Five museums to definitely visit in Jerusalem

All through history, Jerusalem has nearly always been at the heart of ideological or territorial combats. As the historic capital of the Jewish people, the city of Jerusalem has many museums so one can discover and understand the events that influenced the history of the country and the world.

I recommend that we concentrate on the five museums to definitely visit in Jerusalem that shouldn’t be missed in the capital of the Jewish state. They are all well adapted for and are fun for visits with children (except for Yad Vashem for young children- Editor’s note). Let’s go !

The Israel Museum top of the 5 museums in Jerusalem

The Israel Museum is no doubt the richest in the region’s history. It houses the famous Dead Sea scrolls, an immense model of Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple along with amazing archaeological and artistic collections…

It’s location isn’t just by chance: the museum is opposite the Knesset and near the Israeli Supreme Court as well as the Givat Ram campus of the prestigious Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

It’s founder was Teddy Kollek, the first mayor of reunified Jerusalem after the six Day War. It’s one of the leading museums in the Middle East! If you’re in Jerusalem in mid-July , you could attend the large wine festival which takes place every year at the Israel museum. Not many people know that two other sites are linked to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem: Ticho House and the Rockefeller Museum. I’d recommend that you go there to discover the treasures of all the Israel museum sites.

Yad Vashem : the Holocaust Museum

It would be difficult to visit Jerusalem without going to Yad Vashem, a museum- memorial retracing a dark part of the history of mankind and of the Jewish people in particular : the Holocaust. The museum is designed in such a way that visitors feel as if they travel back in time, in the “Shtetls” where young children coming out of a Heider (Jewish primary school in the shtetls) sing what would become years later the basis of the Israeli national anthem : L’Hatikva. The song of hope. Integral parts of concentration and extermination camps have been transported to the museum along with the paving stones from a street in the Warsaw Ghetto.

The interior has been adapted for visits with children, it’s recommended to visit with a museum guide. Not many visitors know that the museum has a large, very impressive outdoor area made up of : the garden of the Just, the children’s memorial, the valley of the destroyed communities, the memory hall and several others.

Its location too is significant: it’s at the foot of Mount Herzl, the mount where Israeli fighters and soldiers, ministers and prime ministers are buried.. Called after Herzl , reviver of the Zionist movement whose dearest wish was to one day see the existence of the State of Israel and to save the Jewish people from injustice  and burning antisemitism. His dream became reality some decades after his death.

The Herzl Museum

This museum is named after the spokesman for the Zionist movement of which he was the “reviver” in Europe. Following time in Paris, where he wrote an article about the Dreyfus Affair, Theodore Herzl ( a secular Jew from vienna ), foretold a catastrophe for the Jewish people.

From that moment on he started writing what would become the “Jewish State” (Altneuland then Judenstaat). This fun museum will answer your questions about the appearance of Zionism in Europe, its importance for the Jewish people in the creation of the State of Israel and will also explain who Theodore Herzl was. The visit is divided into several stages. From room to room, everything is done to arouse your curiosity and keep your attention. Very good for children. A definite one to visit!

The Herzl museum is at the main entrance to the Mount that is named after it. It’s also a cemetery for soldiers who protect the country and also the country’s great leaders like Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin and Golda Meir (Theodore Hrezl’s tomb is at the summit). Accompanied by a guide, you can follow the history of the creation of the country from the first ideas to its conception, to its birth and growth … right up to the present. On the way you’ll “meet” Hannah Senesh, Yoni Netanyahou and many others….

David’s Citadel / Tower of David

Once you enter the old city of Jerusalem through the imposing Jaffa Gate, you can’t miss the deep moats and fortifications of David’s Citadel!

Constructed in the 2nd century firstly by the Hasmoneens and then fortified by King Herod, it is situated in the north-west sector of the Armenian quarter in the old city. Even though it is called after the famous King David, it has no link to the citadel that was built a thousand years later. Why go there and when is the best time to go?  It’s simple, since this citadel was built it has been coveted by the successive empires that have conquered the country: so it has been destroyed and rebuilt many times.

Now, as you walk inside the ramparts, you can have fun, young and old,  as you follow stone by stone and structure by structure, the history of the city of Jerusalem and its region, Judea. Interactive visits with sound and lights are often organised by night. From its main tower. You can see one of the most beautiful views of the old city of Jerusalem.

Ammunition Hill

Ammunition Hill is a “living museum”, which played an important part in the history of the country and of the city of Jerusalem  in particular. When you arrive, you’ll find yourself in a system of trenches and bunkers with old Israeli tanks displayed in the middle of the land as if the had just been abandoned there.. and at the end there are structures with bullet holes in them and also a commemoration area.

This hill, Givat Hatahmoshet is the symbol of the victory of the Six Days War and also a place to commemorate the soldiers, who fell in battle. We highly recommend that you visit the site with a guide, who will bring this miraculous victory to life.

Once you’ve finished looking around, there is a short film, in the language of your choice, showing ex-soldiers retelling the story of the Six Day War on Ammunition Hill to their grandchildren. A  visit to this museum, which is fun for children over the age of 9, is highly recommended.