Jerusalem Old City TourTower of David Museum: Tickets, Hours and the Night Show
The Tower of David Museum sits in the ancient citadel beside Jaffa Gate, and an adult ticket costs ₪55. This guide covers the museum tickets and opening hours, the renewed 10-gallery exhibition, the citadel and its minaret, the Night Spectacular sound and light show and the Ramparts Walk that starts next door. The figures below come from the museum's own price list and published schedules. If you would rather see the Old City with a guide first, compare Jerusalem Old City tours and then come back to the citadel on your own. Jaffa Gate itself has its own page, so this one stays inside the walls of the fortress.
The Tower of David citadel walls beside Jaffa Gate in the evening light. Photo: Jorge Láscar from Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick answer Tower of David Museum at a glance
A Tower of David Museum ticket costs ₪55 for adults, ₪35 for children and ₪44 for students, and the Night Spectacular costs ₪69 on the museum's own price list.
Key takeaways
- The museum reopened after a $50 million renewal with a new permanent exhibition in 10 galleries. See what is inside the citadel.
- The night show is a separate ticket. A museum ticket does not include it, and the two shows run outdoors for about 40 minutes. Details in the Night Spectacular section.
- The Ramparts Walk starts at Jaffa Gate next door and costs ₪25 for adults. Compare it in the Ramparts Walk section.
- Prefer a guided introduction first? The Jerusalem Old City Shabbat Tour starts at Jaffa Gate and passes the Tower of David, and the Jerusalem Old City Walking Tour covers the Old City in 4 hours.
Tickets and Opening Hours
The figures below come from the museum's own entrance page and the city's published opening hours list. No other prices are official.
What a Museum Ticket Costs
The museum's own price list gives ₪55 for adults, ₪35 for children, ₪44 for students and ₪28 for Israeli seniors. A combined museum and night show ticket costs ₪108. The city tourism portal has shown a lower adult figure of ₪50, marked as reduced from ₪55, but the museum's list price of ₪55 is the figure to budget for.
The ticket includes the Phasael Tower viewpoint, the moat, the courtyard and guided tours by advance registration. It does not include the night shows, which are sold separately. The ticket office closes one hour before the museum, so arrive in time to buy or collect a ticket.
You enter through a pavilion to the right of the courtyard at the exit of Mamilla Road, marked by three red flags. The citadel is beside Jaffa Gate, which has its own page on this site.
| Ticket or day | Price or hours |
|---|---|
| Adult | ₪55 |
| Child | ₪35 |
| Student | ₪44 |
| Israeli senior | ₪28 |
| Night show, adult | ₪69 |
| Combined museum and night ticket | ₪108 |
| Sunday | 12:00 to 17:00 |
| Monday, Wednesday, Thursday | 9:00 to 17:00 |
| Tuesday | 9:00 to 20:00 |
| Friday and Saturday | 9:00 to 15:00 |
| Ticket office | Closes one hour before the museum |
Opening Hours by Season
The museum's published schedule gives Sunday 12:00 to 17:00, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 to 17:00, Tuesday 9:00 to 20:00 and Friday and Saturday 9:00 to 15:00.
The city's opening hours file adds a winter pattern for January to March: Sunday 12:00 to 17:00, Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 17:00 and Friday 9:00 to 15:00, with no Saturday line in that entry. April to December matches the museum's own weekly schedule. Because the two sources overlap, treat Friday's 15:00 close as the safe planning figure in any season and check the museum's site before a Saturday visit.
The 2023 Reopening
The Tower of David museum first opened in 1989. It reopened on 1 June 2023 after a renewal that cost $50 million. The renewal added a new permanent exhibition spread over 10 galleries and two glass lifts, which make the galleries accessible to wheelchair users. One part is not accessible: the Phasael Tower viewing deck, where the lifts do not reach.
If you want context before you go, the Jerusalem Old City Shabbat Tour passes the Tower of David on its walk from Jaffa Gate.
Sources: Tower of David entrance page
What Is Inside the Citadel
The citadel is a fortress with a museum inside it, and both are worth the ticket.
What the Tower of David Is
The Tower of David is a citadel beside Jaffa Gate. The standing walls date mainly from the Mamluk rebuild of 1310 and from Ottoman work carried out between 1537 and 1541. The museum inside opened in 1989.
The minaret is Ottoman, built between 1635 and 1655. In short, the Tower of David is a fortress that holds a museum.
- Citadel walls: mainly Mamluk work of 1310 and Ottoman work of 1537 to 1541
- Minaret: Ottoman, built 1635 to 1655
- Museum: opened 1989, renewed and reopened 1 June 2023
- Permanent exhibition: 10 galleries
- Access: two glass lifts serve the galleries, the Phasael Tower deck is not accessible
The Galleries and the Viewpoint
The renewed exhibition has 10 galleries. The renewal cost $50 million and added two glass lifts, so the galleries themselves are wheelchair accessible. The Phasael Tower viewpoint is not, so if someone in your group cannot climb, plan for the courtyard, the moat and the galleries and treat the viewpoint as optional.
The ticket covers the Phasael Tower viewpoint, the moat and the courtyard, and the museum runs guided tours if you register in advance. The Armenian Quarter is on the right just inside Jaffa Gate, by the Tower of David. The Armenian Quarter Jerusalem guide and the four quarters of Jerusalem overview both cover what lies around the walls, and the Jerusalem Old City itinerary shows where the citadel fits into a day.
Sources: Tower of David, museum entrance page
The Night Spectacular
The citadel runs two outdoor evening shows, sold separately from museum admission.
Price, Tickets and the Numbers Conflict
The Night Spectacular costs ₪69 for adults on the museum's published 2025 price list. A combined museum and night ticket costs ₪108, and the museum gives a 5 percent discount on night show tickets bought on its own website. The city tourism portal lists the show at ₪65, which does not match the museum list even after the online discount. The museum's own ₪69 is the figure to plan around, and buying on the museum site is the way to shave the price.
A museum ticket does not include the night show. You need a separate ticket for the evening, or the combined ₪108 ticket if you want both in one purchase. A VIP night show package adds a guide, balcony seating, a blanket and a glass of wine.
| Night ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Night show, adult (museum price list) | ₪69 |
| Night show, adult (city tourism portal) | ₪65 |
| Combined museum and night ticket | ₪108 |
| Online discount on the museum's own site | 5% |
What the Show Is and When It Runs
Two shows run at the citadel, KING DAVID and The Night Spectacular. Each runs about 40 minutes and is shown outdoors, in what the museum calls the international language of sound and images. Both shows are wheelchair accessible.
How often the shows run is the one point where sources disagree. The city tourism portal says the night shows run twice a week at the moment. The museum's own night shows page lists no fixed nights. The safe answer is that the schedule is limited and variable, so check the museum's booking page for the evening you want rather than assuming a fixed weekly night. Start times for specific evenings are not given here.
If you want more of the Old City after dark, the Ramparts Walk operator advertises a JLM Lights night tour of the illuminated sites.
Sources: Tower of David night shows
The inner courtyard of the Tower of David with an olive tree and the citadel walls. Photo: שלמה רודד, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
The Ramparts Walk Next Door
Both promenades along the top of the Old City walls start at Jaffa Gate.
Tickets and the Two Routes
A Ramparts Walk ticket costs ₪25 for adults and ₪12 for students, retirees, children and soldiers. Both promenades start at Jaffa Gate, so you can combine the citadel in the morning and the walls after lunch without changing area.
The Southern Promenade runs from Jaffa Gate over the Armenian and Jewish quarters to Zion Gate. It passes above the Armenian Quarter and ends at Zion Gate on the southern wall. The Northern Promenade runs from Jaffa Gate over the Christian and Muslim quarters through New Gate and Damascus Gate to Herod's Gate, which some signs call Flower Gate. The northern route passes over the Damascus Gate area.
| Ramparts Walk | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | ₪25 |
| Student, retiree, child, soldier | ₪12 |
| Southern Promenade | Jaffa Gate to Zion Gate |
| Northern Promenade | Jaffa Gate to Herod's Gate via New Gate and Damascus Gate |
Hours by Season and Access
In July and August the ramparts open Sunday to Thursday from 9:00 to 21:00. On Fridays and Saturdays in that period only the southern section opens, from 9:00 to 14:00. Hours outside July and August are not given here, so confirm before planning a winter walk.
The Ramparts Walk is not wheelchair accessible. The city walls run about 4.5 km around the Old City. Both routes start at Jaffa Gate, whose own history, checkpoint hours and vehicle breach are covered on its dedicated page.
Sources: Ramparts Walk
How the Citadel Was Built and Rebuilt
The walls and tower you see today are the work of several centuries of builders, not one period.
Layers of Stone from 1310 Onward
The standing walls of the citadel date mainly from the Mamluk rebuild of 1310, with further Ottoman work between 1537 and 1541. The museum itself opened in 1989, so the exhibition inside is far younger than the building around it. The minaret that gives the tower its skyline profile was added by the Ottomans between 1635 and 1655.
The citadel sits by Jaffa Gate, whose Ottoman gate was built in 1538. The wide breach beside it was cut in 1898 so Kaiser Wilhelm II's party could enter on horseback and in carriages, and that breach is now the main route for vehicles into the Old City from the west.
Guides can put these layers in order for you. The Jerusalem Old City Shabbat Tour at $47 per person starts at Jaffa Gate and includes the Tower of David among its stops. For a wider look at the walls era, tours of the Old City of Jerusalem cover the whole walled 0.9 square kilometres in a single circuit.
Around the Citadel at Jaffa Gate
Half an hour around the entrance is enough to collect several more dates and details.
What Stands Next to the Moat
Christ Church stands just inside Jaffa Gate opposite the citadel. It was consecrated on 21 January 1849 and is the oldest Protestant church building in the Middle East. It closes Monday, Tuesday and Saturday and opens Wednesday to Friday and Sunday from 9:00 to 15:00.
Jaffa Gate itself has a 90-degree bent entrance designed to slow attackers, plus an overhead fighting cell called a mishikuli. The gate is known in Arabic as Bab al-Khalil and in Hebrew as Sha'ar Yafo. The vehicle checkpoint beside it runs Sunday to Thursday 9:00 to 18:00 and Friday and holiday eves 9:00 to 13:00, admitting approved vehicles such as shuttles up to 24 seats.
The entrance pavilion of the Tower of David is to the right of the courtyard at the exit of Mamilla Road, marked by three red flags. Paid parking nearby is at the Mamilla Boulevard or Karta car parks.
If you want the citadel explained as part of a longer route, the Jerusalem Old City Walking Tour at $57 per person runs 4 hours from Jaffa Gate. More background on the gates is in the guide to the gates of Jerusalem Old City, and Jerusalem Old City tours lists every option in one table.
Tower of David Questions
What is the Tower of David?
It is a citadel beside Jaffa Gate that holds the Tower of David Museum. The standing walls date mainly from the Mamluk rebuild of 1310 and Ottoman work of 1537 to 1541, and the minaret was built between 1635 and 1655. The inside the citadel section covers what you see.
How much does the Tower of David Museum cost?
The museum's own price list gives ₪55 for adults, ₪35 for children, ₪44 for students and ₪28 for Israeli seniors. The full tickets and hours section has every figure.
Is the Tower of David the same as the Tower of David Museum?
The names are used for the same site. The citadel is the fortress and the museum is the exhibition inside it, reopened on 1 June 2023 with 10 new galleries after a $50 million renewal. Both are covered in what is inside the citadel.
Does a Tower of David museum ticket include the night show?
No. The museum ticket does not include the night shows, which cost ₪69 for adults on the museum list, or ₪108 combined with museum entry. The Night Spectacular section explains the tickets and the price conflict.
When does the Tower of David night show run?
The sources disagree. The city tourism portal says the shows run twice a week at the moment, while the museum's own page lists no fixed nights. Check the museum's booking page, and see the Night Spectacular section for what each show is.
Can I walk on the Old City walls near the Tower of David?
Yes. The Ramparts Walk starts at Jaffa Gate next door, costs ₪25 for adults and ₪12 for reduced tickets, and runs north to Herod's Gate or south to Zion Gate. The Ramparts Walk section compares the two routes.