Museums in Jerusalem
14 museums, from the national collection at the Israel Museum to a single room of Armenian ceramics, with opening hours and ticket prices on each card. Friday hours are short almost everywhere; both are set by each museum and change, so the museum's own site is the final word.
06:29 – From Darkness to Light, at the Museum of Tolerance JerusalemAn interactive exhibition at the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem about 7 October 2023, named for the minute that day began. In a darkened hall, life-size LED screens carry the testimonies of 35 women from across Israeli society — touch a screen and the speaker steps forward to meet you — alongside photographs by Ziv Koren, and at the end a lit room: the acts of kindness and mutual responsibility that followed. Created by documentary filmmakers Noam Shalev and Kobi Sitt, curated by Malki Shem Tov. Hebrew, English and Arabic.
Entry is by guided tour only: one ticket covers a tour of about 90 minutes through the museum's three current exhibitions. Ages 16 and up. The exhibition deals with sensitive subjects and includes photographs and testimonies that may be hard to watch.Hours: Guided tours during museum hours: Sun–Thu 9:30–18:00, Fri 9:30–14:00, closed Saturday. Entry by guided tour only, booked in advance.Tickets: 35–50 NIS for guided tour of three exhibitionsopen ShabbatThe L.A. Mayer Museum of Islamic ArtLocated near the neighborhoods of Talbiya, Kiryat Shmuel, and Old Katamon, this museum houses a remarkable collection of Islamic art spanning from Spain to India, including ceramics, jewelry, textiles, and Muslim artwork across the centuries. It's particularly renowned for its impressive collection of antique clocks, considered one of the three most important collections of its kind in the world, featuring works by the renowned clockmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet. Founded in 1974 by Vera Bryce Solomons in memory of Professor Leon Arie Mayer.Hours: Mon–Wed 10:00–15:00 · Thu 10:00–16:00 · Fri and Sat 10:00–14:00 · Sunday is not on the museum's list of hours, so check before you goTickets: Adult: 44 NIS; Senior citizen: 22 NIS; Child: 25 NIS; Jerusalemite card holder or person with disability: 35 NISfree3 discountsYad VashemIsrael's national Holocaust memorial authority, featuring a historical museum, memorial monuments (including the Hall of Remembrance and Children's Memorial), the Righteous Among the Nations Garden, and a research and documentation center. Admission is free but advance booking is recommended.Hours: Holocaust History Museum, November–March: Sun, Mon, Wed 09:00–16:00 · Tue 09:00–14:00 · Thu 09:00–18:00 · Fri and holiday eves 09:00–13:00. April–October: Sun, Wed 09:00–16:00 · Mon, Thu 09:00–19:00 · Tue 09:00–14:00 · Fri and holiday eves 09:00–13:00. Closed Saturday and Jewish holidays. Last entry to the museum one hour before closing. The Valley of the Communities and the Garden of the Righteous are temporarily closed.open Shabbat6 discountsTower of DavidThe Tower of David Museum sits in the citadel beside Jaffa Gate and tells the story of Jerusalem across more than 3,000 years. The permanent exhibition has ten galleries with interactive displays and archaeological finds, and the Phasael Tower lookout gives a 360-degree view of the city.
The entrance ticket covers the galleries, the lookout and the citadel courtyard. Two sound-and-light shows are projected on the citadel walls in the evenings, the Night Spectacular and the King David show. Each runs about 40 minutes, needs no language, and suits children from age three; a show ticket is ₪69 for an adult and ₪59 for a child.
The entrance is to the right of the plaza at the end of Mamilla Avenue, by the three red flags with the museum's name. The nearest car park is Karta. The museum is open on Shabbat.Hours: Sun 12:00–17:00 · Mon, Wed, Thu 09:00–17:00 · Tue 09:00–20:00 · Fri, Sat, holiday eves and holidays 09:00–15:00 · Ticket office closes one hour before closingTickets: Adult ₪55 · Child (5–18) ₪35 · Student ₪44 · Senior ₪286 discountsBible Lands MuseumAn archaeological museum showcasing the cultures of the ancient Near East and biblical world — Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, and the Land of Israel — through ancient artifacts. Located at the Museum Quarter.Hours: Sun, Mon, Tue, Thu 10:00–17:00 · Wed 10:00–21:00 · Fri 10:00–14:00 · Sat closedTickets: Regular ticket 44 ₪ · Jerusalem resident 33 ₪ · senior from abroad 35 ₪ · senior, student, child (5–18), new immigrant and disability card holder 22 ₪ · soldiers and national service freeKnesset MuseumThe Knesset Museum occupies Frumin House, home of Israel's parliament from 1950 to 1966 — the chamber where presidents and prime ministers were sworn in and the decisions that shaped the young state were taken. The visit is a sound-and-light journey through the building's own story.Hours: Scheduled tours, booked in advance through the ticketing site, where the calendar is kept up to dateTickets: 0-10 NISopen Shabbat6 discountsBloomfield Science MuseumAn interactive science museum featuring hundreds of hands-on exhibits for all ages, covering physics, light, space, and technology. A popular destination for families with children in Jerusalem.Hours: Closed Sun and Fri · Mon–Thu 10:00–18:00 · Sat 10:00–16:00Tickets: 65 ₪ · Jerusalem residents, soldiers, police, people with disabilities and students 52 ₪ · seniors 32.5 ₪ · under 5 free · family ticket 235 ₪Hebrew Music MuseumAt 10 Yoel Moshe Salomon Street in Nachalat Shiva, a museum of the instruments of Jewish communities around the world, presented through hands-on technology — you can hear and play as well as look. One of the most accessible museums here for a visitor without Hebrew.Hours: Sun–Thu 10:00–19:00 · Fri 10:00–14:00 · advance booking recommendedTickets: Adults 60 ₪, children and seniors 45 ₪, students 40 ₪, soldiers 32 ₪Museum of Tolerance JerusalemA cultural and educational institution built to advance mutual understanding and respect between people, faiths and cultures. It sits in the centre of town beside the Jerusalem Theatre and combines exhibitions with a programme of performances and public events.Hours: Sun–Thu 9:30–18:00 (last entry 16:30) · Fri 9:30–14:00 (last entry 13:00) · closed SaturdayTickets: Guided exhibition tour 75 ₪, reduced 35 ₪; some exhibitions are free7 discountsThe Friends of Zion MuseumThe Friends of Zion Museum occupies a stone building on Yosef Rivlin Street in Nachalat Shiva, in downtown Jerusalem, and tells the story of non-Jews who acted on behalf of the Jewish people and the founding of the State of Israel. Visits are by guided tour only: about an hour, booked in advance, through multimedia halls — the Hall of Visionaries, the Hall of Dreamers, the Hall of the Brave, the Promise Theater, Lights in the Darkness, the Land of the Promise and the Founders — plus the Prime Ministers' Holograms Exhibit. Most tours run in Hebrew or English, and the museum offers the tour in 16 languages in all. Arrive 15 minutes before your tour. The building also houses the Ambassador Institute, a communication centre and the Neil Folberg photography gallery.Hours: Guided tours only, booked in advance · Sun–Thu 10:00–16:30 · Fri 10:00–14:00 · Closed Saturday and Jewish holidaysTickets: 45 NIS · 35 NIS for student, child (3–18) and Jerusalem resident · 25 NIS for senior and disabled · 10 NIS for soldieropen Shabbat6 discountsIsrael MuseumIsrael's leading museum, featuring comprehensive collections of art, archaeology, and Judaica, including the famous Shrine of the Book.Hours: Sun closed · Mon, Wed, Thu 10:00–16:00 · Tue 16:00–20:00 · Fri 10:00–14:00 · Sat 10:00–16:00Tickets: Adult 62 ₪ · child (5–18) 31 ₪, free on Tuesdays and Saturdays · Jerusalem children free all week (ID with appendix)The Herodian Quarter — Wohl Archaeological MuseumAn underground complex where the homes of the wealthy priestly families of the Second Temple period were uncovered — mosaic floors, ritual baths, frescoes and stone vessels, six metres below today's street.Hours: Sun–Thu 09:00–17:00 · Fri by advance booking only (*4987) · last entry about 40 minutes before closingTickets: Included in the combined ticket for heritage sites in the QuarterU. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish ArtThe U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art sits at 25 Hillel Street in downtown Jerusalem, in a building put up by the German Catholic Society in 1886–1887. Its heart is the synagogue of Conegliano Veneto, a town about eighty kilometres north of Venice: the gilded, carved wooden ark and the furnishings around it were brought over whole from Italy in 1951. It is not only an exhibit — Jews of Italian origin still pray there on Friday, Shabbat and holidays, in the Italian (Roman) rite, one of the oldest Jewish liturgies. The collection holds close to 3,000 items from the Jewish communities of Italy: Hanukkah lamps, Torah finials and crowns, Esther scrolls, marriage contracts, textiles and letters by Herzl, among them the oldest Torah ark in Israel, from 1543, and a Torah curtain from 1572. On the ground floor a vaulted hall, painted in 1893 with biblical scenes and verses in six languages, hosts concerts and lectures. A visit takes in the synagogue and the painted hall, and guided tours are available in several languages. A few minutes' walk from the Jaffa Center light rail stop.Hours: Sun, Tue, Thu 10:30–16:30 · Closed Mon, Wed, Fri and SaturdayTickets: 30 NIS · 25 NIS for students · 15 NIS for children and seniors · Free for soldiers, national service volunteers, Israel Museums Association card holders, journalists and tour guidesopen ShabbatMardigian Museum of Armenian Art and CultureA museum on the history, art and culture of Jerusalem's Armenian community, located within the Armenian Patriarchate compound in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City. Reopened in November 2022 after years of closure for renovation, it displays historic manuscripts, jewelry, ceramics and coins.Hours: Tue–Sat 09:00–16:00 · closed Sunday and Monday
Common questions
Which museums in Jerusalem are open on Shabbat?
A minority, and it is worth checking each week. The Tower of David and several privately run museums open on Saturday; most nationally funded ones close from Friday afternoon. Yad Vashem is closed on Shabbat. Each museum below is marked where we hold the information.
How much does the Israel Museum cost?
Adult entry runs to a few tens of shekels, with reductions for students, seniors, children and people with disabilities. Prices change; the museum's own page is the final word and each listing here carries the date it was last checked.
Is Yad Vashem free?
Yes. Entry to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, is free. Allow at least three hours, and note that the Holocaust History Museum is not recommended for children under ten.
Which museum is best with children?
The Bloomfield Science Museum is built for them, and the Tower of David's night show and ramparts hold most ages. The Israel Museum has a dedicated youth wing. The Hebrew Music Museum works well for a visitor without Hebrew, because most of it is hands-on.
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