Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Bus -- Bus service is available to Nazareth from all major cities.

By Car -- Nazareth is in the center of the lower Galilee, almost midway between Haifa and Tiberias. From Tiberias, take Rte. 77, and turn south onto Rte. 754 near Kana, which will take you into Nazareth. From Haifa, take Rte. 75.

Visitor Information

The Tourist Information Office (tel. 04/657-0555) is on Casa Nova Street (also called El Bishara St. or Annunciation St.) near the intersection with Pope Paul VI Street, open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm, Saturday from 9am to 1pm. A Nazareth website -- with excellent information on places of interest, walks, shopping, and food -- is www.nazarethinfo.org.

Currency Exchange -- Use the centrally located Bank Ha-Poalim on Pope Paul VI Street beside the Hamashbir Department Store, open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8:30am to 12:30pm and 4 to 6pm; Wednesday and Friday 8:30am to noon. Change Spot Nazareth (tel. 04/657-7288), a money-changer, is located on the second floor of the Jumbo Center on Pope Paul VI Street near Casa Nova Street. It's open Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 8pm. It's usually faster than the bank and charges no commission.

Bus Station -- There is no actual bus station: Intercity buses stop on busy Pope Paul VI Street near Bank Ha-Poalim. Egged Information is just across from the bank (tel. 04/656-9956), open daily 6am to 6pm. Buses to Haifa or to Tiberias leave approximately every 30 minutes. It is best to ask at the information counter for the number of the most convenient bus next departing for your destination.

Police -- For Police, phone tel. 100; for first aid tel. 101; for fire tel. 102.

Pharmacy -- Farah Pharmacy (tel. 04/655-4018), Pope Paul VI Street, beside Egged Information, is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 6:30pm and Wednesday and Saturday 8am to 2pm.

Orientation

Arriving -- Nazareth has a "bypass," a road that circles the town, which explains the confusing signs that point in opposite directions for the same destination. One of these destinations is Nazareth Elit (or Nazorat Ilit -- meaning Upper Nazareth), the new, modern, mostly Jewish suburb to the north, planned by the government to create a Jewish community beside the city of Nazareth, which is actually a separate municipality. Housing is so tight in Nazareth that Nazareth Elit is starting to become a mixed Jewish, Christian, and Muslim town. You'll pass by it on your way to Tiberias.

City Layout -- Down Paul VI Street and into the center of Nazareth, you follow the signs to the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth's principal religious monument off Paul VI Street on Casa Nova Street (also known as Bishara or Annunciation St.). Use the basilica's huge cupola, topped by a beacon, as your landmark -- everything you'll need is within sight of the basilica. There are very few street signs, and building numbers are often in Arabic. Remember that it's downhill to the basilica and the center of town from most points in the city. The main roadway downhill into Nazareth (and uphill out of it) is separated into a right-hand roadway, clogged with cars parking, unloading, and waiting; and a central, less-gridlocked roadway for (we hope) moving traffic.

Casa Nova Street is the approach to the basilica, and on it you'll find restaurants, cafes, hotels, hospices, and the Tourist Information Office.

The bus station in Nazareth is a stretch of Paul VI Street just east of Casa Nova Street, a few steps from the Basilica of the Annunciation.