Mini Israel - See it all - in miniature !

Mini Israel is the “Showcase of Israel.” Exhibited are hundreds of amazingly accurate models, at a scale of 1:25, of the most important architectural, historic, archeological, religious and social sites as well as buildings of importance to all religions and cultures inhabiting the country. The 25,000 miniature 'Israelis' in the models are all 7cm in height !!
Since its opening in 2002, Mini Israel has become one of the most popular tourist attractions, primarily due to its ideal location (halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, just 15 minutes from the airport), and also because tourists of all ages, denominations and communities find their most beloved and cherished sites and buildings presented “at eye level.”
Exhibits are periodically updated and renewed, and therefore each visit ensures a new discovery of sites, scenes and attractions which were not previously there.
Mini Israel is located in the Latrun region, near the Armored Corps Memorial and the Trappist Monastery.
The exhibit extends over an area of about 35,000 square meters (7.5 Acres) and offers its guests:
A Visitors Center with a food court, a souvenir shop, a miniature tree (bonsai) nursery and a meeting hall where a movie telling the story of the establishment of the site is screened.

Opening Hours: November-March 10:00-18:00
April 10:00-20:00
May-June 10:00-21:00
July-August 10:00-22:00
September-October 10:00-20:00
Friday 10:00-14:00
Tel.08-9130000

The New Holocaust History Museum

The new Holocaust History Museum at Yad Vashem is four times the size of the original historical museum it replaced. The new museum spans some 4,200 square meters.
Throughout the new museum an emphasis has been placed on presenting the history of the Holocaust from a human perspective - featuring approximately 90 personal stories from the point of view of the Jews
The new museum makes revolutionary use of multimedia presentation to present the historical narrative together with the personal stories. There are two presentations of video art - the 'Jewish World' before the Holocaust by Michal Rovner at the beginning of the museum, and the 'Epilogue' by Uri Tzaig.
Over 600 photographs of victims and fragments of Pages of Testimony are featured in the new Hall of Names.

Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday 9:00 - 17:00, entrance permitted until 16:00. Fridays and Holiday Eves 9:00 - 14:00, entrance permitted until 13:00. Closed on Saturday and all Jewish Holidays 02-644-3400 , 02-644-3443

 David's Citadel Museum ( Tower of David)

Set in the magnificently restored ancient Citadel first constructed 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great, the Tower of David Museum traces Jerusalem's long and eventful history through state-of-the-art displays and exhibits utilizing the most advanced technologies.
Canaanites and Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, Crusaders, Muslims, Turks, British, and Israelis are richly presented and seek harmony within the age-old walls.
The panoramic route along the Citadel towers with its most breathtaking views of the city and the lush archaelogical gardens, all add to an experience you will cherish.

Opening Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:00 and 12:00 noon, special stories about Jerusalem at the time of the Middle ages. Guided tours in English - Monday - Friday 11:00. Museum open - Monday - Wednesday 10:00 - 16:00, Thursday 10:00 - 20:00, Friday and Saturday - 10:00 - 14:00. Jaffa Gate. Tel - 02-6265333

The Tunnels of Time in the Ophel Park

The Archaeological Park of Jerusalem is located at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount and exhibits the most exciting remnants found in Jerusalem from the Second Temple Period. Above Herodian Street, next to the parking lot, a pile of enormous stones commemorates the destruction of the Second Temple.
Above the road stands the Robinson Arch, named after the famous researcher Edward Robinson, who first discovered it in 1852.
Impressive structures of the Hasmonean and Byzantine periods include ruins of the palaces from the first Islamic period, the ancient City of David, and the mighty towers built by the powerful Sultans.
A new mini-museum called the Wolfson Tunnel displays ruins from the Second Temple Period, the Late Roman Period, the Byzantine Period, the Ancient Islamic Period and more.
The impressive lobby prepares the visitor for the unique three-dimensional visual experience displayed at the Davidson Visitor’s Center.
Descending the ramps of the different ancient periods provides a journey through two thousand years of history.
The most impressive exhibit is the interactive-virtual model of the Temple Mount, activated by a super-computer, which illustrates the Second Temple Period. This film documents 150 years of the Temple Mount area’s excavation and uses the most modern animation to depict the Pilgrimage to the Temple.
After your experience at the Archeological Park, the walls of Jerusalem will never look the same.

Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem

The only museum in the world displaying the history of the biblical period in the various lands of the Bible.
The Museum is a center for cultural and educational programming. The museum has produced numerous outstanding special exhibitions such as ''The Jewish Presence in Ancient Rome'' which marked the first cultural exchange between the Vatican and State of Israel following the opening of diplomatic relations. And, in 1996 the Museum presented ''Jerusalem – A Capital For All Times; Royal Cities of the Biblical World'' as the primary exhibition for the Jerusalem 3,000 celebrations, and brought record breaking crowds into the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna as the first stop on its international tour.

Opening Hours: Daily guided tours for adults Sun - Fri: English - 10:15, Hebrew - 11:00,
plus Wednesdays: English - 17:30, Hebrew -18:00. Groups by advance reservation.
Sun. Mon. Tues. Thurs. 09:30-17:30 Wed. 9:30-21:30
Fri.Holidays eves 09:30-14:00
02-5611066 , 02-5638228

Herzl Tomb and the Herzl Museum

The Herzl Museum is located on Mt. Herzl in Jerusalem, beside the graves of the leaders of the nation.
The museum, which was founded in 1960, a century after the birth of Theodor Herzl, has been renovated and updated, and now uses state-of-the-art simulations to take the visitor back in time to the various periods in Herzl's life.
Another section of the museum presents a re-creation of Herzl's study with some of the actual furnishings and papers it contained.
Tel: (02) 643-3266

Opening Hours: Sunday - Thursday: 8:45 - 15:15
Friday: 8:45 - 12:15

Bloomfield Science Museum

Recommended for children and youth; also enjoyable for adults.
It is a new and modern museum with innovative and sophisticated exhibits that illustrate different scientific areas.

Opening Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10:00 - 18:00. Saturday 10:00 - 15:00.
Closed on Sunday and Friday. Tel: 02-5618128

Tisch Family Biblical Zoo

An imaginatively landscaped zoo on 62 acres built among mountains and surrounded by stunning views. A central lake surrounds monkey islands. Visitors can view a wide range of animals in spacious enclosures without bars, including species mentioned in the Bible and rare or endangered species. Small animals from desert to rainforest, a huge aviary, Bibleland Wildlife Preserve, and African and South American enclosures. New attractions : beautiful penguin exhibit, computerized Visitors Center in Noah's Ark, beautiful Lemur land and fascinating Birdwatchers Route. For children: Zoo train (not on Saturday and public holidays), children's zoo, ecological maze and large playground

Opening Hours: Open Sunday - Thursday 09:00 - 19:30, Friday 09:00 - 16:30, Saturday 10:00 - 18:00. Near Malcha Mall.
Tel - 02-6750130, 6750125, 6750111

The Jerusalem Botanical Garden

The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens comprises more than six thousand plant species, which were brought to Israel from all over the world and are being preserved for the benefit and enjoyment of the public. The plants are displayed in six sections, each designed to create a miniature landscape of the region of origin of the plants. The Gardens also boasts a tropical greenhouse in the name of Florence Dvorsky, which contains a wide variety of plants from tropical regions. The University Botanical Gardens operates enrichment programs for school children - from kindergarten to secondary school - on numerous and diverse subjects dealing with nature and preservation of the environment.

Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday 09:00 -17:00, Saturdays 10:00 - 17:00, 02-6794012

Museum of Islamic art

The museum was opened in memory of Prof. L.A. Mayer, an important Islamic art and archeology scholar. The museum represents a culture that has been forming for over one thousand years and has spread over several continents. The display includes miniature artware made from clay, glass, wood, ivory and also metalware, jewelry, caligraphy and miniatures.
The display is set in a didactic order, allowing one to follow the evolution of Islamic art from its start to the 19th century.
2 Ha-Palmach St

Opening Hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10:00 - 15:00. Tuesday 10:00 -18:00. Friday, Saturday, holiday eves and holidays 10:00 - 14:00
02-5661292 , 02-5619802

Jerusalem Mall - Malcha

Opening Hours:
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, at 18:00, performances and workshops especially for children. Tel - 02-6791333

S.Y. Agnon House

 This is the two-story house where Nobel prize-winning author S.Y. Agnon resided.
On the ground floor, the living room has been preserved.
Its character teaches us about the modesty and simplicity that typified Agnon’s family life. The other rooms in the house feature exhibits of photographs, paintings, and other items.
Agnon’s study, with its extensive and unique library containing thousands of books, is on the second floor. Various items that belonged to Agnon are also exhibited here, including the typewriter on which his wife Esther typed his stories from his handwriting.
The room beside the library contains, among other things, Agnon’s Nobel Prize and Israel Prize certificates. Study days, lectures, and workshops are held in the reading room, and tours in Jerusalem on the theme of Agnon and his works are organized.
Address: 16 Klausner, Talpiot, Jerusalem Tel. (02) 671-6498

Opening Hours: Summer hours until August 27th 2010
Sunday – Thursday 9:00 -16:00, Friday 9:00 -12:00

Museum of Italian Jewish Art

Housed in the former Schmidt Compound's building in the heart of Jerusalem, the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art is one of Jerusalems most precious possessions.
Founded in 1981, it was set up to collect, preserve and display objects pertaining to Jewish life in Italy from the Middle Ages through the present. In addition to the permanent collection, a number of temporary exhibits are held throughout the year covering a wide range of topics related to Italian Jewry, as well as conferences, concerts and guided tours suitable for all ages and interests.
In the past few years, thanks to extensive media coverage and hard work, the number of visitors has grown steadily. The museum’s opening hours were increased accordingly. An average of forty thousand people now visit the Museum each year. Approximately ten thousand of these are pupils; the others come in organized groups both from Israel and abroad.

Opening Hours: Sun, Tue, Wed: 9am-5pm Mon: 9am-2pm Thurs, Fri: 9am-1pm Closed on Shabbat and Jewish Holidays 02-6241610

Time Elevator

Journey through an exciting presentation of 3000 years of Jerusalem's history. Beit Agron, 37 Hillel St. Tel - 02-6348381

Jerusalem Light Rail

The Jerusalem Light Rail is a light rail line, the first of several rapid transit lines planned by Israel for Jerusalem.
Construction also involved building the Jerusalem Chords Bridge, a major city landmark, which reaches 130 m high, and renovating a number of central locations in the city.
The line is about 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) long with 23 stops. Extensions are planned for both ends of the route.
Additional places of interest along the JLR Route:
• Ammunition Hill & French Hill (Dan Jerusalem)
• Damascus & Jaffa Gates
• Jerusalem City Hall
• City Centre
• Mahane Yehuda Market
• Central Bus Station
• Mount Herzl

Opening Hours: Sund – Thurs: 05:30 – 00:00
Fri & Holidays: Custom scheduling according to holiday times.