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Western Wall

Western Wall, Jerusalem

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Western Wall

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Western Wall
4.5
11,164
#3 of 330 things to do in Jerusalem
Historic Sites • Ancient Ruins • Points of Interest & Landmarks • Religious Sites
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The remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem and a place of prayer sacred to the Jewish people.
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< 1 hour
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The area
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Attractions
281 within 6 miles
The Little Western Wall (HaKotel HaKatan)
17
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Popular mentions
4.5
11,164 reviews
Excellent
8,692
Very good
1,845
Average
502
Poor
72
Terrible
53
Suzanne L
Jerusalem, Israel161 contributions
Every person should visit
Sep 2021
We were there over Sukkot when oddly, it wasn't too busy. There were hundreds of chairs, so I could sit and pray in peace. The bathrooms were clean
Written September 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Tibor P
Budapest, Hungary326 contributions
The intersection of world religions
Jul 2021
We were there at dawn on a Saturday, which was Shabbat, and we saw Jewish worshippers in groups praying, coming and going at the Wailing Wall. Meanwhile, the muezzin was calling the Muslims to pray from the minaret. The religious and cultural significance of Jerusalem is also understood at such a moment by those who are otherwise indifferent to religions. If you can visit at a time like this, you will have a fantastic experience. (It's worth to visit the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday early morning, the Franciscan mass at the Holy Sepulchre is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.)
Written September 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
I visited this place🇨🇭🇫🇷🇮🇹🇬🇧🇺🇸
Israel12,142 contributions
Visit on date of its Destruction 1951 years ago
Jul 2021 • Family
True to our family tradition which I created thirty years ago, we come here every year on the Hebrew calendar date, which is 9 Av, also known as Tisha Robert, but we call it Tisha Bob for short.

You can see my many annual reviews of this most holy place on this most significant and special Jewish religious day.

We fast and refrain from any- and I do mean any- food and drink on this day. In our early days, we would come on the night beginning the fast ritual- and we even walked around the entire Old City while fasting, or dii op dntvthe evening exploring 2000 year old underground tunnels. In the most recent half dozen years, we’ve changed that to coming in the afternoon/ evening, after fasting 20+ hours of the 25 hour endurance contest.

This place is of course the most holy and most sacred and most revered and most venerated and most exalted and most extolled and most respected and most honored and most famous Jewish religious site in the State of Israel- second only to the Temple Mount above it, currently a place of dispute.

This year at the Western Wall during the latter segment of the fast day, it was once again very crowded, despite the Corona COVID pandemic.

There were hoardes of loud boisterous wild groups of teenagers, mostly from the United States, mostly uneducated and ignorant of the holy places that they were visiting, and not very respectful of the solemn nature of the day of mourning of the Jewish people. Those tourists were absent last year, at the height of the pandemic of the viral disease.

Together with that group- and as always- were the devout Jews mourning the Destruction by sitting on the ground all night and all day and reciting the prayers, which follow the address by the keynote speaker.

Truth be told, because of the crowds and because of the yet-to-be- vaccinated teenagers who were entrusted to me by their parents (what were they thinking?), we did not approach the Wall itself but remained in the plaza. There, we saw a full size truck with tens of thousands of food and drink packages to be freely distributed to the penitents when the fast would be declared completed by the three stars at 2012 hours. That’s an example of why the Jewish people are called “mercy sons of mercy.”

Another surprising fact- on some of my photos, you’ll see that I brought the teenagers back, with even younger children- on a quiet summer afternoon. Then see the few photos of a HarryD posing, a close up of the famous and essential papers placed in the cracks between the stones, and photos of special soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces, that most moral army in the world, if we may say so ourselves, as they prayed for world peace and unity.

Hey- any one with proper respect and appropriate attire and demeanor (and head covering for males) can approach this magnificent and ancient historical structure that holds within it unbelievable and indescribable holiness (maybe therefore you won’t want to touch it- I never do and never did except once for a second in 1978).

You can walk freely and mingle and observe the prayer rites and rituals and services and devotions from up-close zero range. Therefore, be respectful and stay in the background and be unobtrusive- take photos if it seems to be OK and not disruptive.

Relish your once-in-a-lifetime presence at the most holy place of all space and all time.
Written August 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Menashe7
Sunny Beach10 contributions
Worth it
Jul 2021
Visiting the Western Wall is a very religious experience . We also visited the Temple Mount for an hour and praying up there . Of course we were accompanied by policemen .
Written August 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
tj blake
37 contributions
Special place
Dec 2020
A special place for prayer at the site of the holy Jewish temple. You’ll see folks from every art of the world and every walk of life join together peacefully to show respect to this special place
Written August 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Vicky Silve
Abbadia Lariana, Italy330 contributions
One of my childhood dreams
Jan 2021
Who has never heard about the Western Wall? I had heard about it since I was a child and since then it had begun to populate my imagination. Well, if you haven’t seen it “face to face”, you could never imagine the emotion to see so many people praying there… you should go and see to believe!
Written July 1, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
David G
Gedera, Israel1,279 contributions
a flying visit to the Western Wall/Kottel , during the covid era
Apr 2021
My visit to the Kottel/Western Wall was a flying visit , my first in over a year .

As one might imagine the area of The Kottel has changed considerably since the covid 19 outbreak - this can be seen in the pictures I took .
There are special prayer areas laid out , and the whole area has the appearance of a maze .Those that wish to pray , are expected to observe the usual covid rules - face covering, and social distancing etc .
My advice ( for men ) is NOT to use a disposable kippal (head coverings for men ) which are located near the entrance to the men's side , but to bring ones own kippal if at all possible - even purchasing a kippal in the world famous arab market , is risky these days , unless one washes it BEFORE use .
BTW , I DID have a good time
Written April 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
I visited this place🇨🇭🇫🇷🇮🇹🇬🇧🇺🇸
Israel12,142 contributions
Group prayers from within enclosed plastic capsules
Mar 2021 • Family
This was my first visit in a year, since the Corona pandemic started in March 2020. I noticed and assessed the changes.

This place remains,as ever, the holiest place for the Jewish people, and as such, it is venerated and visited with great frequency, and by large numbers.

There was no investigation or screening of vaccine or immunity status. There was no limitation on the numbers.

Since we were part of a “Son of Commandment”ritual, we were assigned a restricted capsule enclosed in gigantic three meter high heavy plastic sheets with a large white tent structure over the top- ours was G3, and you can view here my ”helpful” photos.

People were confined to pray inside the plastic enclosures, but free to wander in the passageways between them.

The place remains accessible and holy- so utilized and respect that.

As my friends and followers know, I have been here well over a hundred times since 1978, and I have reviewed this site on TripAdvisor ten times- so feel free to read and benefit from past years’ reviews. .

Written April 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
EconomynotBusiness
Hertfordshire, UK2,417 contributions
Very interesting
Feb 2020
This is quite fascinating to experience, definitely worth a visit. Of course, it is a very tall wall but given it's significance in the religious context it seems quite surreal watching the prayers being completed. Some people put their foreheads against the stones, or even kiss the wall. The Western (or wailing) wall is the closest place to the Temple Mount and therefore is thought to be the holiest place for Jews to pray. Very interesting indeed!
Written January 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
ChrisThomasTravels
Ossining, NY542 contributions
A must to observe traditional culture
Dec 2019
A vitally important site for Judaism, members of the Jewish faith can be seen here at all times, faithfully adhering to the instructions laid out in their holy texts.
Written November 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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