Akko’s Top 10 Sites

Akko the beautiful and unique.

Akko the colorful, both in appearance and in glorious past and wonderful present.

Akko (Acre), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcomes you for a visit to its bustling alleys.

The city is by the sea, on a peninsula, and is surrounded by an ancient crusader wall hiding all the city’s wonders and secrets.

Akko has fascinating sites to tell its story, as well as culinary delights, art, and cultural treasures.

We’ve assembled the top 10 places you’d want to visit in the city, places to make your trip fascinating and complete.

Here are Akko’s top 10 sites:

1. The Knights’ Halls – Hospitaller Fortress

The Crusader Fortress, also known as the Hospitaller Fortress, is considered to be one of the most impressive fortresses in the world. It was built in the 12th century by Knights Hospitaller, a monastic order which aided pilgrims who came from Europe to The Land of Israel. Today, visitors can visit the fortress and its knights’ halls, discovered under Akko’s streets, and learn about life in the crusader city. For dozens of years, rare archeological treasures were found, telling the stories of pilgrims, crusader knights, and the people of Akko. You can stroll down a Crusader street where different craftsmen once worked, observe water systems built by the Crusaders to retain water for the people of the fortress and visit the main assembly hall or prison. A 4,000-year-old story unfolds inside the halls of the citadel. The museum has films projected on the walls that tell the story of the Crusades and offer vast historical information regarding the various eras.

Opening Hours:

Summer: Sunday to Thursday, Saturdays & Holidays from 8:30 am – 6 pm. Friday & Holiday Eves from 8:30 am – 5 pm

Winter: Sunday to Thursday, Saturdays & Holidays from 8:30 am – 5 pm. Friday & Holiday Eves from 8:30 am – 4 pm

Phone: 04-9956707

2. Templar Tunnel

The Templar Tunnel is a tunnel from the Crusader period (about 800 years ago). The tunnel was used by the Templar Order to transport goods from the Templar Palace to the city center without paying taxes.
The tunnel was discovered in 1994 by chance and is about 150 meters long. The tunnel has two entrances/exits — one after Khan of the Pillars
and the other near the Akko Lighthouse.
The tunnel is illuminated and along the way, there are exhibits that explain the time of the Crusaders.

Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday + Saturdays from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm (Last Entry 4:30 pm), Fridays from 9:30 am – 4 pm (Last Entry 3 pm)

Phone: 04-9956707

3. Treasures in the Walls Museum

The Treasures in the Wall Museum is located in the heart of the eastern wall of ancient Akko. The historical building that was once used by the Ottoman guard soldiers is divided into vaulted halls containing rare collectibles that reflect life in the Galilee from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. The objects shed light on the lifestyles of the inhabitants of ancient Akko and illustrate the Galilean folklore that drew its origins from the various peoples who lived and traded in the area during previous generations. The starting point for setting up the displays is the presentation of the person in the environment in which he lived and worked while referring to the similarity and uniqueness of the variety of religions and denominations that have existed in the Galilee in the last 200 years (Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouins, Circassians, and Baha’is).
Special emphasis was placed on the preservation of traditional handicrafts that are disappearing. One wing of the museum simulates a market from the 19th century that offers a trip to the Galilee a century ago. Various artisan shops are displayed such as a hatter on his original tools. In the second wing, dedicated to collectors and collections, there is a Damascus living room inlaid with seashells and a samovar with a dedication to Ahmed al-Jazar, old cabinets containing collections of lanterns, weights, sacred vessels of the three religions, and more.

Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday + Saturdays from 10 am – 5 pm, and Fridays from 10 am – 3 pm

Phone: 04-9911004

4. Akko Port

Akko’s first port was presumably located along the lower section of the Na’aman River. The port was first mentioned in Kambizes’ journey to conquer Egypt in 527-525 BC, during the course of which Akko boasted hundreds of ships carrying soldiers, horses and supplies. Many of the pilgrims arrived to Israel through the Port of Akko. Akko’s status grew, primarily after its conquest by the Crusaders in 1104, when the port became the main gate to the Land of Israel. You can walk along the Marina and enjoy the local scene.

5. Elmarsa Restaurant

A chef restaurant in Akko, combining European and local Akko cuisine. Chef Alaa likes to combine different cooking styles and play with flavors and inspirations. A great combination of local and European cuisines with fresh sea ingredients and raw materials. The restaurant, with its European furniture and white tablecloths, overlooks the city walls, blue sea, and fishing boats seen from its large windows

Opening Hours: Sunday to Saturday 12 pm – 11 pm

Phone: 04-9019281

6. Al-Pasha Hamam (Turkish Bath)

The Governor of Akko, Jazzar Pasha, built al-Pasha Hamam at the end of the 18th century. The Turkish bath’s construction was part of the transformation of Akko during the Ottoman Period from a small fishing village into a teeming port city and trade center. During his reign, al-Jazzar strove to develop the city in many and varied ways. Among his accomplishments are the aqueduct leading water to the city, the breakwater for safe docking at the port, and major buildings such as Khan al-Umdan – Akko’s largest mosque – his luxurious palace and, of course, the Turkish bath.

Opening Hours:

Sunday to Thursday, Saturdays & Holidays from 8:30 am – 6 pm. Friday & Holiday Eves from 9 am – 5 pm

Winter: Sunday to Thursday, Saturdays & Holidays from 9 am – 5 pm. Friday & Holiday Eves from 9 am – 4 pm

Phone: 04-9956707

7. Al-Jazzar Mosque

“A masterpiece of the Eastern world”, is how an amazed traveler passing through Akko in 1783 described the mosque. According to the Arabic inscription engraved above the entrance door, the mosque was founded in the year 1196 to the Hijra (Islamic calendar), the equivalent of 1781/82CE, at the beginning of Pasha Al-Jazzar’s rule over Akko. Wanting to commemorate himself, Al-Jazzar initiated, built, and was the architect and construction supervisor of this impressive and lavish structure named, of course, after him. The mosque – keeping with 18th-century Turkish architecture – was built as a large square hall with a big dome and tower on top. The front of the mosque features a wide courtyard surrounded by a colonnade of pillars and arches with 45 small rooms at their rear. Each gap created by the arches was covered with a small white dome creating a row of arches and domes giving the courtyard a charming, picturesque feel.

Opening Hours: Open during prayer times and activities.

Phone: 04-9913039

8. Ramchal (RAMHAL) Synagogue

The Synagogue is named after Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto known by his acronym, Ramhal, who lived in Akko from 1743 to 1747. It served Akko’s Jewish community from the 16th century to the 18th century and today it’s the only active synagogue in the Old City. The synagogue’s uniqueness raises controversy as to its past: some claim the synagogue (located at the edge of an ally on Fakhr A-Din Street, close to Al-Muallaq Mosque) was originally built where Al-Muallaq Mosque stands today, then in 1758 the Bedouin ruler Zahir al-Umar decided to turn the synagogue into a mosque, had the synagogue removed, and gave the Jews the current location where Ramchal Synagogue is found today. Ramchal Synagogue is missing two key elements characteristic of synagogues: It has no pulpit (Bimah) leading up to the Torah Ark and no women’s section for prayer.

Opening Hours: 

Sunday to Thursday 9:30 am – 5 pm, Last Entry at 4:30 pm

Fridays 9:30 am – 4 pm, Last Entry 3:30 pm

Closed Daily from 12 pm – 1:30 pm

Phone: 04-9956707

9. Ha-Shuk ha-Amami (Old Akko Market)

The somewhat indoor Akko Market in the Old City is considered the most colorful street in the city, built on the remains of the street that led from the Hospitallers Gate in the north of the city to the Crusader port area in Venice Square, the top of Main Market Street, is located in Chaim Farhi Square. The fish and the fish market until you reach Venice Square and the fishing port.

In the market, you can find everything that a good market can offer: fish and meat shops, spices, pastries and sweets, clothes, tapes, and CDs as well as small and promising restaurants, a colorful market with stalls for Pitchforks, oriental sweets, and original spice shops and not to forget the good juice stalls Serving a refreshing drink of pomegranates, oranges, lemons, and in some you can get cane juice in season.

The market is open all week from early morning until afternoon, around 5 pm some of the market traders start closing stalls and shops.

10. The Artists’ Quarter

Gallery Avenue is at the end of the popular market, just behind Khan al-Umdan. There you will find charming galleries of Galilean artists!

Click here for the full list of galleries.