A walled Crusader-and-Ottoman port on Israel's coast — subterranean knights' halls beneath a living Arab old town.
Fishing boats knocking against a stone sea wall, the green dome of a great mosque over the rooftops, and, a few steps down a lane, a vaulted Crusader hall that daylight has not touched in centuries.
A walled Mediterranean port with a Crusader city preserved almost intact beneath the streets. Acre stacks Crusader knights, Ottoman governors and a still-working Arab fishing harbour into one small, sea-girdled old town.
Acre — Akko in Hebrew, Akka in Arabic — sits on a small promontory on the Bay of Haifa in northern Israel, one of the oldest continuously inhabited ports on the Mediterranean. Its walled old town is the layered record of everyone who held it: the Crusaders built a great Hospitaller city here, which the later Ottoman town was raised directly on top of, sealing the medieval halls underground. The 18th-century governor Ahmed al-Jazzar ringed it with the ramparts that famously turned back Napoleon in 1799. Today it is a compact, mixed Arab and Jewish town you cover entirely on foot: the citadel and mosque at the centre, the souk between, and the harbour and sea walls wrapping the edge. The Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Acre is one of the few places where you walk a complete Crusader city — not a ruin, but vaulted halls, a refectory and a secret tunnel, preserved because the Ottomans built over rather than through them. Above ground, al-Jazzar's mosque, caravanserais and walls make it one of the best-kept Ottoman port towns anywhere. It is also a living Arab town with a real fishing harbour and a market famous across the country for its hummus and its knafeh — history and lunch in the same lane.
The city beneath the city — Acre's marvel is underground. Descend into the Hospitaller Fortress to walk the Crusaders' vaulted Knights' Halls, the huge refectory and the dungeons, then follow the Templars' Tunnel — a stone passage the knights cut from their quarter to the harbour — until it surfaces by the fishing boats. It is the most complete Crusader city you can enter anywhere. **Ottoman Acre above ground** — The town al-Jazzar built is nearly as well kept. Cross the courtyard of the green-domed Al-Jazzar Mosque, step into the pillared Khan al-Umdan caravanserai under its clocktower, and walk the ramparts that repelled Napoleon — the sea walls that make the whole old town feel like a fortress at the water's edge. **The market and the meal** — Acre eats seriously and cheaply. The old souk and the harbour are famous across Israel for hummus and for knafeh, the hot cheese-and-syrup dessert, and the fishing port supplies the seafood. Graze the market lanes, then eat fish by the boats — the town's real pleasure is as much lunch as it is history.
Acre neighbourhood by neighbourhood — the character of each and who it suits.
The centre of the old town, where the Crusader knights' city lies beneath the Ottoman citadel and the great mosque rises over the rooftops.
The covered market and the residential lanes threading between citadel and harbour — the working, everyday heart of the Arab old town.
The southern edge where the old town meets the sea — a still-working fishing port inside Ottoman sea walls, with the great caravanserai just behind.
Acre's food is Palestinian and Levantine, and the old town has a national reputation for two things above all: hummus, served warm and rich from the market counters, and knafeh, the hot semolina-and-cheese dessert soaked in syrup. Around them sits the wider table of grilled fish and seafood from the harbour, mezze, falafel and fresh flatbread. Eat in the souk lanes and by the boats rather than the tourist strips, and finish with knafeh and cardamom coffee.
Vegetarians and vegans do very well on the Levantine mezze table — hummus, salads, falafel, stuffed vegetables — though some hummus is enriched with meat toppings, so ask. Nearly all the old-town food is halal. Kosher options are fewer in the Arab old town than in the newer parts; dedicated gluten-free is limited — check ahead if it matters.
Acre is a day-trip for many, but staying overnight in the old town — where several courtyard houses have become guesthouses and boutique inns — lets you have the lanes to yourself after the coaches leave. Around the citadel and souk you are among the sights and the food. Near the harbour you trade a little bustle for the sea and the walls at your door. The newer town outside the walls has more standard hotels but none of the atmosphere.
Pan, zoom and compare live prices — every stay in one map.
We may earn a commission if you book through these links, at no extra cost to you. How we make money
The walled old town is entirely walkable and largely closed to through traffic — you cover it all on foot. Leave any car outside the walls; the lanes are for walking.
The citadel, souk and harbour are a few minutes' walk from one another (~approx), linked by the market lanes and the sea-wall promenade.
Ready-made day plans for Acre — from a single day to a long weekend.
Start at the Hospitaller Fortress for the underground Knights' Halls, then follow the Templars' Tunnel down toward the harbour. Cross to Al-Jazzar Mosque and the citadel, break for hummus in the souk, and spend the afternoon on the sea-wall promenade and at Khan al-Umdan, ending with fish and a knafeh by the fishing boats at sunset.
With a second day, slow right down: the Turkish bath and the smaller museums in the morning, a long graze through the market and the residential lanes, and — if it interests you — the Bahá'í shrine and gardens at Bahji just outside the walls, before a last evening on the harbour.
Skip-the-line tickets and small-group tours in Acre — compare across our partners.
We're still curating hand-picked tickets and tours for Acre. In the meantime, the map above and the nearby cities are a great place to start.
April to June and September to November — warm and dry
What to expect — Warm, dry and green, the sea warming and the old town comfortable to walk — one of the best windows before the summer heat.
What's best — Ideal walking weather for the walls and lanes, and lighter crowds than high summer.
What to expect — Hot and humid on the coast, with the busiest day-tripper crowds; the sea-wall breeze helps and the harbour eateries are in full swing.
What's best — Long evenings by the harbour, swimming off the coast nearby, and the market at its liveliest. If the heat and crowds put you off, come in spring or autumn.
What to expect — A second mild, dry window as the humidity drops — sea still swimmable, days clear.
What's best — Warm water without the summer crush and comfortable weather for the underground sites and walls.
What to expect — Mild but the wet season, with spells of rain and cooler, greyer days; the town empties of visitors.
What's best — The old town at its quietest and most local, dramatic sea over the walls, and warm mosque and museum interiors.
Check your own government's current travel advice for Israel before planning — the wider region can be volatile and guidance changes; this guide does not assess present-day safety.
Entry and security procedures change — confirm current requirements before travelling.
Skip the tourist-menu restaurants at the harbour entrance → eat hummus in the souk and fish by the working boats for better food at lower prices.
Skip trying to see Acre from outside the walls → the whole point is the underground Crusader city and the lanes, which only reveal themselves on foot inside.
Al-Jazzar Mosque is an active place of worship — dress modestly, cover shoulders and legs, and mind prayer times.
The old town is a lived-in residential quarter as much as a sight; keep noise down in the alleys.
Cards work at the main sites and restaurants, but keep cash for the market and small harbour stalls.
Acre has its own railway station just outside the walls, an easy ride up the coast from Haifa and Tel Aviv (~approx 1.5 hours from Tel Aviv); buses also serve the town, and the nearest airport is Ben Gurion (TLV) to the south.
Flights, airport transfers and car hire — search and compare without leaving the page.
Parking, holiday extras, and more — coming soon.
We're lining up parking, holiday extras and activities you'll be able to add to any trip from here.
We may earn a commission if you book through these links, at no extra cost to you. How we make money
