Western Wall Jerusalem: A Visitor Guide to the Kotel

Hours, Entry and Access at a Glance

The Foundation's directions page states that the prayer plaza is open all day, every day of the year, 24 hours. The Foundation gives walking times from the gates: 15 to 20 minutes from Jaffa Gate and the same from Zion Gate, 5 to 7 minutes from the City Hall light rail stop to Jaffa Gate, 10 to 20 minutes from the nearby parking lots and 5 minutes from a taxi drop-off. Wheelchair access to the plaza is only from Dung Gate, so plan that route if anyone in your group uses a chair. City buses 1, 2, 3 and 83 are the public transport the Foundation names for the Wall. The Foundation's dress code line says only that visitors should dress appropriately, and it publishes no detailed rules on its guidelines page, so treat modest dress as the safe reading. Prayer books and paper notes to place between the stones are available at the plaza, and the Foundation also lets people submit a note online that is placed in the Wall for them.

The table below pulls the published figures into one place. Every line comes from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation's own directions and guidelines pages or from Wikipedia's Western Wall article.

Getting to the Plaza

Dung Gate is the only wheelchair route to the plaza, according to the Foundation. The Red Line light rail stops at City Hall, and the Foundation counts 5 to 7 minutes from there to Jaffa Gate and the walk from Jaffa Gate to the Wall is another 15 to 20 minutes. The Jewish Quarter guide covers the area.

If you drive, the Foundation lists three options: the Karta lot at Jaffa Gate paid by the hour, the free Mount Zion lot and the Mamilla lot. A Western Wall shuttle train runs between 10:00 and 16:00 every 45 minutes from Karta Parking Lot B to Goren Square near the Wall, and it is free for Bar Mitzvah families on Monday and Thursday. If you would rather have the route led for you, a guided walk such as the Jerusalem Old City Walking Tour from Jaffa Gate, at $57 per person over 4 hours, reaches the Wall as part of a wider circuit of the quarters.

• Jaffa Gate: 15 to 20 minutes on foot, reached from the City Hall light rail stop in 5 to 7 minutes
• Dung Gate: the only wheelchair route to the plaza
• Zion Gate: 15 to 20 minutes on foot
• Parking: Karta at Jaffa Gate (paid), Mount Zion (free) and Mamilla
• Shuttle: Karta Parking Lot B to Goren Square, 10:00 to 16:00, every 45 minutes

Rules at the Plaza

The Foundation's guidelines for behaviour are short and specific. On Shabbat and Jewish holidays visitors are asked not to use electronic devices or amplification, not to take pictures and not to write. At any time, eating, smoking and lighting candles are not allowed at the plaza, and Torah scrolls may not be brought in.

Alcohol, balloons, signs, sharp tools, musical instruments and animals other than guide dogs are banned. A shofar is allowed only during the month of Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance. Prayer areas are separated by gender under Orthodox rules.

The plaza is open to the sky with no shade, and a rooftop area near the restrooms offers some cover, so the Foundation advises bringing water and comfortable shoes, an umbrella in autumn and winter and a hat and sunglasses in spring and summer. If you want to see the plaza with context from a guide, the Old City Shabbat Experience tour reaches the Wall at sunset for $47 per person.

When It Is Busiest

The Foundation does not publish crowd figures for the plaza, so no hour-by-hour claim can be made here. What is documented is the pull of the site: the bar and bat mitzvah service the Foundation runs is described as free of charge to plan, its preparation involves six meetings in the family home and ends with a tour of the Old City and the Western Wall, and a Young Guides programme lets bar and bat mitzvah children lead a tour for their family in the Tunnels or the Chain of Generations Center. Because the plaza is open 24 hours, you can also come very early or late.

For the underground routes that start beside the plaza, the Foundation recommends arriving about half an hour before a reserved tunnel tour time.

How Long It Is and How Much You Can See

The Western Wall runs 488 m in total along the Temple Mount's western side. What stands exposed at the prayer plaza is far shorter, and the two main sources give two figures. Wikipedia puts the exposed prayer section at 57 m, with about 19 m of the wall visible above the plaza.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation's own page for the Great Stone Route says the wall runs almost half a kilometre in total and that only about 70 m is exposed at the plaza. Wilson's Arch and Warren's Gate give underground access along the wall, and the tunnel routes are covered in full in the Western Wall Tunnels guide.

Courses and Herodian Stones

The wall is built of 45 courses of stone, 28 of them above ground and 17 below. The lowest 7 courses date to the Herodian period, around 19 BCE. One of the huge Herodian stones near Wilson's Arch is 13.55 m long and weighs an estimated 250 to 300 tonnes.

The Temple Mount above the wall and its own visiting rules are a separate subject, covered in the Temple Mount guide.

Wilson's Arch

Wilson's Arch and Warren's Gate give underground access along the Western Wall. The Foundation runs several tunnel and underground routes from here: the Great Stone Route, the Great Bridge Route, A Look into the Past, the Chain of Generations Center and The Journey to Jerusalem. The Great Stone Route, the original tunnels tour, costs ₪38 for adults and ₪25 for children 18 and under, soldiers, students, people with disabilities and senior citizens, takes about an hour, runs Sunday to Thursday 09:00 to 22:00 and Friday 09:00 to 13:00 with entry every 20 minutes, and must be reserved in advance with a certified guide.

The Great Bridge Route is entered through the lobby of the Western Wall Tunnels sites, to the left of the prayer plaza, and costs the same ₪38 for adults. Those routes, their hours and their cancellation terms are laid out in detail on the Western Wall Tunnels page.

A Short History of the Plaza

The wall itself is Herodian in its lower courses, but the space in front of it is modern. The plaza dates from 1967, covers about 20,000 m2 and replaced a narrow alley of about 120 m2. After June 1967 the Moroccan Quarter was cleared within 48 hours and about 650 residents were displaced to open the space, and the prayer area grew from roughly 120 m2 to 2,400 m2.

The Old City covers 0.9 square kilometres in total. The Foundation's visitor line *5958 and its Ha'Omer 2 office handle the practical questions the plaza itself cannot answer.

What the Foundation Asks on Shabbat

On Shabbat and Jewish holidays the Foundation asks visitors not to use electronic devices or amplification, not to take pictures and not to write. That includes writing a note to leave in the stones. The rest of the plaza rules run all week: no eating, no smoking, no lighting candles and no bringing in Torah scrolls.

The Foundation also bans alcohol, balloons, signs, sharp tools, musical instruments and animals other than guide dogs. A shofar is allowed only during the month of Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance.

• No electronic devices or amplification on Shabbat and Jewish holidays
• No pictures on Shabbat and Jewish holidays
• No writing, including notes for the wall, on Shabbat and Jewish holidays
• No eating, smoking or candles at the plaza on any day
• No alcohol, balloons, signs, sharp tools or musical instruments at any time

Friday Evening and the Days Around It

Shabbat begins on Friday evening. Getting to the wall on Friday needs planning, because buses stop from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening and the light rail runs on Friday only until an hour before sundown. The Foundation gives the walk from Jaffa Gate or Zion Gate to the wall as 15 to 20 minutes.

To see the Jewish Quarter as the city closes down for Shabbat, with a guide, the Jerusalem Old City Shabbat Tour runs 2.5 hours for $47 and reaches the wall at sunset. A wider list of Jerusalem Old City tours is on the Jerusalem Old City tours homepage.

• Buses do not run on Shabbat, from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening
• The light rail runs Friday until an hour before sundown
• Jaffa Gate or Zion Gate to the wall is a 15 to 20 minute walk per the Foundation

Bar and Bat Mitzvahs at the Wall

The Foundation runs a bar and bat mitzvah service and says its planning help is free of charge. Its preparation programme is six meetings in the family home and ends with a tour of the Old City and the Western Wall. A Young Guides programme lets bar and bat mitzvah children lead a tour for their own family in the Tunnels or the Chain of Generations Center.

One confirmed transport detail: the free shuttle train from Karta Parking Lot B to Goren Square, which runs 10:00 to 16:00 every 45 minutes, is free for Bar Mitzvah families on Monday and Thursday. No page states the ceremony days.

Dates That Matter

The table below pulls every dated event the sources give for the wall and the plaza, from the Herodian courses to the plaza of 1967. The lowest 7 of the wall's 45 courses are Herodian, around 19 BCE, and the wall runs 488 m in total with 28 courses above ground and 17 below. After 1967 the prayer area grew from roughly 120 m2 to 2,400 m2, and the plaza now covers about 20,000 m2.

How Big the Wall Really Is

The wall is 488 m long in total, and only a slice of it stands in the open. Wikipedia puts the exposed prayer section at 57 m, with about 19 m visible above the plaza, while the Foundation says about 70 m is exposed. Both agree that most of the wall hides underground, which is what the tunnels route along Wilson's Arch and Warren's Gate reveals.

One Herodian stone near Wilson's Arch is 13.55 m long and weighs an estimated 250 to 300 tonnes.

The Tunnels Below

Wilson's Arch and Warren's Gate give underground access along the wall, and the Foundation runs several routes through them, including the Great Stone Route at ₪38 for adults and the Great Bridge Route, which takes about an hour. The Great Stone Route runs Sunday to Thursday 09:00 to 22:00 with entry every 20 minutes and must be reserved with a certified guide. Full prices, hours and booking rules are on the Western Wall Tunnels page.

The Temple Mount Above

The Temple Mount has its own entry gate and restricted visiting hours for non-Muslim visitors. Hours change without notice, so read the current figures on the Temple Mount page before you plan a combined visit. The sealed Golden Gate sits on the eastern wall of the compound.

The Jewish Quarter

The Jewish Quarter is home to the Hurva Synagogue, the Cardo and the Burnt House. What to see and what things cost are on the Jewish Quarter page.

Tours That Stop at the Wall

Every tour below except the private four quarters walk lists the Western Wall as a stop, and that walk covers the four quarters with no named stops. None of the walks includes lunch, and only where stated does a tour cover entry fees, so read each card. For the full set, see the comparison table of Jerusalem Old City tours.