Things to do in Acre
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Acre
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is a sweet spot for walking the Old City, with a busy and pricier surge around Passover, usually in April.
Hot, humid beach summer. Swim at Argaman, sail and ride boats, and do the halls and market early.
Second sweet spot with a warm sea, plus the Acco Festival over Sukkot in late September or October.
Cooler and quieter with lower prices, and rain becomes a real planning factor late in the month.
Winter low season, roughly 12 to 18 degrees with rain and coastal storms, empty halls and low stay prices.
Ramadan ran from mid February to mid March in 2026 and shifts earlier yearly. Old City days quieten and evenings come alive.
What's on
- Acco Festival of Alternative Israeli Theatre Intermediate days of Sukkot, usually late September or October
Four days of fringe and street theatre staged in the Citadel, the Knights' Halls and open air venues.
Best things to do in Acre
Knights' Halls
A vast underground Crusader city of vaulted Hospitaller halls preserved below the Ottoman streets of Acre.
Templars Tunnel
A Crusader era tunnel under the Old City from the fortress to the port, surfaced beside the sea.
Hamam El Basha Museum
The restored Ottoman bathhouse of al-Jazzar, a marble domed museum of Acre bathing culture.
The Underground Prisoners Museum
The Citadel prison used under Ottoman and British Mandate rule, a sobering layer above the Crusader halls.
Al-Jazzar Mosque
The great Ottoman mosque at the heart of the Old City, with a green dome, minaret and quiet courtyard.
Khan al-Umdan
The largest Ottoman caravanserai in Acre, a columned courtyard by the port with a 1906 clock tower.
Old Acre Market
The working covered shuk where Acre buys spices, coffee, sweets, fish and produce in vaulted alleys.
The Acre Turkish Bazaar
A restored 18th century covered bazaar of galleries and small eateries under vaulted stone.
Where to stay in Acre
Old City inside the walls
first trip, history and food
Every major site, the market and the best restaurants are on foot, and nights are atmospheric.
Old City walls and port edge
drivers and practical bases
Hotels built into or beside the walls keep the Old City on foot while easing parking and arrivals.
Think twice about
- Coast north of Nahariyya toward Rosh Hanikra and the Lebanese border
In the border zone closest to Lebanon, the highest-risk part of the north. Do not day-trip there.
- Unlit peripheral lanes and the far port alone very late at night
The Old City is a dense residential city with poorly lit side alleys after dark. Stay on lit main routes late at night.
Best restaurants in Acre
Uri Buri
Israel's most famous fish restaurant, sending out tasting plates of the day's catch by the port.
El Marsa Restaurant
Port side fish and salads in front of the marina, the classic Acre seafood meal without the splurge.
Mercato by Omri Shahar
Handmade pasta and fish with an Italian accent inside the Turkish Bazaar, Acre's polished dining room.
Feluka
A lively seafood restaurant and bar by the port, named for the traditional fishing boat.
Doniana
A long running Old City house for traditional Arab mezze, salads and grills at honest mid prices.
Roots
A small, quieter Old City kitchen for contemporary Mediterranean and Middle Eastern plates.
Maadali local kitchen
A local Old City kitchen cooking seafood and Mediterranean plates from market ingredients.
Hummus Said
Warm hummus with ful and fresh pita at a no frills market counter, the north's hummus pilgrimage.
Outdoor things to do in Acre
Acre Sea Walls Promenade
A free walk on the Ottoman sea walls around the Old City peninsula, at its best at sunset.
Argaman Beach
Acre's main lifeguarded sandy beach south of the Old City, with a view back to the walls.
Bahji
Formal gardens around the mansion and shrine of Baha'u'llah, the holiest Baha'i place, free to visit.
Acre Port
The working fishing harbour, where short boat rides loop past the sea walls for the postcard view.
Baha'i Gardens Haifa
Nineteen immaculate terraces climbing Mount Carmel in Haifa, an easy train day trip south of Acre.
Caesarea National Park
Herod's port city an hour south, with a Roman theatre, hippodrome and harbour ruins in the sea.
Manana Sailing Yacht - Day Trips
A private skippered sailing day from Acre marina with swimming stops and the walls from the water.
Caesarea Golf Club
Israel's only 18 hole international course, a Pete Dye redesign about an hour south of Acre.
Best hotels in Acre
Efendi Hotel
Twelve rooms in a restored Ottoman palace with a 400 year old hammam and a famed breakfast.
Akotika Boutique Hotel
Suites in restored Old City buildings by the sea walls, with rooftop breakfast facing the water.
Akkotel-Boutique Hotel
A small hotel built into the city wall itself, with vaulted rooms, a roof terrace and its own parking.
Arabesque Arts & Residency
A quiet arts residency house in the Old City taking guests, praised for its homemade breakfast.
HI Akko - Knights Youth Hostel
The official hostel at the Old City edge, modern and reliable, with dorms and private rooms.
Akko Gate Hostel
A simple Old City hostel near the sea with a 24 hour desk and free parking at budget prices.
Is Acre expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₪450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₪950 a person |
| Splurge | ₪2,400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Beit Elfarasha: a few days ahead
- Manana Sailing Yacht - Day Trips: a few days ahead
- Caesarea Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Efendi Hotel: weeks ahead
- Akotika Boutique Hotel: weeks ahead
- Uri Buri: weeks ahead
- Mercato by Omri Shahar: a few days ahead
- Efendi Hotel and Uri Buri need weeks in season and around holidays and the Acco Festival.
- Book Beit Elfarasha workshops, Manana sailing and Caesarea Golf Club tee times ahead.
- Check official Baha'i garden opening arrangements the same week, as access has been interrupted before.
Is Acre safe?
- Acre is about 25 km south of the Lebanese border: do not treat it as insulated from the north, and expect sirens and flight disruption to be live possibilities.
- Know your nearest protected space, follow Home Front Command instructions, and keep flights flexible.
- Swim only in the lifeguarded zone at Argaman Beach in season, and wear grippy shoes on wet Old City stone.
Acre travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Khan al-Umdan's interior has spent long periods closed for restoration, so plan on the courtyard and exterior.
- In low tourism periods many market shops stay shut, so the market can be far quieter than photographs suggest.
- Do not add Rosh Hanikra or any drive north of Nahariyya while the northern border zone remains high risk.
Getting around Acre: public transport and more
- Take the train to Acre station, then walk about twenty minutes or take a short taxi to the Old City.
- Inside the walls everything is on foot. Park outside the walls or use a property's arranged parking.
- Haifa is a short train ride south and Caesarea about an hour south. Trains stop from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening.
Who Acre suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Acre your trip
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