Tiberias or Tverya is a common stop during your Jewish heritage trip, and popular amongst Israeli family vacations. Visitors can enjoy many activities, attractions, and tourist facilities that provide superb natural settings, history, contemporary attractions, relaxing vacations along with water sports of all kinds, great dining and shopping, and sites that are unique to Jews and tourist sites as well as popular with Christians who travel on their holy land tours.
This destination is the lowest Israel city at some 200 meters below sea level, and is next to the beautiful Lake Kinneret, more commonly known as the Sea of Galilee. Israeli’s on a Jewish tour in Israel for the first time will discover a lively tourist destination with many luxury first class hotels, a large marina offering sailing and boat rides, and a scenic promenade offering delicious restaurants, tourist shops, pastry and ice cream parlors, and pups and cafes with locals and tourist alike. In the summer months the popular bazaar is open for wonderful souvenirs to bring back home, and the rich smells and sounds of music make for a excellent Israel tour experience.
Tiberia also offers delicious sea food directly from its lake at the local famous Tiberias fish market. The fishing industry is a big part of the economy in the city, and many local boats fish daily for fresh fish every morning that is sold in all the local restaurants, and local markets.
The Dona Gracia Museum provides for a wonderful time with beautiful sounds and facilities seen from the Renaissance era. The museum tells the story of Gracia Nasi, and incredible humanitarian whom used her personal wealth to save many Israeli families and Jews from the Spanish Inquisition, by constructing the city of Tiberias.
South of the city is Hamat Tiberias National Park, not as popular as the Dead Sea, however this park offers a unique natural therapeutic springs known to many Israeli’s, with its 60 degree Celsius waters, with hundreds of minerals offering therapeutic health benefits. This area is known for healing and health wellness, and is older then 2000 years attracting tourist from even the First Temple period. The waters from the natural park come down and feed the Tiberias spring spa. The spa also provides several thermo mineral pools, body treatments, specialty spa treatments as well as a relaxing environment with an amazing view of Lake Kinneret during your Jewish Israel tour.
Tiberias and its surrounding lands has been a important place in history for many centuries, offering a key fresh water source for Israel, and a good economy revenue from the lake, and rich lands. History has proven both the Kinneret area and Tiberias itself important to both Jews and Christians alike. King Herod built the city in 17-22 C.E., naming it after his Roman patron, Emperor Tiberius. In the 2nd through tenth centuries, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in the Galilee, and the Jew religious and political hub, as well as an integral place for Jewish art, creativity and spirituality.
Tiberias has been populated since its foundation and many dwellings, buildings and ruins from a variety of eras including by Crusaders and the Ottoman Empire are well preserved in the surrounding areas. Also here you can find during your Jewish heritage tour, Daher El-Amar’s 18th century fortress, a Jewish bath for Jewish ritual, the black-basalt remnants of the city wall, and the Church of Saint Peter which stands today on the ruins of a Crusaders Church.
South of Tiberias is Yardenit, the site traditionally recognized by Christianity as the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. This site in the Jordan River attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrimages from around the world.
Tiberias is a marvelous Israel tour destination, and a magical land of natural beauty, expanding beaches and a variety of attractions and activities in the city, and city and lake surroundings.