Day Trips from Jerusalem

Begin with dawn breaking over Herod's cliff-top palace, sandstone glowing rose-gold while the cable-car clanks. After tracing mosaic floors and Roman baths, descend to Ein Bokek for that surreal, oily float in the Dead Sea, skin stings, then softens under a chalk crust.

Cross the concrete terminal into Palestinian Authority territory. Ten minutes later you're sipping cardamom coffee beside Manger Square. The Church of the Nativity's cedar-scented incense hits first, then the surprise murals by Banksy on the separation wall, political art sprayed in salty afternoon air.

Suddenly the desert blooms: you'll smell damp mint and hear ibex hooves clicking on limestone as you climb past David's Falls. The cascade hits a cool pool where you can dunk your head before continuing to the Chalcolithic temple ruin overlooking the emerald Dead Sea slice.

The West Bank's de-facto capital pulses with rooftop bars brewing citrus-scented pale and galleries that smell of fresh turpentine. Start at the tomb of Arafat, detour through crowded fruit souks, then sip iced pale-ale while looking over olive groves from the chic rooftop at sunset.

Trade Jerusalem stone for sea-salt breeze: train to the coast, then walk the wooden promenade past clinking masts. The marine reserve off Herzliya offers the closest coral snorkel, tiny parrot fish flicker between purple fans, and when you surface the café serve iced espresso that tastes like toasted sesame.

Hidden in the Jerusalem Hills, Sataf's terraces still irrigate vines with 3,000-year-old channel systems. Hike among fig trees, pick warm blackberries beside Jewish and Arab volunteers, then eat wood-fired flatbread slathered with hyssop pesto in the eco-café that smells of pine needles.