Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Entertainment
For a relatively small city, Jerusalem offers a wide
range of high-quality entertainment, especially in the
fields of theatre and classical music. It enjoys several
months of dynamic artistic and cultural activity a year,
focused on summer and the Christmas season. Every
May and June there is the Israel Festival, the country's
most important cultural jamboree, and in April/May
there is the Jerusalem Arts Festival. The Jerusalem Film
Festival is in July and there is an annual Jewish Film
Festival. For information on what's on, consult the daily
Jerusalem Post
or the free monthly
t Time Out Jerusalem
,
available at hotels and tourist offices.
children with science via lots
of interactive exhibits. It's fun
for adults too. In the Liberty
Bell Gardens (Ha-Pa'amon),
just south of the Bloomfield
Gardens
(see p121)
, an old
railway carriage acts as a
summer
Puppet Theatre
.
The park itself is also very
child friendly, with basketball
courts, ping-pong tables and
a rollerblade rink.
CINEMA
Jerusalem's cinemas screen
both local Israeli films plus
international and Hollywood
hits. Non-Hebrew films are
usually screened in the
original language with
subtitles. For mainstream fare,
the best bet is the
Gil
cinema
complex in the Malkha Mall
in the southwest of the city.
The
Jerusalem Cinematheque
,
on the slopes of the Hinnon
Valley just outside the Old
City walls, screens seasons of
classics and retrospectives, as
well as recent world cinema
releases. Every July it hosts
the Jerusalem Film Festival.
Lev Smador
in the German
Colony is another quality art-
house cinema, specialising in
European and independent
films. The nearby
Third Ear
is
a courtyard book, DVD and
CD store that also screens
films in its small auditorium.
The Armenian Tavern, a lone drinking spot in the Old City
BARS & PUBS
School,
Mona
is another good
bar-restaurant, beloved of the
city's secular population for
being one of the few places
open on Shabbat (the Jewish
day of rest).
Predominantly Muslim East
Jerusalem is naturally thin on
venues serving alcohol, but a
drink at the
Cellar Bar
of the
American Colony Hotel is a
signature experience every
bit as essential as a stroll
along the Via Dolorosa. It's
the place to meet UN officials,
international correspondents,
NGO workers and Palestinian
entrepreneurs. Otherwise, the
Kan Zaman
garden restaurant
at the Jerusalem Hotel serves
Palestinian beers, wine and
nargilehs
(waterpipes).
Apart from a small but
characterful bar in the corner
of the
Armenian Tavern
restaurant, just south of the
Citadel, there is nowhere to
drink in the Old City. You
need to go to West Jerusalem
and, specifically, the district
of narrow lanes known as
Nakhalat Shiva. This small
neighbourhood has become
the centre of nightlife in the
city, with dozens of bars,
whose patrons spill outside in
the warmer months. Among
them,
Barood
stands out for
its superb selection of spirits
and liqueurs, including
shelves of absinthes, schnapps
and home-made flavoured
vodkas. Nearby
Stardust
is
the place for terrific music on
the sound system, sports on
the big screen, and a happy
hour that lasts four hours.
Also in West Jerusalem, just
off King George V Street is
Link
, a bar-restaurant with a
pleasant garden terrace. One
block north and west in the
premises of the Bezalel Art
MUSIC
The
Henry Crown Concert
Hall
at the Jerusalem Centre
for the Performing Arts is
the major venue for classical
performances and home to
the Jerusalem Symphony
s
CHILDREN
The
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
(see p138)
brings together
all the animals that the Bible
mentions as living in the
Holy Land. It is beautifully
designed and kids love it. The
Bloomfield Science Museum
is devoted to acquainting
Creative advertising for the
Cinematheque Film Festival
