2 Best Sights in Zichron Ya'akov, Haifa and the Northern Coast

The museum is dedicated to the 30,000 people who came to Palestine during the First Aliya (a period of settlement from 1882 until 1904). Life-size model displays highlighting local immigrants (like Zachariya, the seed vendor, and Izer, the cobbler) illustrate life at that time. A film traces the struggles of a family who came from Europe in this difficult period of Israel's modern history. Commissioned by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, the museum's three-floor building is a fine example of late-19th-century Ottoman-style architecture, built of white stone with a central pediment capped by a tile roof. During World War I, the Turks used it as a military hospital.

In the hills near Zichron Ya'akov, this sprawling garden is a fitting tribute to Baron Edmond de Rothschild. (Hanadiv means "the benefactor.") At its center is the dignified tomb where Rothschild and his wife Ada lie buried. A 20-minute film in the welcoming Visitors Pavilion tells of his legacy in Israel: the last screening on weekdays is at 3:30. Outside, curving paths frame rolling green lawns, abundant patches of flowers, carob trees, waving palms, and 42 rare plant species. Clearly marked trails lead to a 2,000-year old Roman farmhouse and a hidden spring. After all that legwork, the terraces of the on-site café beckon. A children's playground is set off to one side.