With lockdown ongoing and flights grounded, it’s set to be a while before we can travel to Israel — but if you had to miss out on a Pesach trip, or simply fancy cheering up quarantine, here’s how to visit some of the country’s sites without leaving your chair.

Jerusalem

Discover some of the city’s most famous sites with a 360-degree virtual tour of the Old City before exploring some of Jerusalem’s attractions in more depth.

At the Tower of David Museum, a planned new XR or extended reality installation has been turned into a virtual experience until the museum reopens.

The Holy City has been captured by an inter-faith team to allow visitors to experience Jerusalem during Passover, Easter and Ramadan, available through a VR headset or via a computer or phone. 

For families, take a virtual tour of the city’s Israel Museum, including activities for kids. The Museum for Islamic Art, the only one of its kind in Israel, has also added some exhibits displayed in 3D to its website from a collection which includes musical and scientific instruments as well as calligraphy, gold, silver and jewellery.

Tel Aviv

If you’d rather be by the beach, head over to Tel Aviv for the city’s own 360-degree VR tour — start on the sand, head to Carmel Market, check out some of the Bauhaus buildings and discover Jaffa’s Old City with this video.

Finish up at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art which is adding new video tours and audio guides, along with activities for kids, to its website. Check out the latest options here.

Virtual tours

If you want to see more than a single city, check out one of the virtual reality tours of Israel — 3D Israel has a whole series of online tours across the country. You could dive underwater in Eilat, or virtually float on the Dead Sea as well as venturing into the Negev.

Or head north to see the Caesarea aqueduct as well as to Akko, whose Old City is a Unesco World Heritage Centre with its history shaped by Romans, Ottomans, Crusaders and Byzantine culture, among others.

Israeli culture

Tune in to the Israeli Philharmonic which is broadcasting its concerts as well as tutorials from its Facebook page. There’s a choice of longer pieces as well as short videos if you fancy a quick musical break.

Or transport yourself to the country with an online book from Citykat which features illustrations of the people, food, nightlife and architecture. It’s a fun introduction for those who’ve never been before but you’ll find a few pages to tempt even if you’re a long-time visitor.

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