Let me be clear: I’m no travel writer. I’m just a college student who had the good fortune of traveling to Israel recently.

When I first learned that I would be making the trip, I was ecstatic. 

I would be spending a week walking where Jesus walked, seeing what the apostles saw, and praying where millions of pilgrims before me have prayed. 

Who wouldn’t be excited?

We walked between the Church of St. Joseph and the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, tracing Christ’s steps on the Via Dolorosa and visiting the site of Golgotha at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We also visited the hometown of a saint. 

These holy sites will be the most memorable from my time in the Holy Land, as I am sure that I will return to each of them in prayer. 

But beyond the holy sites, Israel has many other fascinating places — from historical landmarks to museums and restaurants — that enriched the trip. 

Over the course of the week, we visited dozens of these places to learn about Israeli history and culture. Many of these sites helped provide context for what life was like during the time of Christ and other historic periods.

1. Masada      

Masada, an ancient fortress, sits on a large rock hilltop that plateaus in the Dead Sea region; deep ravines on all four sides make it a strategic military location. 

In the 30s B.C., Herod the Great (the Herod who wanted to kill Jesus) fortified the hilltop, developing a robust military complex, complete with two large palaces, a Roman bathhouse, a warehouse that could store five years’ worth of supplies and a complex water-collection system. 

Visitors can walk among the ruins, which are accessible via a short gondola ride or a scenic, hour-long hike up. There, guests learn the fascinating history of Masada’s construction under Herod and life as a citizen there both under Herod and the Jewish rebels who controlled the fortress after Herod’s departure.

The tour culminates with an explanation of Masada’s tragic demise when the citizens faced the prospect of the Roman army overrunning the fortress in the A.D. 70s.

It is a fascinating location, and the views of the Dead Sea and the Israeli desert are stunning.

2. Water Tunnels at the City of David

Outside of the walls of the Old City, buried under modern-day houses and stores, lies a complex water system no longer in use. 

Built by King Hezekiah eight centuries before Christ, the water tunnels connect a natural spring outside of the Old City walls to a pool within a fortified location. To ensure a secure water supply, King Hezekiah ordered the tunnel to be built as the city prepared to fend off the Assyrian army. 

Today, the tunnels exist as they did 3,000 years ago. Visitors can choose to walk through the dry tunnel, navigating the tight corridors that peasants carved with bronze tools long ago. 

Or, desiring an adventure, visitors can trek through water-filled tunnels, wading through 2 feet of water supplied by the original spring. 

As you walk through, you can’t help but marvel at this engineering feat. You also grasp the significance of water for life. Here, I realized how revolutionary Christ’s “living water” teaching was.

3. Yad Vashem

Sitting on 20 acres of pristine land, Yad Vashem is a memorial, research institute and museum documenting the horrors of the Holocaust.

Opened in 1953, Yad Vashem chronicles as many stories of Holocaust victims as it can, to tell individual stories, not statistics. To date, the museum and research institute have named almost 5 million of the 6 million Jewish Holocaust victims. 

The museum itself tells the heart-shattering story of the Holocaust in a vivid, compelling way. Using first-person testimony, artifacts and photos, the museum captures all aspects and periods of the Holocaust, from the beginning of antisemitism to the establishment of Israel.

But Yad Vashem is more than a museum; it is a memorial.

Across the campus, there are dozens of monuments and memorials to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust and those who helped the persecuted. Perhaps the most compelling monument, though, is the memorial to children killed in the Holocaust. 

Upon entry, visitors are greeted by the images of nine children murdered in the Holocaust. The visitors are then ushered into a pitch-black room where they walk through a labyrinth of mazes. 

The only light source is five candles, which are lit daily; their reflection bounces off of the mirrors to give the impression that there are an infinite number of candles, representing the countless lives killed, including more than 1 million children in the Holocaust.

It is a moving, prayerful experience and well worth the visit for any pilgrim.

4. Israel Museum 

People have inhabited the land that is now Israel for thousands of years. This museum effectively tells this story through archaeological artifacts, images, technology and even a large, outdoor model of Jerusalem.

Here is where the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, some of the oldest and most-well preserved copies of the ancient Hebrew Bible, usually are. 

The museum has an extensive display explaining the significance of the scrolls, who wrote them, and the history of the scrolls’ discovery. 

The second must-see exhibit is the large, 10,000-plus-square-foot model of Jerusalem as it was during the time of Jesus.

5. Sea of Galilee Boat Ride

Take time to find an adventurous activity, such as a boat ride along the Sea of Galilee. 

You can ride in a boat that is an exact replica of the boats that would have been used during the time of Christ. 

The ride brought the Gospels to life for me. 

On the morning of our boat ride, the winds were wailing along the sea. The little boat was tossed back and forth between the waves, yet it handled it masterfully. 

Experiencing the choppy water on the Sea of Galilee called to mind Christ calming the sea.

Honorable Mentions

I would be remiss not to mention the Israeli culinary scene. While I could write more about the food, two establishments particularly stood out: 

Eucalyptus Restaurant. Located in the heart of Jerusalem, owner and executive chef Moshe Basson has crafted a one-of-a-kind dining experience. Using ingredients mentioned in the Bible or known during biblical times, the menu offers a plethora of dishes, from lentil soup (as referenced to in the story of Jacob) to chicken liver pâté served on a macaron. 

For Chef Basson, it’s more than a meal; it’s an art. Basson, when present, interacts with customers or serves food tableside with a flair, entertaining guests with creative presentations of their meal.

Here, patrons will have a delicious meal and will also learn a little about biblical cuisine. 

Tulip Winery. Israel has a sizable wine industry, with more than 300 privately owned wineries. 

At Tulip, owner Roy Itzhaki has created a winery devoted to creating unique wines and employing local residents with mental and physical disabilities. 

Tulip has an incredible story and mission, in addition to phenomenal food and wine (you have to try the pesto cheese, shown above). The winery is a bit out of the way, but well worth the stop.