Where to go for Hanukkah

Go shortly after sundown for the nightly public candle lighting at the large bronze menorah, a free and unticketed gathering. Combine it with a walk through Nachlaot and the Jewish Quarter, where menorahs appear in windows and courtyards.

Start here in the daytime for market tasting and shopping, including rugelach and classic sufganiyot filled with strawberry jam. Note that many kosher stalls close early on Friday and reopen after Shabbat, so buy Friday supplies before mid-afternoon.

Look for a public lighting at Mamilla on an evening walk, then stop at Roladin for filled sufganiyot with Old City views. Public lightings here are free gatherings, not ticketed shows.

Add this central square to an evening lighting walk through downtown Jerusalem, where public menorahs glow on several nights rather than on one festival day. Plan for an evening walk on several nights, not a single event.

Attend a public lighting in Independence Park overlooking Hilton Beach. Last year, Light up Tel Aviv events here included music, donuts and family activities, and lightings are generally free and unticketed, but confirm the schedule with the municipality since exact times vary each year.

Look for an evening public lighting at HaBima Square, one of the city squares named in Tel Aviv guides alongside Dizengoff Center. Walk Neve Tzedek and Jaffa in the daytime, then return here for a lighting in the evening.

Add this shopping centre's public lighting to an evening out, and shop the streets around it by day. Lighting times are set each year, so check the city listings close to your trip.

Walk the Carmel Market area in the daytime for tasting and shopping, then return to a lighting in the evening. Go in the morning for the widest sufganiyot choice, since popular bakeries sell out daily.

See the 32 foot menorah at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street by Central Park, lit each night with oil lamps behind glass chimneys. Last year, lightings were usually at 5:30 pm, earlier on Friday and later on Saturday, and the lighting is free with no tickets.

See the 32 foot Brooklyn menorah at Vanderbilt and Flatbush Avenues, where lightings have come with live music, gifts for children and hot latkes. Check lighting times close to your trip.

Preorder a box of sufganiyot here, where five flavors were offered last year including strawberry jam, mango, pistachio, vanilla and chocolate, plus latkes. Preorder, since popular flavors sell out.

Come early for light, traditional jelly sufganiyot plus halva cream and pistachio versions on the Lower East Side. The guides warn they sell out, so arrive early in the day.

Attend the National Menorah lighting by the White House, first lit in 1979 and lit every year since. The first night is a free afternoon event with music that needs an RSVP, usually released in November, plus security screening, so register as soon as it opens.

Drink at this Shaw bar, which has run a Hanukkah pop up with nightly menorah lightings and bar bites, plus a Chinese food and movie night on 25 December. Check in November whether it returns.

Spend the daytime here for context, then combine it with evening menorah lightings around the city. Federal museums run normally except for Christmas Day and New Year closures, which affect 2027 travel directly.

Spend the daytime here for context before an evening lighting. Book DC hotels early for December, and earlier for 2027, when the first night falls in Christmas week.

Go to Euclid Circle on Lincoln Road for Roger Abramson's 13 foot menorah and giant dreidel, each made from more than 25,000 Miami Beach seashells and shown for more than 20 years. Lightings here are public and free.

Eat Tel Aviv style street food on Washington Avenue and ask about seasonal sufganiyot, which this Israeli spot has sold at Hanukkah.

Look for the Chanukah Festival here in past editions, and check Jewish Miami listings for community festival food stalls, which in past editions sold traditional holiday foods under dietary supervision. Book Miami Beach hotels early for December, and earlier for 2027, when Hanukkah overlaps Christmas and New Year.

Walk Ocean Drive in the evening and combine it with the Lincoln Road display, in warm outdoor weather without heavy winter clothing. Christmas Day can bring reduced hours at some shops, which matters in 2027.

Go to the Grand Menorah Lighting in Daley Plaza, a 30 foot menorah lit at a free early evening event with live music, hot latkes, jelly doughnuts and chocolate gelt for children. RSVP is requested, and dress for a real Chicago winter.

Eat seasonal latkes here, served with sour cream, syrup or grape jelly, with dairy free, gluten free and vegan options noted in past Hanukkah guides. Book popular delis and restaurants a few days ahead, and earlier for a weekend table in December.

Eat at this classic Andersonville Jewish deli for matzo ball soup, pastrami and challah, a warm stop on a cold Hanukkah night.

Eat pastrami, matzo ball soup and bagels with lox at this River North Jewish deli counter, a short walk from the Daley Plaza lighting.

Plan around the Skirball Hanukkah Festival, LA's big family day: in 2026 it runs Sunday 6 December, noon to 5 pm, with live music, storytelling, art making, a Dreidel Lounge and a candle lighting at sunset. Adult tickets are 23 dollars and go on sale in early November.

Pick this shopping center as one of more than 20 LA area lightings in the most recent listings. Most LA lightings are free, and evenings are comfortable with a light jacket in mild December weather.

Go to this beach town pier for a giant menorah lighting. The South Bay alone had six giant menorah lightings from December 5 to 10 in the most recent pattern, and most are free.

Walk this Santa Monica promenade for its menorah lighting stop, one of the LA area lightings in recent listings. Book LA hotels early for December, and earlier for 2027 Christmas week.

Go for the giant menorah in Trafalgar Square, on show through Hanukkah with a free lighting each day in the late afternoon. Check the Mayor of London's listings in November for times.

Go to the second biggest public lighting in the UK in past listings, with a live klezmer band, latkes, free sufganiyot, dreidel and craft sessions. Christmas Day brings widespread closures, and Boxing Day and New Year hours are reduced, which affects 2027 travel.

Eat at this 24 hour bakery founded in 1974, known for salt beef beigels, smoked salmon and cream cheese beigels, challah and pastries. Treat it as a Jewish bakery anchor, not a sufganiyot guarantee, since it is not a sufganiyot specialist.

Check JW3, the Jewish community centre on Finchley Road, for Hanukkah lightings, food and family events. Book popular restaurants a week or more ahead in December.

Start the city's menorah trail here, where the first candle is lit by the Eiffel Tower in the evening. Times and squares change each year, so check the Chabad Paris listings close to your trip.

Follow the trail to this square, where lightings in last year's order were mostly at 7:30 or 8 pm. Public menorah lightings are free, and every arrondissement has at least one public menorah.

Continue the trail to this square, another stop in last year's order after the Champ de Mars lighting. Book Paris hotels early for December, and earlier for 2027 Christmas week.

Eat on Rue des Rosiers in the Marais, the historic Pletzl Jewish quarter, at this kosher Middle Eastern restaurant known for its falafel sandwich with eggplant and hummus. It is closed on Shabbat, so check Friday hours.

Go to the 10 metre menorah in front of the gate, billed as Europe's largest and lit through all eight nights. The first light is a free public ceremony with music and speeches, under a visible police presence.

Visit this museum in the daytime for context, then walk through Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg, including the Rykestrasse Synagogue area. Christmas Day and December 26 bring closures, and New Year hours are reduced, which affects 2027 travel.

Eat house cured pastrami on rye, matzo ball soup and New York cheesecake at this deli, now in Neukoelln on Karl-Marx-Strasse. Book a few days ahead in December.

Eat a fuller Jewish menu near the Rykestrasse Synagogue, including gefilte fish, latkes, pulkas (stuffed chicken thighs) and kreplach (dumplings filled with lamb). Book a few days ahead in December.

Go for the big lighting at Piazza Barberini, where a 20 foot menorah has been lit on the last night of Hanukkah with food, drink and talk late into the night. It is public and free.

Note this square as also a central gathering point in the most recent pattern, alongside Piazza Barberini. Walk the Jewish Ghetto in the daytime, then return to the Ghetto for dinner.

Order carciofi alla giudia, Jewish style fried artichokes, at this kosher Ghetto restaurant, which also lists falafel and paccheri. Book Ghetto restaurants a few days ahead in December, and earlier for a weekend table, since the Ghetto is small and popular. Also look for fritelle di Chanuka, fried sweet dough fritters with raisins and anise seeds topped with hot honey.

Visit the museum and the Great Synagogue area in the daytime, then return to the Ghetto for dinner. Many Jewish businesses and the synagogue observe Shabbat, so some Ghetto shops and restaurants may be closed from Friday evening to Saturday evening.

Go for the large menorah at the southeast corner of the square, plus a smaller one at Old City Hall, lit each evening with one more candle every night. Pair a lighting with a skate on the square's rink, and dress for real cold.

Eat latkes here in regular and mini sizes, plus split pea soup, blintzes and bagels with lox and cream cheese, at a restaurant serving Toronto since 1912. Order directly via its catering website or by phone to ensure availability during Chanukah, and preorder days or weeks ahead for large family gatherings.

Buy traditional Jewish baked goods here, since this long running bakery goes all out for Hanukkah in the most recent Toronto guide. Fresh latkes and jelly sufganiyot are in exceptionally high demand during the holiday, so check seasonal stock early.

Walk through Kensington Market in the daytime between the square lightings, then return to Nathan Phillips Square in the evening. Christmas Day brings closures, and New Year hours are reduced, which affects 2027 travel.

Go to Chanukah by the Sea, the Bondi Chabad lighting held in Bondi Park or nearby Archer Park, with music, children's activities and doughnuts. After the December 2025 attack at this event, expect heavy security and check the organisers' guidance before you go.

Swim and walk the sand in summer Hanukkah weather, since December is peak summer in Sydney and the beach is in full season. The community has lit the menorah on Bondi Beach for 35 years, and the event draws hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people.

Eat at Bondi Beach cafes and restaurants along Campbell Parade after the lighting, and check Sydney Jewish community listings for latke and sufganiyot pop-ups closer to travel. Book popular Bondi restaurants a week or more ahead in December.

Eat along Hall Street as a second Bondi eating strip, with cafes and restaurants near the beach. Christmas Day brings reduced hours at many shops, which affects 2027 travel, and December hotel bookings should be made early for peak summer season.