Ashdod, Israel

The bustling port town of Ashdod provides easy access to Israel’s most important cultural hubs, the cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv and glorious Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, explore the White City, a vast collection of exceptionally preserved Bauhaus-style buildings that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Step into beguiling artists’ studios and galleries in neighboring Jaffa, a town of densely packed streets that is possibly the world’s oldest port.

As one of the holiest sites for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed walled Old City of Jerusalem abounds with countless religious and cultural treasures. Watch the sun glinting off the gilded Dome of the Rock, spend some time reflecting at the Western Wall and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built at the location where Jesus is believed to have been crucified and buried. Take in sweeping views of the entire city from the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the Gardens of Gethsemane, home to gnarled olive trees over 2,000 years old. A bit further east, float upon the therapeutic waters of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth, and contemplate the profound significance of these sacred lands.