Things to do in Ramallah
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Ramallah
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall: mild days, green hills, cafe terraces open.
Autumn window: harvest season, comfortable walking, Taybeh at its most relevant.
Hot days, fine evenings, Rukab's and Snowbar outdoor season, summer festivals.
Christmas in Ramallah with the Al-Manara tree and church services, diaspora price spike.
Worst weather: cold, wet and windy at altitude, quiet museums and cafes.
What's on
- Taybeh Oktoberfest Early autumn, dates vary by year
Brewery festival taking over Taybeh village when held. Confirm dates and whether it runs before building a trip around it.
- Birzeit Festival Summer, dates vary by year
Cultural festival in Birzeit celebrating Palestinian culture, listed by Travel Palestine for the Ramallah area.
- Christmas in Ramallah December, tree lighting at Al-Manara
Tree lighting, church services and diaspora visits in a city with a deep Christian heritage.
Best things to do in Ramallah
Yasser Arafat Museum
Museum of Arafat's life and the Palestinian story, plus the rooms where he lived under siege.
Arafat Mausoleum
Arafat's tomb pavilion on water inside the Muqata'a grounds, paired with the museum beside it.
Mahmoud Darwish Museum
Small calm museum and garden honouring the national poet Mahmoud Darwish, who is buried here.
Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
Independent arts centre in a restored villa, with exhibitions, film, talks and a quiet garden.
Dar Zahran Heritage Building
A 250 year old family house turned heritage museum, with photos of Ramallah from 1850 to 1979.
Church of Transfiguration
Greek Orthodox basilica from 1852 holding icons dated to 1830, the oldest church in the city.
Holy Family Church
Ramallah's Catholic parish church, built from 1913 beside its convent and schools.
Al-Manara Square
The Lions Square at the centre of downtown, where taxis, cafes and the old town lanes meet.
Where to stay in Ramallah
Al-Masyoun
top hotels, quieter upscale base
Hill southwest of downtown with the flagship hotels, Darwish Museum and Sakakini Center.
Downtown and Al-Manara
walk everywhere, restaurants and budget beds
Al-Manara, the old town lanes, Rukab's and the servees stations are all on foot from here.
Al-Tireh
calm residential stay
Newer residential district with cafes, calm at night and taxi dependent for downtown.
Think twice about
- Qalandia checkpoint area
A congested military checkpoint terminal, not a sightseeing stop. Cross it with documents ready and do not linger or photograph.
- Refugee camps adjoining Ramallah and Al-Bireh as unhosted sightseeing
Al-Am'ari and Qalandia camps are homes, not attractions, and see incursions. Visit only with a local host or organised programme.
- Open land near settlements, bypass roads and military installations
Not walking country. Stay on village paths, never cross fences into farmland without permission, and turn back at any military presence.
Best restaurants in Ramallah
Capers
Seventh floor splurge restaurant with city views and upscale Middle Eastern cooking.
Darna Restaurant
Long running Palestinian and Lebanese restaurant in a house setting behind the municipality.
Pronto Lounge & Kitchen
Italian food and pizza in a lounge format, a standby for long group dinners.
La Vie - Ramallah
Cafe restaurant for Levantine and international plates from breakfast into the evening.
Zeit ou Zaater
Palestinian breakfast built around olive oil and zaatar, manakish and simple local plates.
Falafel Abu Khalil
No frills Old City falafel shop where locals queue for a fresh sandwich at lunch.
Rukab's Ice Cream
Cafe since 1941 famous for stretchy Arabic ice cream pulled into strands at the counter.
Best bars in Ramallah
Snowbar
Bar and restaurant in a wooded setting with outdoor seating, reached by taxi in the evening.
Barley's Irish Pub and Restaurant
Irish pub format restaurant on Sakakini Street serving pub food and drinks.
Garage Coffee Shop & Bar
Cafe, bar and shop hybrid known for afternoon tea and chess and a welcoming crowd.
Best coffee in Ramallah
Zamn cafe
Modern working cafe for coffee, laptops and long conversations, typical of Ramallah cafe culture.
Outdoor things to do in Ramallah
Birzeit University
The West Bank's best known university campus, with a museum and gallery programme.
Birzeit Old Town
Stone houses, churches and small lanes in a historic Christian town north of Ramallah.
Birzeit Brewery
Palestine's second brewery, a small working brewery for Shepherds beer tours and tastings.
Taybeh Brewery
Brewery founded in 1994, described as the first microbrewery in the Middle East, with tastings.
Taybeh Winery
The Khoury family winery in Taybeh, visited for Palestinian wine tastings by arrangement.
Ein Qinia
Village and spring west of Ramallah for a short local walk among terraces and olive trees.
Best hotels in Ramallah
Millennium Palestine Ramallah
The city flagship hotel, formerly the Movenpick until 2019, with pool and several restaurants.
Grand Park Hotel
Large hotel with pool, terrace, restaurant and bar, long used by groups and official visitors.
Royal Court Hotel
Suite style central hotel with kitchenettes and breakfast, a short walk from Al-Manara Square.
Carmel Hotel
Quieter Al-Masyoun hotel with parking and larger rooms, used by business and family travellers.
Lavender Boutique Hotel
Small boutique hotel converted from a family home, with a personal guesthouse like feel.
Area D Hostel
Social backpacker hostel and the best budget base for meeting other West Bank travellers.
Hostel in Ramallah
Simple hostel with dorms aimed at backpackers and longer stay volunteers.
Is Ramallah expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₪150 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₪350 a person |
| Splurge | ₪700 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Taybeh Winery: a few days ahead
- Millennium Palestine Ramallah: a few days ahead
- Grand Park Hotel: a few days ahead
- Capers: a few days ahead
- Reserve Capers and top hotels for weekends, Christmas, Easter and Ramadan evenings.
- Call Taybeh Winery and Birzeit Brewery before visiting, and confirm Taybeh Oktoberfest dates and whether it runs that year.
Is Ramallah safe?
- Military incursions, protests, strikes and checkpoint closures occur, often with little notice, so ask locally each morning and leave any area with sirens or crowd movement you do not understand.
- Avoid demonstrations, do not photograph soldiers or checkpoints, and leave any area with sirens or crowd movement you do not understand.
- Keep to village paths for walks, carry passport and entry card at all times, and ask locally each morning about checkpoint state.
Ramallah travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Private taxi fares at Al-Manara or Qalandia quoted without agreement first. Agree the price or take a servees.
- Assuming Jerusalem is a 30 minute hop. Qalandia decides, not the map, so never schedule a flight against the crossing.
- Older guidebook restaurant names. At least one famous name, Ziryab, is listed as permanently closed in current data.
Getting around Ramallah: public transport and more
- Walk downtown. Use servees shared taxis for the rest: main station near Al-Manara, about 2 to 5 ILS inside the city, stations stop around 8pm to 9pm.
- Jerusalem to Ramallah crosses Qalandia checkpoint. The drive can be 30 minutes or hours, Palestinian plated taxis cannot continue into Jerusalem, and passports are checked.
- No airport serves Ramallah. Arrive via Ben Gurion subject to Israeli entry rules, or via Jordan and the King Hussein, Allenby, crossing then shared taxis via Jericho.
Who Ramallah suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Ramallah your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store