The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is Israel’s National Museum. Founded in 1956, the Israel Museum was extensively extended and refurbished reopening in 2010. The focus of the museum is on the art, Judaica and ancient artifacts of the Land of Israel and beyond, with the museum holding some 500,000 artefacts, with 7,000 on active display.

Israel Museum, Jerusalem via Kym Rohman, on Flickr

Whilst there is loads to see at the Israel Museum, there are a number of stand-out highlights. The Shrine of the Book houses the Dead Sea Scrolls which are some of the oldest Biblical scrolls ever found. Adjacent to this is an amazing model of Second Temple Era Jerusalem which reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to its destruction by the Romans in 66 CE.

Within the main museum galleries are thousands of archaeological artifacts, pieces of artwork, and Judaic history. Since re-opening innovative exhibitions of modern and interactive art have brought the museum to life, whilst life-size reproductions of synagogues from diverse corners of the world are fascinating especially in the way they enable you to imagine you are thousands of miles away.

You can buy your tickets for the Israel Museum Jerusalem online here