Tower of David

The Tower of David, also known as the Jerusalem Citadel, stands next to Jaffa Gate on the western edge of the Old City of Jerusalem. The site has been fortified for over 2,000 years because it protects the weakest side of the city, which lacks a natural valley.

Herod the Great built three large towers here in the 1st century BC to guard his palace. When the Romans destroyed the city in AD 70, the towers were preserved as a sign of its strong defences, and the base of one survives today. The present structure dates mainly from the Mamluk and Ottoman periods; Suleiman the Magnificent expanded the citadel between 1537 and 1541. The name Tower of David comes from Byzantine Christians who believed the Herodian tower was David's palace. The minaret that most people now call the Tower of David was added in the 17th century.

Since 1989 the citadel has housed the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem. After a renovation of about three years it reopened on 1 June 2023 with ten new galleries tracing the city's history from its early beginnings to modern times. Visitors can walk the ramparts for views over the Old City and the modern city, and see archaeological remains in the central courtyard. In the evening a sound and light show is projected onto the citadel walls. The site lies within the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

An adult museum ticket costs 55 NIS, and a combined ticket with the night show 108 NIS. Some parts of the ramparts involve stairs.

Guided climb up the Ottoman minaret

The museum also offers guided ascents of the Ottoman minaret, the slender tower most people picture when they hear the name Tower of David. The narrow spiral stair leads to a balcony with one of the highest viewpoints in the Old City, looking over the Armenian Quarter, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock. These ascents run on set days and are booked separately.

The museum also runs English-language tours of the galleries and the archaeological garden at set times. Inside the citadel, remains from the Hasmonean walls to a British-era prison are visible in the courtyard. Jaffa Gate is the natural entry point to the Old City from the modern centre, and the light rail stop at City Hall is about ten minutes on foot.