Each year, more than three million come on a pilgrimage to Bethlehem. However, only a third of tourists spend the night there, contenting themselves with a day trip from Jerusalem to visit the famous Basilica of the Nativity . This small town of 30,000 inhabitants, located in the occupied West Bank, however deserves that we linger there because it has much more to offer than the essential birthplace of Jesus.
Cradle of Christianity, Bethlehem has become in recent years a high place of street art under the leadership of the British artist Banksy who even opened a hotel there. Bordered by the separation wall built by Israel, it is also a crucial step to better understand the stakes of the conflict and the daily life of the Palestinian population.
Read also: Bethlehem: Banksy imagines a Christmas crib at the foot of the separation wall
Visit the Basilica of the Nativity
The Basilica of the Nativity shelters the cave where Jesus of Nazareth was born. Neil Ward / Creative Commons
You will have to be patient to see, even for a few seconds, the presumed place of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Built in the 4th century and listed as a Unesco world heritage site since 2012, the Basilica of the Nativity, considered to be one of the oldest churches in the world, attracts several million pilgrims each year. The Orthodox churches of Jerusalem, Armenian Catholic and Apostolic, which jointly manage the place, were forced to set up a quasi-military organization. If the building conceals some treasures, like these sumptuous Byzantine mosaics of the 12th century, the visitors rush especially in the cramped cave, located under the basilica, to meditate under the altar of the Nativity. There, a silver cross with fourteen branches symbolizes the place where the Messiah would have come into the world.
Our advice
Despite the crowds and the short time you can spend in the cave, visiting the basilica remains a "must do" in Bethlehem. To limit the wait, choose a weekday and go early in the morning or late afternoon, once the tourists have left.
Eat Square. Open every day from 6.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. from April to September, and from 5.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October to March. Please note, the cave is closed on Sunday morning. Free entry.
Admire the Milk Cave
Many women come to meditate in the Milk Cave in the hope of becoming pregnant. Mélanie Rostagnat
According to Christian tradition, it is here that the Holy Family would have taken refuge during the massacre of the Innocents, before fleeing to Egypt. Breastfeeding Jesus, Mary would have dropped a drop of milk there, which would have instantly whitened the originally red rock. Many Christian women, but also Muslim women, encountering fertility problems, now come to meditate in the hope of becoming pregnant. Much less visited than the Basilica of the Nativity, the Milk Grotto, on which a Franciscan church was built, is a pleasant and soothing place where the community of perpetual Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament lives today.
Grotto Milk Street. Open daily from 8 a.m. to 11.45 a.m. and from 2 p.m. to 5.45 p.m. from April to September, until 4.45 p.m. from October to March. Free entry.
Enjoy a delicious hummus at Afteem
The hummus from Afteem restaurant is considered the best in town. Mélanie Rostagnat
Since 1948 Afteem has served one of the best - if not the best - hummus in Bethlehem. In a vaulted stone room, always crowded but in which you will be found without waiting too long for a table, tourists from all over the world and locals flock to taste the specialties of this family of Palestinian refugees from Jaffa. The menu is succinct, a sign of freshness, the servers are efficient and cheerful, the room lively. Perfect for a lunch break between two visits. In addition to the traditional plate of hummus, don't miss the “mosabaha” (hot hummus served with chickpeas) and the “foul” (a recipe based on beans, garlic and lemon juice). For those in a hurry, a kiosk in front of the restaurant offers good take-out falafels.
Afteem. Manger Square (in the small street which goes down to the right just after the Peace Center). Open Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Phone. : +970 2 274 7940. €
Getting lost in the alleys of the old town
In the streets of the old town, many traders sell spices, pastries, aromatic herbs and fresh fruit. Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA)
Pass Manger Square and you will no longer see any tourists. Going up Star Street , in front of the basilica, after the few souvenir shops, you enter the authentic old town of Bethlehem . In these pretty cobbled streets lined with old stone houses, traders and locals play elbows, we savor the delicate smell of fresh dates, we taste a traditional pastry, we rehydrate ourselves with a good mint tea, we discover life colorful of these Middle Eastern markets where everything is sold and bought in a delicious cacophony.
Our advice
After your walk in the souk, take a break at the café of the Hosh Al-Syrian hotel which has a pretty terrace which overlooks the old city.
Hosh Al-Syrian. Star Street. Open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Phone. : +970 2 2747529. €
Treat yourself to an olive wood crib
In the workshop adjoining the shop, the craftsmen cut the wood to make cribs, santons and crosses. Mélanie Rostagnat
Located a few meters from the Grotte du Lait, the Giacaman family's boutique has offered a wide range of religious objects in olive trees for over a century. Nativity scenes, figurines, crosses, the Virgin Mary, Christmas decorations… Everything is carved on the spot, using wood from Israel and the West Bank. The boss will be happy to show you around his workshop, which adjoins the store, where you can admire the meticulous work of his craftsmen. Do not hesitate to negotiate, the prices displayed are those reserved for tourists who come in groups with a guide.
Christmas House, Milk Grotto Street (on the right sidewalk going towards the Milk Cave). Open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Phone. : +970 22 757 235.
Along the separation wall
Many artists and anonymous people have covered Israel's separation wall with graffiti and messages of peace. Mélanie Rostagnat
Bethlehem is also the eight-meter-high concrete wall that separates the Palestinian Territories from Israel. "Security Wall" for some, "wall of shame" or "apartheid" for others, it symbolizes by itself the fifty years of a devastating conflict which no one seems to see the outcome. To understand the challenges of this struggle for territory and freedom, go visit the Walled Off Hotel museum , built by Banksy, which presents, with precious testimonies, models and archives, the stages of the construction of the wall and its impact on the local population, with a particularly careful scenography. The hotel also offers fairly informative tours organized by refugees. A condensed history lesson on one of the most complex conflicts of the 20th century.
Our advice
To go along the wall, go north of the old town, around the Walled Off Hotel and the Hebron road . Here, in the middle of the city, you will see whole sections covered with numerous graffiti and messages of hope for the future of Palestine.
The Walled Off Hotel, 182 Caritas Street. Museum open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Phone. : +970 22 771 322. € (entrance to the museum at 4 €, 2h tour charged at 35 € per person)
In Search of Banksy's Works
The Armored Dove was painted by Banksy in the same place where 40 people were killed during the first Intifada. Mélanie Rostagnat
In 2005, a year after the opinion of the International Court of Justice in The Hague which described the construction of the wall as illegal, Banksy affixed a first series of graffiti to the work. A fervent defender of the Palestinian cause, the enigmatic British artist then returned to Bethlehem several times before opening a hotel there, in March 2017, which houses several of his works. Since then, many graffiti artists and anonymous have taken over, covering the wall with messages of peace. If this approach is not unanimous among the local population, some refusing that the wall become a space of artistic expression and a place of tourist wandering, those who wish to leave a trace can go to Wallmart, the shop from the Walled Off Hotel, where you can make your own stencils and rent spray paint.
Our advice
Banksy's works still visible in Bethlehem include The Armored Dove (at the corner of Caritas Street and Manger Street ), The Girl Frisking the Soldier (in a souvenir shop next to the Bethlehem Museum on Hebron Road ) , Angel Sprinkling Hearts (opposite the Ararat Hotel on Beit Sahour Road) and The Flower Thrower (behind a garage on Ash Salon Street next to Sheperd's Field Apartments). On December 20, 2019, Banksy's latest work, a manger called The Scar of Bethlehem , was unveiled in the entrance of his hotel.
Wallmart of the Walled Off Hotel, 182 Caritas Street. Boutique open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone. : +970 22 771 322. € (15 € for the creation of a stencil and the loan of spray paint, allow a good hour of work)
A sunset at Shams Al-Aseel restaurant
The Shams Al-Aseel restaurant offers breathtaking views of the Al-Makhrour valley. Shams Al-Aseel
Located in the Christian town of Beit Jala , 3 km from Bethlehem, the Shams Al-Aseel restaurant offers breathtaking views of the Al-Makhrour valley . You can taste family cuisine, which highlights Palestinian specialties, based on local products and mostly from organic farming. Housed in an old stone house on a hillside, the restaurant has a large garden with deckchairs. An ideal place to admire the sunset. The restaurant is open all year round, but spring and summer are the ideal seasons to enjoy the outdoor space. Do not hesitate to chat with the boss, Hazem, who will tell you the eventful history of this place of resistance.
Shams Al-Aseel. Al-Makhrour Road, Beit Jala. Open daily from noon to midnight. Phone. : +970 594 616 011. €
TRAVELOGUE
The best time to visit Bethlehem
If the Christmas holidays are particularly festive in Bethlehem, the best time to go there however extends from April to October.
What does our grading system correspond to?
€: less than 50 euros per person, excluding drinks.
€€: from 50 to 100 euros per person, excluding drinks.
€€€: more than 100 euros per person, excluding drinks.