A Day in Acre (Akko): Templar Tunnels and Seafood

Acre packs 4,000 years into a small walled peninsula: a Crusader capital buried under an Ottoman city, a working fishing port, and one of Israel's best food scenes. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site an hour from Haifa by train, and it rewards a full day on foot - underground in the morning, on the walls at sunset, and at a seafood table in between.

The Crusader city below

The headline sight is the underground Crusader city: the Knights' Halls of the Hospitaller fortress, vast vaulted chambers that were buried for centuries under the Ottoman citadel. From there, the Templar Tunnel - a 350-meter passage carved by the warrior-monks - runs under the old city to the port. Above ground, the Turkish bathhouse museum (Hammam al-Basha) and the ramparts walk fill out the picture.

Al-Jazzar Mosque and the market

The green-domed Al-Jazzar Mosque, Israel's largest outside Jerusalem, dominates the skyline and welcomes visitors outside prayer times (modest dress; robes provided). Around it, the old city market winds through vaulted alleys - spices, fresh fish, sweets and the everyday commerce of a living Arab city, not a staged souk. This is a place to wander slowly and buy what smells good.

The food

Acre eats well. The hummus institutions near the market (Hummus Said is the famous one - expect a queue at lunch) serve some of the country's most debated bowls. At the port and along the sea wall, fish restaurants serve the morning's catch with a meze spread; Uri Buri, facing the water, is the most celebrated seafood kitchen in the north. Finish with knafeh or malabi from a market stall.

Practical tips

Trains run direct from Tel Aviv and Haifa to Akko station, a 20-minute walk or short taxi from the old city. Friday and Saturday the market is at its liveliest but many Jewish-run sites close Saturday; check the national park hours for the Crusader halls. Combine Acre with the Bahá'í gardens at Bahji just north of the walls, or with Haifa's terraces as a two-stop day.