The Old City of Jerusalem is a walled square kilometre containing sites central to three religions, and it has eight gates. Which one you use determines what you see first and how long it takes to get there, and for a visitor the practical answer is almost always Jaffa Gate, on the western wall, because it is the one that connects directly to the modern city.
Walk in through Jaffa Gate and you are at the top of the Armenian and Christian quarters, minutes from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Tower of David and the covered markets, with the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter a short walk down the hill. Every other approach involves either a longer walk or arriving at a part of the Old City you were not aiming for.
Why proximity to that gate is the whole booking decision
The Old City is closed to vehicles in most of its area and its streets are narrow, stepped and crowded. You will enter and leave it several times over a few days, usually on foot, sometimes in the heat.
The hotels that matter here sit in a crescent west of the walls, between Jaffa Gate and the modern centre: the Mamilla district immediately outside the gate, the King David Street area a few minutes further, and the German Colony further out again. From the closest of them the walk to Jaffa Gate is five minutes. From a hotel in the western suburbs it is a bus or a taxi each way, every day.
Jerusalem also sits at 750 metres and is genuinely cold in winter and cool at night in summer, which surprises people arriving from Tel Aviv an hour away.
The nine below are grouped by distance from the gate.
Mamilla, immediately outside Jaffa Gate
The closest position possible without being inside the walls, on a pedestrian street of restored stone buildings.
Mamilla Hotel sits at the top of the Mamilla promenade with a rooftop restaurant looking directly at the Old City walls and a five-minute walk to Jaffa Gate. It is the most convenient hotel in Jerusalem and the design is the most contemporary.
Mamilla Hotel
Mamilla, outside Jaffa Gate · 5★ · $$$$
Rooftop facing the walls, five minutes to the gate
Check availabilityThe David Citadel Jerusalem occupies the position opposite with a large pool, a spa and rooms facing the walls. It is the more traditional of the two and the better choice for families.
The David Citadel Jerusalem
Mamilla · 5★ · $$$$
Large pool and wall-facing rooms beside the gate
Check availabilityKing David Street
A few minutes further west, the historic hotel quarter, quiet and residential.
King David Hotel Jerusalem is the 1931 pink limestone building that is the most famous hotel in the country, with a garden looking across to the Old City walls and a lobby that has hosted most of the region's modern history. Ask for an Old City-facing room; the others look at the street.
King David Hotel Jerusalem
King David Street · 5★ · $$$$
1931 limestone landmark with a garden facing the walls
Check availabilityWaldorf Astoria Jerusalem occupies a modern building nearby with the largest rooms in the city, a good pool and a quieter, more residential feel. It is a ten-minute walk to Jaffa Gate.
Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem
Near King David Street · 5★ · $$$$
Largest rooms in the city, ten minutes to the gate
Check availabilityYMCA Three Arches Hotel sits on the same street in a 1933 building with three stone arches and a courtyard, designed by the architect of the Empire State Building. It is the most characterful mid-range stay in Jerusalem and it faces the famous hotel across the road.
YMCA Three Arches Hotel
King David Street · 4★ · $$
1933 landmark by the Empire State Building architect
Check availabilityHerbert Samuel Jerusalem occupies a position between King David Street and the centre with a rooftop pool and contemporary rooms, and it is the best value in this group.
Herbert Samuel Jerusalem
City centre · 5★ · $$$
Rooftop pool with the best value near the gate
Check availabilityThe German Colony and the centre
Fifteen to twenty minutes out, in the nineteenth-century Templer neighbourhood or the modern city centre.
The Inbal Jerusalem sits in the German Colony with a spa, a pool and the largest grounds of any hotel here. It is a walk or a short ride from the Old City and the quietest of the nine.
The Inbal Jerusalem
German Colony edge · 5★ · $$$
Largest grounds and the quietest nights here
Check availabilityOrient by Isrotel Exclusive occupies a restored building near the centre with a rooftop, small rooms and a personal operation. It is the value option with a short walk to Jaffa Gate.
Orient by Isrotel Exclusive
German Colony · 5★ · $$$
Restored Templer buildings with a pool and spa
Check availabilityEast Jerusalem
The American Colony Hotel - Small Luxury Hotels of the World occupies a nineteenth-century pasha's palace north of the Old City, built around a courtyard with a fountain, and it has been a hotel since the 1900s. It is the most atmospheric building on this list and it sits about fifteen minutes' walk from Damascus Gate rather than Jaffa Gate.
The American Colony Hotel - Small Luxury Hotels of the World
East Jerusalem · 5★ · $$$
A pasha's palace around a fountain courtyard
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus hotels are excluded. They have the view of the Old City that appears on every postcard, and reaching a gate from them means a taxi each way, every day.
What to do
Go into the Old City early. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre opens at dawn and the difference between seven and eleven in the morning is enormous.
The Tower of David museum explains the layers of the city better than any tour, and the ramparts walk along the walls gives you the geography in an hour.
The Israel Museum, west of the centre, holds the Dead Sea Scrolls and a model of the second-temple city that is worth seeing before you walk the Old City rather than after.
Yad Vashem needs a half day and no other plans afterwards.
Eat in Machane Yehuda market, which is a produce market by day and a bar and restaurant district by night, and one of the more remarkable transformations of any market anywhere.
Practical notes
Ben Gurion airport is around 45 minutes away, with a fast train to the city centre. Tel Aviv is under an hour by the same line.
Shabbat is observed strictly here from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening: most restaurants, shops and public transport stop. Plan food and movement in advance, which is a much bigger consideration than in Tel Aviv.
Modest dress is required at religious sites for all visitors. Spring and autumn are the best seasons; summer is hot and dry, winter is cold and occasionally snowy.
Conditions in the region can change; check your government's current travel advice and your insurer's position close to your departure date rather than relying on older information.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Jerusalem Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Should you stay inside the Old City?
There are very few options at this standard and the streets are difficult with luggage. Staying just outside Jaffa Gate gives you the same access with a normal hotel.
How many days does Jerusalem need?
Three, minimum, and four if you are visiting the major religious sites properly rather than passing through them.
Can you day trip from Tel Aviv?
You can, in under an hour, and it is the wrong way to see it. The Old City early in the morning and late in the day are the good hours and both require staying.
What about Shabbat?
Plan for it. Book restaurants that stay open, arrange transport in advance, and treat Saturday as a walking day.