Safed

Worth seeing in and around Safed

8 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
   Tel Hazor

   Tel Hazor, translated in LXX as Hasōr, and in Arabic Tell Waqqas or Tell Qedah el-Gul, is an archaeological tell at the site of ancient Hazor, located in the Upper Galilee, north of the Sea of Galilee, in the northern Korazim Plateau. From the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age, Hazor was the largest fortified city in the region and one of the most important in the Fertile Crescent.

   8.8 km · Archeological site in Israel · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Meron

   Mount Meron, also known as Mount Jarmaq or Jebel Jarmaq, is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been declared a nature reserve.

   8.8 km · mountain in the Upper Galilee in Israel · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue

   The Ashkenazi Ari Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Israel Najara Street, in Safed, in the Northern District of Israel. Dedicated in memory of Rabbi Isaac Luria, a kabbalist who was known by the Hebrew acronym "the ARI", the synagogue was completed in the late 16th-century, several years after his death in 1572.

   800 m · orthodox synagogue in Safed, Israel · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Abuhav synagogue

   The Abuhav Synagogue is a Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Safed, in the Northern Director of Israel. The synagogue was completed in the 15th century and named in honor of the Spanish kabbalist of the era, Rabbi Isaac Abuhav, and is located on the eponymous Abuhav Lane.

   700 m · synagogue in Safed, Israel · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Safed Fortress

   The Citadel of Safed is a now-defunct fortress castle situated on the peak of the mountain housing the modern city of Safed. Furthermore, fortifications existed during the late period of the Second Temple as well as the Roman Empire.

   400 m · archaeological site in Israel · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Khirbet, Yarda

   Yarda was a Palestinian hamlet in the Safad Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1947–1949 Palestine war.

   8.5 km · archaeological site in the Upper Galilee, Israel · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Nabratein synagogue

   The Nabratein synagogue or Navoraya synagogue is a former ancient synagogue and archaeological site, located in a pine forest northeast of Safed, in the Upper Galilee region of the Northern District of Israel.

   3.4 km · ancient synagogue and archaeological site · Wikipedia
8. 08
   Birya Fortress

   Birya Fortress is a fortress built by the Jewish Palmach paramilitary during the British Mandate near the Jewish village of Birya and the Arab village of Biriyya. In 1946 the Birya affair took place here.

   2.9 km · fortress built during the British Mandate, near the modern town of Birya · 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

There are a number of old, beautiful, and unique synagogues in Safed, some of them rather famous world-wide among the Jewish community. These include:

1. 01
   Ari Ashkenazi

   Normally open for visitors on weekdays and boasts an ornate ark.

2. 02
   Ari Sepharadi

   Considered the oldest synagogue in the city.

3. 03
   Abuhav

   It was built in the 1490s according to Kabbalistic architectural and spiritual beliefs.

4. 04
   Yosef Karo

   Another popular landmark, established in the 16th century on the site of a yeshiva run by Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch (the most authoritative code of Jewish law).

5. 05
   Ancient Cemetery
6. 06
   Cave of Shem and Ever

   According to Jewish sources, Shem (son of Noah) and his great-grandson Ever ran a yeshiva (house of Jewish study).

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

Things to do

International Klezmer Festival. Each year in mid-August, tens of thousands of people come to this festival celebrating klezmer music (Ashkenazi Jewish folk music). Free concerts by leading performers are held in the old city's ancient streets.

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

Where to eat

Falafel, shawarma, pizza, and other basic foods are relatively cheap, and very good here. Safed is also famous for its locally made cheese (also see Artists' Colony Inn below):

1. 01
   Kadosh Cheese/Dairy

   One of the famous producers, invites tourists for a tasting including tea.

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

Getting to Safed

Airports

Beirut Rafic Hariri (BEY), 95 km · Damascus (DAM), 107 km · Marka International (Amman Civil) (ADJ), 120 km

Stations

Rosh Pina Airport, 7.1 km

• Tel Aviv → Safed

  119 km · quickest by road, 2h 43m · ₪55–70
  GuideToday
• Eilat → Safed

  382 km · quickest by road, 7h 52m · ₪155–205
  GuideToday
• Amman → Safed

  120 km · quickest by road, 3h 10m · JD6–9
  GuideToday
• From anywhere

  The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
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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 Safed

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 Safed. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

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