2 Days in Jerusalem: First-Timer Plan
Two days is enough for the Old City’s essentials if you skip West Jerusalem’s museums entirely: the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Temple Mount’s narrow visiting window, and all four quarters end to end. Need more time? See the 3-day or 7-day versions of this plan.
Book these before you go
- Old City walking tour , so day one’s history gets narrated instead of guessed at
- Western Wall Tunnels tour , only needed if Day 2 lands on a Friday or Saturday
- ETA-IL travel authorization, apply days before you fly, not at the gate
| Day | Focus | Book ahead |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Old City’s four quarters | Old City walking tour |
| Day 2 | Temple Mount window (Sun-Thu) or Western Wall Tunnels, Mount of Olives | Western Wall Tunnels (weekend only) |
Day 1: Jaffa Gate to the Western Wall
Start at Jaffa Gate, one of the Old City’s main entrances, and walk down toward the Jewish Quarter. The Western Wall (the Kotel) is free and open 24 hours: cover your shoulders and knees, and take a shawl or paper kippah from the stand at the entrance if you need one. From there it’s a short walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Christian Quarter.
Do you need a reservation for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre?
No. Entry is free, there’s no ticket and no booking system, and the church runs long hours, roughly 5:00-20:45 in summer and 4:00-19:00 in winter. The only real planning move is timing: arrive before 8:00 or after 17:00 to get ahead of the tour-bus crush, and keep shoulders and knees covered at the door.
For lunch, head into the Muslim Quarter for kanafeh (roughly 15-25 ILS a portion) and a hummus plate (20-35 ILS) before finishing the afternoon in the Armenian Quarter, the smallest and quietest of the four. Book a guided Old City walking tour if you want the history explained on the spot, then close the day with a walk along a ramparts section (about 25 ILS, roughly $8) for the sunset light over the domes below.
Day 2: The Temple Mount window and the Mount of Olives
If today falls Sunday through Thursday, make the Temple Mount the first fixed appointment of the day: non-Muslim visitors enter only through the Mughrabi Gate beside the Western Wall Plaza.
What are the Temple Mount hours for non-Muslim visitors?
Two short windows, Sunday through Thursday only: roughly 7:30-11:00 and 13:30-14:30 in summer, shorter in winter, and the site can close without notice. Entry is esplanade-only, you cannot go inside the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa Mosque, and security expects a passport, modest dress, and no visibly religious items.
If it’s Friday or Saturday instead, swap in the Western Wall Tunnels, a guided-only walk along the Wall’s buried foundation stones (roughly 45-50 ILS, about an hour; weekend slots fill, so book the Western Wall Tunnels tour ahead). Either way, spend the afternoon in the Jewish Quarter, the rebuilt Hurva Synagogue and the Roman-era Cardo, then walk the Via Dolorosa’s fourteen stations toward the Muslim Quarter before heading out to the Mount of Olives for the best wide view of the Old City, ideally an hour or two before sunset. Fly home from Ben Gurion Airport via the airport train , about 35 minutes from Jerusalem-Yitzhak Navon station, or a metered Gett. Double-check live opening hours before you land at itraveljerusalem.com , the official city tourism site, since Temple Mount access in particular can shift without much notice.
Land the Temple Mount visit first thing if Day 2 falls Sunday through Thursday. The window is short and the queue at the Mughrabi Gate grows fast after 9:00.