The Citadel (Tower of David), Jerusalem (must see)

Just inside Jaffa Gate rises the Citadel, better known today as the Tower of David—a place where Jerusalem’s history is stacked quite literally in stone. Careful excavation has peeled the site back layer by layer, so as you move through it, you’re also moving through time. The experience easily stretches over a couple of hours, especially if you follow the story indoors, where archaeology and narrative are woven together into a clear, chronological portrait of the city.

The Citadel occupies the western hill of the Old City, a strategic high point fortified repeatedly since the 2nd century BC. Early defenses were expanded dramatically by Herod the Great, who reinforced the Hasmonean walls with three massive towers. Only one of them—the Phasael Tower—still stands, but it does plenty of heavy lifting. Later, during the Byzantine period, a historical mix-up led locals to believe this was King David’s palace, giving the complex its enduring name.

Power changed hands, and so did the Citadel. Muslim rulers, Crusaders, and later the Mamluks reshaped it until its basic form was fixed in 1310 under Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad. In the 16th century, Suleiman the Magnificent added a grand eastern gateway and an open square, while the minaret—built in the 17th century—rose to become one of Jerusalem’s most recognizable silhouettes.

Climb the Phasael Tower in the Citadel’s northeast corner, and the reward is perspective, in every sense. Below you lie the excavations; beyond them, the Old City; further still, the hills stretching south and west. Along the way, plaques help decode what you’re seeing—Hasmonean walls, Roman cisterns, and Umayyad fortifications that once held firm against Crusader forces in 1099.

And when night falls, stick around. A 45-minute sound-and-light show transforms the Citadel into a moving timeline of Jerusalem’s past—dramatic, immersive, and very popular. Book ahead, or risk watching history unfold from the outside.