqi pita and costs 10NIS (about $2.85) for the 3-felafel sandwich and 16.90 (about...

The Jewish New Year is celebrated in the early fall, so Israelis don’t really use the term New Year for the day that marks the beginning of the secular year.  Ironically, we join with Germany and many northern European and Scandinavian countries in calling the day Sylvester–after St. Sylvester. This...