What's on in Jerusalem, Israel through the year

Busy — Christmas in Bethlehem, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Ramadan in the Old City

  18 Feb – 19 MarRamadan & EidCrowdedClosures

  Lanterns go up over the Muslim Quarter and the lanes off Damascus Gate are at their liveliest after dark, while daytime trade thins out. Access to the Haram al-Sharif is tighter and Friday prayers draw very large numbers. Source ↗

Still on: Christmas in Bethlehem (20 Dec – 8 Jan)

Busy — Ramadan in the Old City, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Ramadan in the Old City (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Peak crowds — Ramadan in the Old City, Jerusalem Marathon

• Hazard

  Sharav dust days

  1 Mar – 31 May · usuallyDust season

  Hot desert winds push dust over the hills for a few days at a stretch in spring and again in autumn, turning the light brown and the view from the Mount of Olives into nothing. They blow through in two or three days. Source ↗

• Festival

  Jerusalem Marathon

  15 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  A spring race through the Old City walls and the valleys, which means most of the centre closes to traffic for a Friday morning. The date has moved between March and April in recent years, so confirm it before booking around it. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Holy Week and Easter

  29 Mar – 12 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedBook early

  Western and Orthodox Easter often fall a week or more apart, so the Old City runs two sets of processions. The Holy Fire ceremony at the Holy Sepulchre on Orthodox Holy Saturday is ticketed by the churches and access is controlled. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Passover

  1–9 AprSchool holidaysCrowdedClosuresBook early

  A week of national holiday: hotels at their highest rates, sites full of domestic visitors, and bread off most menus. Public transport stops on the first and last days and half the restaurants in the city close with it. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan in the Old City (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Peak crowds — Jerusalem Marathon, Holy Week and Easter

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Sharav dust days (1 Mar – 31 May (usually)), Jerusalem Marathon (15 Mar – 20 Apr (usually)), Holy Week and Easter (29 Mar – 12 Apr), Passover (1–9 Apr)

Busy — Shavuot, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Shavuot

  15 May – 15 Jun · usuallyJewish holidaysCrowdedClosures

  An all-night study vigil that ends with tens of thousands walking down to the Western Wall for dawn prayers. Shops and public transport stop for the day, and the Old City lanes are impassable in the small hours. Source ↗

Still on: Sharav dust days (1 Mar – 31 May (usually)), Holy Week and Easter (29 Mar – 12 Apr)

Peak crowds — Shavuot, Festival of Light

• Festival

  Festival of Light

  1 Jun – 5 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  A week of projections and light installations along marked routes inside the Old City walls, free and running late. It is the one time the quarters are busy after dark with residents rather than pilgrims. Source ↗

Still on: Shavuot (15 May – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Festival of Light, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Jerusalem Film Festival

  15–31 Jul · usually

  Ten days at the Cinematheque under the Old City walls in late July, with open-air screenings down in the Sultan's Pool. It works in the hottest fortnight of the year because it all starts after dark. Source ↗

Still on: Festival of Light (1 Jun – 5 Jul (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Peak crowds — Yom Kippur, Sukkot

• Holiday

  Yom Kippur

  20–21 SepJewish holidaysClosures

  The city stops completely for twenty-five hours: no traffic, no shops, no flights in or out of the country, and almost nothing open in West Jerusalem. Arrive the day before or you will not be able to get anywhere. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Sukkot

  25 Sep – 2 OctSchool holidaysCrowded

  Booths on every balcony, the priestly blessing at the Western Wall drawing tens of thousands, and a week of school holiday that fills every site in the country. The autumn weather is usually the best of the year for it. Source ↗

Busy — Sukkot, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Yom Kippur (20–21 Sep), Sukkot (25 Sep – 2 Oct)

Busy — Hanukkah

• Holiday

  Hanukkah

  28 Nov – 30 Dec · usuallyJewish holidays

  Eight nights of lamps set in glass boxes by the front doors of Nachlaot and the Jewish Quarter, lit at dusk. Schools are off, so the museums and sites fill with families, but nothing actually closes. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Hanukkah, Christmas in Bethlehem

• Holiday

  Christmas in Bethlehem

  20 Dec – 8 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Three Christmases eight kilometres away, on 25 December, 7 January and 18 January for the Latin, Greek and Armenian churches. Midnight mass at the Nativity needs tickets from the church, and the checkpoint queues are long. Source ↗

Still on: Hanukkah (28 Nov – 30 Dec (usually))