14 Best Views of Jerusalem – Lookouts, Promenades, and More

This article will list the fourteen best views of Jerusalem, including lookouts, promenades, towers, roofs, and more.

Church of the Redeemer

We will start with my favorite lookout inside the Old City of Jerusalem. You can find the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Christian quarter. You can visit the tower, archeological park, and museum for a fee. From my experience, the tower provides the best view of the Dome of the Rock.

Here are several photos from there, and you can find additional info at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.

I took the photo with a 28 – 300 mm lens at 230 mm on a full-frame camera (I hope this gives some distance perspective).

Tower of David

Also, inside the Old City of Jerusalem, near Jaffa gate, you can find the Tower of David. The medieval citadel Tower of David is a historical museum that tells the story of Jerusalem. And if you do not want to visit the museum, you can purchase a cheaper ticket only to the lookout (you can find all details in my guide to the Tower of David).

From the top of the Tower of Phasael, you can see a 360 degrees view of the city. Here are several panoramas:

Austrian Hospice

Austrian Hospice is located on Via Dolorosa 37 inside the Old City of Jerusalem. It is on the border of the Christian and Muslim quarters, and you can see both areas from the rooftop.

I have not visited the Austrian Hospice recently, so I do not have decent photos. Here you can see photos and read about the history of this place.

If you visit the Austrian Hospice, you should know they have a cafe. Their apple strudel was terrific.

Rooftops of the Old City

The most popular rooftop location is near the Church of the Redeemer. Here are the approximate GPS coordinates: (31.77752751382253, 35.23058318455053). If I remember correctly, you take the stairs near Saint Mark and Habad Street crossing.

But I think the Church of the Redeemer tower allows much better views.

Another location (also on the roofs) in the Old City I like is near Misgav Ladach 7. You will see stairs there, and once you climb them, you will reach this lookout.

Here is another photo from there:

Ma’alot Rabi Yehuda HaLevi

You are probably familiar with the stairs connecting the Jewish quarter and the Western Wall. The street is called Ma’alot Rabi Yehuda HaLevi, and here is a photo from there:

Ramparts Walk

The last place in the Old City is now a place but rather a route. Ramparts Walk offers two paths (southern and northern) to see the city from an elevated location.

Here are several of my favorite photos from our visits to Ramparts Walk:

Former President’s Room on Mount Zion

If you take the stairs up from The Cenacle – Room of the Last Supper, you will reach the roof and the Former President’s Room.

This roof is one of my favorite places on Mount Zion. Here is a panorama from the roof:

YMCA Tower

You can visit Jerusalem International YMCA tower (for a fee). On the other side of the street (between the tower and the Old City), you can see King David Hotel. And when standing on the street, you can see that the YMCA tower is higher than the King David Hotel. The question is how much higher and whether you will see the Old City. The answer is not much higher. You can see the Old City and Mount Zion, but not too well.

Here are several photos from the YMCA tower:

You can use the elevator to get to the top of the tower, but it will not be to see the Old City.

To see the Old City, you can visit the viewpoint by the nearby Montefiore Windmill.

Montefiore Windmill

If you take King David street to the south, you will reach Montefiore Windmill in the Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood after approximately a five-minute walk.

And this is Mount Zion with the full moon:

Mamilla Rooftop Restaurant

11 Shlomo Ha-Melekh Street is the address of the Mamilla hotel. And on the roof of the hotel, there is a restaurant. The restaurant offers similar views to Montefiore Windmill.

Rehavam Gandhi Observation Point

Rehavam Gandhi Observation Point is the most known viewpoint on the Mount of Olives. It is located near Seven Arches hotel. There is no street number, so here is the link to Waze and the GPS coordinates: (31.776062634016384, 35.24314945555557).

Here is the Old City from Gandhi Observation Point:

Augusta Victoria Hospital

You can visit Augusta Victoria church-hospital complex if you continue to the north of Mount of Olives. The Church has a tower. Here are several photos from the tower:

As you can see, the photos are pretty old. I photographed them back in 2007 with my first digital camera. They used to hold concerts in the Church, and when the shows ended, we visited the tower.

Mount Scopus Observation Decks

Several places on Mount Scopus allow great views. Here are the most popular observation decks:

• HaMasu’ot Lookout is located at Martin Buber Street 14. This viewpoint is near Tzurim Valley National Park and Ancient Jerusalem Sifting Project. You can join the sifting project and then head to the observation deck.
• Tabachnik Garden by Jerusalem University has two lookouts: one to the east – the Dead Sea and the Judean Desert, and the second pointing to the west – towards the Temple Mount. The garden is located on Binyamin Mazar Street (GPS coordinates – 31.7916810593285, 35.241532611382).
  Note: the observation deck to the west is also called Nancy & Lawrence Glick Observation.

Several years ago, we participated in Ancient Jerusalem Sifting Project at Tzurim Valley National Park. When the activity ended, we headed up the mountain, and when we were near HaMasu’ot Lookout, I took the following photos.

I photographed the Old City and added notations. Here is the result:

Here is another cityscape from there:

And here is a closeup photo of the Dome of the Rock:

If you are wondering about the distance, I will mention that the photo above was made with Nikor 28 – 300 lens at 190 mm on a full-frame body.

Armon Hanatziv Promenade

Our last viewpoint is located to the south of the Old City. It is Armon Hanatziv Promenade.

The Armon Hanatziv Promenade in south Jerusalem comprises three physically connected promenades but constructed using distinct architectural styles: The Sherover Promenade, the Haas Promenade, and the Goldman Promenade.

Source: Jerusalem Development Authority

Several years ago, we visited Haas Promenade (located along Daniel Yanofsky Street). Here are several photos from there:

I shot the following photo with a 200-500 mm lens at 200mm.

The observation deck on the Haas Promenade overlooks the Old City, Mount Scopus, and the Mount of Olives. This is the ultimate place for viewing the Old City, the Mount of Olives, Mount Scopus, and Nahal Kidron. From here, you can see the City of David, the location of the Canaanite Jerusalem. The promenade runs along the edge of the Peace Forest planted by KKL-JNF following the Six-Day War. The promenade connects to the Sherover and Goldman Promenades and creates a wonderful continuous path that overlooks Jerusalem and the Judean Desert.

Source: KKL

Summary

Using the mentioned viewpoints, we saw the Old City of Jerusalem from all directions. And I hope this article gave you several ideas for future visits.

What is your favorite viewpoint in Jerusalem? Tell us in the comments below.

That’s all for today, and I’ll see you in future travels!

Stay Tuned!

For additional points of interest nearby, check out Jerusalem.

Additional Resources

Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:

• Trip Planner with Attractions and Itineraries is the page that will help you create your perfect travel route.
• What is the Best Time to visit Israel? To answer this question, we will consider the weather, prices, holidays, festivals, and more.
• Information and Tips for Tourists to Israel will answer the most common questions tourists have about Israel (including safety, passports, weather, currency, tipping, electricity, and much more).
• Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves include a complete list, top ten, map, tickets (Israel Pass, Matmon, combo), and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, Akko (Acre), Eilat, Nazareth, Safed (Tzfat), and Makhtesh Ramon.