Machane Yehuda Market
A hundred years old, about 154 businesses deep, and the one place in Jerusalem where the whole city turns up in the same hour. This is what is in it, lane by lane, and when to come.
When to come
Friday morning for the full roar; Tuesday or Wednesday morning to actually move. Closed all Shabbat.
After dark
From about 20:00 the stalls shut and the bars open behind painted shutters.
Getting there
The light rail stops at Machane Yehuda on Jaffa Road, right at the entrance. Do not drive.
What is sold here
The lanes
The market has no street numbers anyone uses. It has lanes, and every one of them is named after a fruit or a nut — which is how a stallholder will direct you, and how our full listing is ordered.
- Machane Yehuda Street רחוב מחנה יהודהThe covered main lane — the busiest, and the one most people mean by 'the shuk'.28
- Etz HaChaim Street עץ החייםThe open parallel lane. Spice mountains, halva, and the loudest sellers.32
- HaEgoz (Walnut) Street רחוב האגוזOne of the narrow cross-lanes, named for a nut or fruit like all of them.9
- HaAfarsek (Peach) Street רחוב האפרסק10
- HaShezif (Plum) Street רחוב השזיף6
- HaTapuach (Apple) Street רחוב התפוח4
- HaEshkol (Grapefruit) Street רחוב האשכול5
- HaShaked (Almond) Street רחוב השקד5
- HaTut (Berry) Street רחוב התות4
The full list of businesses
All 154 are listed on the Hebrew page, grouped by lane and searchable. The names there are in Hebrew on purpose — that is what is written on the shutter in front of you. Open the full market listing →
Common questions
What are the opening hours of Machane Yehuda market?
Roughly Sunday to Thursday 8:00 to 19:00 or later, and Friday from early morning until about two hours before sunset, when the whole market closes for Shabbat. It reopens on Saturday night. Individual stalls set their own hours and they vary.
Is the market open on Shabbat?
No. The market shuts on Friday afternoon and stays closed all of Saturday. A handful of bars in and around the market reopen after Shabbat ends on Saturday night.
What should I eat at Machane Yehuda?
Fresh halva by the slab, rugelach from the bakeries, hummus, a kubbeh soup, stuffed vegetables, and the fruit — the market is where the country's produce is sold. In the evening the same lanes serve as a restaurant and bar district.
Is the market different at night?
Completely. From about 20:00 the stalls shut, the shutters come down, and the paintings on them — portraits of Jerusalem figures by the artist Solomon Souza — turn the market into an open-air gallery, with bars open behind them until late.
When is the busiest time?
Friday morning until about noon, when the whole city shops for Shabbat. It is the most alive the market gets and the hardest to move through. Tuesday and Wednesday mornings are the calmest.
The 10 bars in the market · Market food tours in English · What stays open on Shabbat · What's on today
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