Ashkelon

Worth seeing in and around Ashkelon

6 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Sala Stadium

   The Sala Stadium is a sports stadium in Ashkelon, Israel. The stadium has a capacity of 5,250 people and is the home ground of Maccabi Ashkelon.

   300 m · football stadium in Ashkelon · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Ashkelon dog cemetery

   The Ashkelon dog cemetery is an ancient burial site in today's Ashkelon National Park, Israel, where possibly thousands of dogs were interred between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. The majority of these dogs were puppies; all had similarities to the modern Canaan dog, perhaps representing the ancestral population from which the modern breed is descended. It is the largest known animal cemetery of this kind in the ancient world.

   2.1 km · Burial ground for dogs in Ashkelon · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Ashkelon Marina Breakwater Light

   Ashkelon Marina Breakwater Light is a lighthouse in Ashkelon, Israel. It is located at the end of the main breakwater of the Ashkelon Marina.

   2.3 km · lighthouse in Israel · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Ashkelon Academic College

   Ashkelon Academic College is a public college in Ashkelon, Israel. The college has two faculties, the School of Economics and Social Work, for management, logistics, banking, and accounting, in which undergraduate and graduate studies take place, as well as the School of Health Sciences, for undergraduate studies in nutrition, nursing, and public health.

   500 m · college in Ashkelon, Israel · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Ashkelon Coal Jetty Breakwater Light

   Ashkelon Coal Jetty Breakwater Light is a lighthouse in Ashkelon, Israel. It is located at the end of the main breakwater of the Ashkelon Port Coal Jetty, in the Ashkelon Oil Port operated by the Eilat Ashkelon Pipeline Company, near the Trans-Israel pipeline.

   5.3 km · lighthouse in Israel · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Ashkelon Sports Arena

   A.S. Ironi Ashkelon is a professional basketball team based in Ashkelon, south west Israel.

   800 m · sports stadium in Ashkelon · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

1. 01
   Ashkelon

   Most Israelis visit the park for its beach or for a picnic, but it also contains interesting archaeological artifacts, including the world's oldest arch.

2. 02
   Tomb of Sheikh Awad

   A 13th-century domed structure, on a hill overlooking Ashkelon’s northern beaches.

3. 03
   Byzantine

   The remains of a 4th-century Byzantine church with marble slab flooring and glass mosaic walls can be seen in the Barnea Quarter.

4. 04
   Maqam al-Nabi Hussein

   The site where the head of Husayn ibn Ali is believed to have been buried, discovered on the grounds of the local hospital.

5. 05
   Migdal

   Local shopping area with walking street, shops, restaurants, caffes and pubs at night.

6. 06
   Ashkelon Khan and Museum

   Contains archaeological finds, among them a replica of Ashkelon’s Canaanite silver calf.

From Wikivoyage: Ashkelon, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

The coastline has few nice beaches, among them popular Delila and sightseeing Bar Kochva.

1. 01
   Ashkelon Marina

   You can rent a water scooter, kayak, or other craft here.

2. 02
   Afridar Center

   Restaurants, cafes and bars next to a large green park.

From Wikivoyage: Ashkelon, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

Marina (Along the sea near the Holiday Inn). Wonderful view of the sea with reasonable prices in the restaurants. Hanitzahon restaurant at Migdal's walking street - considered to be one of the best in Israel, not cheap. There are many shawarma and falafel vendors, much like anywhere else in Israel. The locals tend to favor Flafel Boaron at Migdal.

From Wikivoyage: Ashkelon, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Ashkelon

Airports

Ben Gurion (TLV), 49 km · El Arish (AAC), 98 km · Queen Alia (AMM), 135 km

Stations

Ashkelon Railway Station, 3.8 km

• Tel Aviv → Ashkelon

  50 km · quickest by road, 1h 11m · ₪19–25
  GuideToday
• Eilat → Ashkelon

  238 km · quickest by road, 5h 15m · ₪95–130
  GuideToday
• El Arish → Ashkelon

  95 km · quickest by road, 4h 9m · E£300–400
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
  Plan a trip

Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Ashkelon

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Ashkelon. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Ashkelon – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.