Ramallah: a first-timer's guide to Palestine's busiest city

Why visit Ramallah

Ramallah grew from a Christian hill village into the de facto administrative capital of Palestine, and it is where ministries, NGOs, universities and businesses gather. That gives it energy you feel at once: traffic around Al-Manara Square, new apartment blocks on every hill, students in the cafés and families out late in the summer. Visitors who arrive expecting only politics find a place that loves music, books, coffee and good food.

The city centre

Al-Manara Square, with its stone lions, is the heart of town, and the streets around it are full of shops, juice bars, bakeries and street sellers. Walk down to Rukab Street for a cone of stretchy mastic ice cream at Rukab, a local institution, and wander into the covered vegetable market for olives, cheese and herbs. The small Old City, or Ramallah al-Tahta, keeps a few lanes of old stone houses and the historic Friends Meeting House.

Museums and memorials

The Mahmoud Darwish Museum in Al-Tireh honours the national poet with a garden, his tomb, manuscripts and a hilltop amphitheatre; even if you do not know his poems, it is a calm and moving visit. The Yasser Arafat Museum and Mausoleum in the Muqata'a, the presidential compound, tells the story of the national movement through Arafat's life. Fifteen minutes north in Birzeit, the Palestinian Museum sits in terraced gardens with views to the coast on clear days, and its changing exhibitions are some of the best introductions to Palestinian history you will find.

Culture and nightlife

Ramallah has a busy cultural calendar. The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre and the A.M. Qattan Foundation host exhibitions and talks, Al-Kasaba Theatre and Cinematheque shows films and plays, and the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music holds concerts. The city is also the most relaxed in the West Bank about alcohol: several bars, garden venues and restaurants serve drinks, and summer evenings run late. Taybeh beer, brewed in a Christian village nearby, is on many menus.

Day trips from Ramallah

Birzeit's restored old town is a pleasant stop after the Palestinian Museum. Taybeh, half an hour east, has a family brewery that welcomes visitors, old churches and views over the Jordan Valley. Jifna is a village of apricot orchards and Roman ruins, and the valleys around Ein Qiniya are lovely for a walk in spring. Nablus is about an hour north when roads are open, and Jericho is around forty minutes down to the valley.

Where to stay

Al-Masyoun and Al-Tireh are the smartest neighbourhoods, with the larger hotels, cultural centres and the best restaurants, and they are a short taxi ride from the centre. Staying near Al-Manara puts you close to shared taxis and street life but is noisier. The city has a mix of international hotels, mid-range business hotels and a few budget guesthouses.

Getting there and around

From Jerusalem, Arab buses run from the stations near Damascus Gate to Ramallah through the Qalandiya checkpoint, which can be very slow at rush hour; leave plenty of time, especially for the return trip. Within the city, yellow taxis are everywhere, and shared taxis, called servees, leave from the central stations for other towns. Ask your hotel to write your destination in Arabic.

Staying safe

Ramallah is usually calm and is used to foreigners, but Israeli army raids happen at night, demonstrations take place in the centre, and the area around Qalandiya and nearby camps can see clashes. Avoid protests, check your government's travel advice, and keep your passport with you at all times. To weigh Ramallah against other bases, see the full list of Palestine destinations.