Caesarea
Things to do in Caesarea
Every site here that is worth building time around, each one with a page of its own covering what it is, what survives, when it opens and what it costs.
Sites covered
11
each with its own page
Ticketed
11
0 free to walk into
Sourced figures
88
each with its year and source
Citations
120
opened and checked
Caesarea is not one attraction. It is 11 of them, and they do not reward the same amount of time or the same time of day. This page is the index: what each one is in a sentence, how long it takes, and what it costs, so that the choosing happens here and the reading happens on the page for whichever you pick.
Every site below has been checked against its operator's own published information. Where a site charges admission, the price on its page is the operator's published price with the year it was taken. Where it sits inside a larger park, its page says which ticket covers it.
4 sites
The ruins and excavations
israel zeller ישראל זלר / CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site
Crusader City and Ramparts
Louis IX of France walled a town of about 120 dunams here in 1251, a fraction of the Roman city, and cut a dry moat round it that the park's operator still measures at 8 to 10 metres deep.
- Time:
- about 90 minutes for the gate, the rampart walk and the moat, longer if the harbour is included
- Entry:
- ₪46
זאב שטיין / CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site
Herod's Harbour (Sebastos)
The breakwaters that made Caesarea possible are still there, five to seven metres down, and the harbour began settling into the seabed almost as soon as it was finished.
- Time:
- about 60 minutes for the harbour front and the vaults, or about 25 minutes if the visitor centre is the only stop
- Entry:
- ₪18
4.7 on Google, 810 ratings
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site
Herod's Hippodrome and Amphitheatre
A racing floor 301 metres long by 50.3 metres wide, laid on sand between Herod's palace and the sea, with eight starting gates at its northern end.
- Time:
- About 30 minutes for the arena itself, or an hour taken together with the promontory palace beside it
- Entry:
- ₪46
זאב שטיין / CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site
Roman Theatre of Caesarea
Herod's builders had no hillside to work with, so they stood the seating on a semicircle of vaults, and the building has been a working concert hall again since Pablo Casals played it in September 1961.
- Time:
- about 45 minutes for the theatre and the finds garden, and about three hours for the whole national park
- Entry:
- ₪46
4.6 on Google, 3,183 ratings
3 sites
Museums and collections
Dr. Avishai Teicher / CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Museum
Caesarea Maritima Museum, Sdot Yam
A kibbutz collection with a single author: Aharon Wegman began picking up Caesarea's antiquities when he settled here on 2 May 1940, and the museum and the collection were named for him after his death in 1993.
- Time:
- about 45 to 60 minutes for the three rooms and the courtyard, longer with a guide
- Entry:
- None. The operator's ticket page gives no figures and asks visitors to arrange a visit by telephone or email
4.4 on Google, 73 ratings
Museum
Caesarea Harbour Visitors' Centre
Four of the fourteen Herodian vaults that carried the temple platform above the harbour were dug out, stabilised and opened to the public in June 2019, after about five years of work.
- Time:
- about 25 to 30 minutes
- Entry:
- ₪46
4.8 on Google, 14 ratings
israel zeller ישראל זלר / CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Museum
Ralli Museum
Two museums a retired banker built and endowed in the modern town above the ruins, both free to enter, one hung with Latin American surrealism and the other with European biblical painting of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
- Time:
- about 90 minutes for both buildings, longer with the grounds
- Entry:
- Free (₪0). The foundation publishes free entrance for every Ralli museum.
4.8 on Google, 3,521 ratings
1 site
Quarters and streets worth walking
שי קנדלר / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Neighbourhood
Jisr az-Zarqa
The town on the ridge north of Caesarea was laid out in 1926 for marsh dwellers displaced when the Kabara swamp was drained, and its local council calls the fishermen's village below it the only one still working on the Israeli coast.
- Time:
- about 2 hours for the harbour, the bridge and the beach, or half a day with a meal and a guided walk
- Entry:
- Free. There is no admission charge and no ticket office.
1 site
Parks, reserves and the landscape
מיכל פריימן / CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Nature reserve
Taninim Stream Nature Reserve
A stone wall 194 metres long, thrown across the gap the stream cut through the kurkar ridge, raised the water by three metres and turned the Kebara valley into a lake of about 6,000 dunams, which is the only reason Caesarea's low aqueduct could run downhill.
- Time:
- about 90 minutes, and up to three hours if the whole trail network and the wet route are walked
- Entry:
- ₪24
1 site
The water
Beach
Caesarea Aqueduct and Aqueduct Beach
The arcade behind the sand north of the harbour is two Roman aqueducts built hard against each other, and in February 2026 three bodies signed a ₪39 million agreement to stabilise all 85 of its arches.
- Time:
- about 60 to 90 minutes, or a half day if the plan is to swim
- Entry:
- Free
4.6 on Google, 531 ratings
1 site
Things to do rather than see
Activity
Caesarea Underwater Archaeological Park
Four marked trails and 28 numbered signs run over the drowned moles of Herod's harbour, the shallowest at four metres and the deepest at nine.
- Time:
- About 90 minutes for one snorkel or one guided dive, counting the briefing and the kit; about half a day for two dives
- Entry:
- 50 NIS
Planning the rest of it
Seeing the sites is one part of a day here. These cover the others.
Sources and further reading
Every link below was opened and checked when this page was written. Official statements are marked as such: they are the subject's own account, not an independent one.
- OfficialCaesarea Development Corporationcaesarea.comThe Aqueduct
the operator's English page: the springs about ten kilometres out, the castellum, the sequence of aqueducts, and the statement that the site now stands on an official beach
- OfficialCaesarea Development Corporationcaesarea.comCaesarea aqueduct and Arches Beach: information and opening hours
the operator's Hebrew page and FAQ: free entry, April to October, 08:00 to 17:00, lifeguard, kiosk, showers, shade, drinking water, accessibility and the ban on sleeping over
- OfficialCaesarea Development Corporationcaesarea.comBeaches and Water Activities
the operator lists the aqueduct among its beach and water sites
- OfficialIsrael Nature and Parks Authorityparks.org.ilCaesarea National Park
park hours and the ₪46 and ₪27 admission quoted for comparison; the aqueduct does not appear on the park's own page
- OfficialAnna Szenes House, Kibbutz Sdot Yamhannahsenesh.org.ilThe Caesarea Antiquity Museum
the operator's English page: three exhibition rooms, the Roman-style courtyard, the collection categories and the current opening hours
- OfficialAnna Szenes House, Kibbutz Sdot Yamhannahsenesh.org.ilמוזיאון אוצרות קיסריה
the Hebrew page for the same museum, with the hours and the telephone number
- OfficialAnna Szenes House, Kibbutz Sdot Yamhannahsenesh.org.ilרכישת כרטיסים
the ticket page, which publishes no prices and asks visitors to book by telephone or email
- OfficialCaesarea Development Corporationcaesarea.comמוזיאון אוצרות קיסריה שדות ים
the inventory of the display halls and the note that the building was put up in the manner of a Roman structure
- ReportingThe Times of Israeltimesofisrael.com2,000-year-old arch in Caesarea aqueduct collapses; official: 'We sounded the alarm'
18 August 2023: the collapse, Eli Eskosido's statement and Ami Shahar on the aqueduct at Acre
- ReportingYnetnewsynetnews.comRoman-era aqueduct collapses in central Israel
independent account of the same collapse, attributing the fallen section to the Hadrianic phase
- ReportingThe Times of Israeltimesofisrael.comTwo years after collapse, Caesarea aqueduct to be restored in joint project
February 2026: the ₪39 million agreement, the ₪15 million and ₪24 million split, 85 arches, about 40 months, springs some 16 km north-east
- ReportingThe Jerusalem Postjpost.comCaesarea's Roman-era aqueduct to undergo multi-million shekel preservation, restoration project
second, independent account of the same agreement and of what each body has undertaken to do
- ReportingRadio Haifa 107.5FM1075.fmA national resource or a financial burden? Hof HaCarmel Regional Council to petition the High Court
27 April 2026: the five declared beaches, the 42 km coastline, more than three million bathers a year, and Asif Isaac's letter to the Interior Ministry
- ReportingRadio Haifa 107.5FM1075.fm'Out of responsibility to the public': Hof HaCarmel Regional Council reverses course and opens the beaches
30 April 2026: the reopening, the six beaches named, and the lifeguard hours of 09:00 to 17:00 and 08:00 to 18:00 in July and August
- ReferenceYosef Porath and Uzi 'Ad, 'Atiqot 81, Israel Antiquities Authoritypublications.iaa.org.ilExcavations along the High Level Aqueduct to Caesarea Maritima
the excavation sequence for Channels A, B and C, the Flavian dating of Channel A, and the six centuries of use ending in 640/1
- ReferenceHebrew Wikipediahe.wikipedia.orgThe aqueducts of Caesarea
channel dimensions, gradients and capacities, the cornice absorbed into the join, the count of eleven inscriptions and the Greek text of 385
- ReferenceWorld History Encyclopediaetc.worldhistory.orgThe Hadrianic aqueduct of Caesarea Maritima, Israel
Hadrian's visit in 130 CE, the four legions named in the inscriptions and where surviving specimens are held
- ReferenceiNatureinature.infoAqueduct Beach
the two car parks and the lifeguard station 300 metres north, the marble plaques on the western face, the low-level channel by the car park, the Israel National Trail and the sea daffodils
- ReferenceMuseums Association and ICOM Israelicom.org.ilמוזיאון אוצרות קיסריה, museum directory entry
the association's record of the museum: no parking, no wheelchair access, no restaurant
- ReferenceHakibbutz Hameuchad, via Kotarkotar.cet.ac.ilספר מוזיאון שדות-ים לעתיקות קיסריה
the 1999 memorial volume edited by Rivka Gersht, and its publisher's account of the museum's making
- ReferenceRivka Gersht, via Kotarkotar.cet.ac.ilהקדמה, ספר מוזיאון שדות-ים לעתיקות קיסריה
Gersht's preface: Wegman's death on 4 July 1993, the abandoned full catalogue and the material already published elsewhere
- ReferenceAsher Ovadiah and Yehuda Rotem, via Kotarkotar.cet.ac.ilאהרון וגמן מייסד המוזיאון ומנהלו הראשון, דברים לזכרו
the memorial chapter: the settlement of 2 May 1940, the Mandate antiquities laws, the collecting rule and the museum's formation
- ReferenceHakibbutz Hameuchad, via Kotarkotar.cet.ac.ilתוכן עניינים, ספר מוזיאון שדות-ים לעתיקות קיסריה
the contents page, which names each specialist and subject in the 1999 volume
- ReferenceBryn Mawr Classical Reviewbmcr.brynmawr.eduArt in the Public and Private Spheres in Roman Caesarea Maritima, review
Hagith Sivan's description of Wegman as founder of the museum at Sdot Yam and of the 1999 volume written in his memory
Things to do in Caesarea: common questions
How many days do you need in Caesarea?+
There are 11 sites here with a page of their own, and giving each the time its own page suggests comes to more than one day. Most visitors pick three or four and treat the rest as a return trip. The per-site pages each carry a "how long to give it" figure, which is the number to add up.
What does it cost to see Caesarea?+
11 of the 11 sites listed here charge admission and 0 do not. Every ticketed one has its published price on its own page, with the operator's page linked beside it. Israel's national parks also sell a multi-site pass, which pays for itself at roughly the third park.
Are these sites open on Shabbat and holidays?+
Most national parks and museums keep shortened Friday hours and either close on Saturday or open late. Each page carries the hours as the operator publishes them, and the operator's own page is linked, which is the only version that will be current on the day you go.
Where do the opening hours and prices on these pages come from?+
From the operator: the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the museum, the municipality or the site's own management, whichever publishes them. Each figure links the page it was taken from. Ratings and review counts, where a page shows them, come from a dated snapshot of Google Maps and are labelled as such rather than presented as current.
Which one is worth it if you only see one thing in Caesarea?+
Caesarea Aqueduct and Aqueduct Beach is the one this guide would keep. The arcade behind the sand north of the harbour is two Roman aqueducts built hard against each other, and in February 2026 three bodies signed a ₪39 million agreement to stabilise all 85 of its arches.
Is there anything worth seeing that is not on this list?+
Plenty, and that is deliberate. A site earns a page here when a visitor could reasonably spend half an hour there, when there is enough documented substance to write a real page about it, and when the operator publishes something a visitor can plan against. Things that fail those tests are covered on the Caesarea overview instead of padded out into pages of their own.