The Best Sight in Akko, Haifa and the Northern Coast

Background Illustration for Sights

The walled city of Old Akko is relatively small and the well-marked sights are close to one another, making it easy to tour. You approach the Old City on Weizmann Street (watch for signs that say Old Akko), proceeding through a breach in the walls. If driving, park in the large lot.

Khan al-Umdan

In Venezia Square, in front of the port, is the two-tiered Inn of the Pillars. Before you visit this Ottoman khan—the largest of the four in Akko—and the Pisan Quarter beyond, take a stroll around the port, with its small flotilla of fishing boats, yachts, and sailboats. Then walk through the khan's gate beneath a square clock tower, built at the turn of the 20th century. The khan served vast numbers of merchants and travelers during Akko's golden age of commerce, in the late 18th century. The 32 pink-and-gray granite pillars that give it its name are compliments of Ahmed el-Jazzar's raids on Roman Caesarea. There was once a market at the center of the colonnaded courtyard.

24110, Israel

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