Spend one day on the shore and one above it. Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes sit within ten kilometres of each other on the north side, with Magdala's first-century synagogue between them. In town, Hamat Tiberias keeps a fourth-century zodiac mosaic and the hot springs the city was built for. Mount Arbel is the view that ties the whole lake together.
Updated · Wimup Editorial
Tiberias sits about 200 metres below sea level on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, a Roman spa town that became one of Judaism's four holy cities. It is also the only base that puts the lake, Capernaum and the Golan within a morning's drive.
The floor of a fourth-century synagogue survives here with a zodiac wheel at its centre and Hebrew and Greek dedications around it. Seventeen hot mineral springs surface beside it, which is why Herod Antipas put his city on this stretch of shore.
A white limestone synagogue stands on the black basalt walls of the one before it, and an octagonal church on stilts covers the house identified as Peter's. It is the densest site on the lake and the first stop for most groups, so arrive at opening.
A basalt wall dropping to the lake, with the Golan and Mount Hermon behind it. The cliff descent uses fixed handholds and cables and is for confident walkers; the plateau lookout needs no scrambling and holds the same view.
An octagonal church of 1938 on the slope where the Sermon on the Mount is placed, with a colonnade looking straight down at the water. Entry is free and the gardens are the reason to climb: the lake reads as one sheet from up here.
A lakeside town uncovered in 2009 during hotel foundations, including the best preserved synagogue in the Galilee and the carved Magdala Stone found inside it. Duc in Altum, the prayer hall on the shore, is part of the same ticket.
Wooden boats built to the lines of first-century fishing craft run 45-minute crossings from the marina, engines cut in open water. It is the one way to see the shore the way every site along it describes it.
Moses ben Maimon, the physician who codified Jewish law in the Mishneh Torah, was buried here in 1204, with the graves of Yohanan ben Zakkai and Isaiah Horowitz alongside. It is among the most visited Jewish pilgrimage sites in the country.
A fifth-century mosaic floor of herons, ducks and a basket of loaves between two fish, kept under a Benedictine church built on the Byzantine plan. Half an hour is enough, and the Church of the Primacy of St Peter is a few hundred metres downhill.
A fishing boat from the first century BCE, found in the mud in 1986 when the lake dropped, now sitting in a climate-controlled hall after eleven years of conservation. The rest of the museum covers Galilee settlement history.
The Roman theatre held 7,000 before the earthquake of 749 flattened it, and the park around it runs from Herod Antipas's city gate through a Byzantine bathhouse to a Fatimid-era street. It is the quietest ruin in Tiberias.
Free entry, paid parking, and the clearest view of the lake from any church above it.
The loaves and fishes mosaic, fifth century, under a Benedictine church. Closed Sundays.
Black basalt chapel on the water, built over the slab known as Mensa Christi.
Free, open through the day, and one of the busiest Jewish pilgrimage sites in Israel.
Blue-domed complex above the hot springs, with separate entrances for men and women.
The town's own swimming beach, walkable from the promenade and lifeguarded in season.
Municipal beach of shaded lawns south of the centre, with a floating water park in summer.
Two and a half kilometres of quiet western shore, on the marathon route out of town.
The east shore, reached by boat or the long way round. Kayaks, pedaloes and a fish restaurant.
Roman theatre, city gate and bathhouse across 100 dunams at the southern entrance.
A marked circuit of the lake in seven segments, flat, and walkable a section at a time.
Nazareth to Capernaum on foot, usually walked over four days through the Lower Galilee.
Pine slopes and lookouts directly above the city, ten minutes from the promenade.
Indoor and outdoor mineral pools, saunas and a 25 metre heated pool, open daily from 08:00.
Thermal pools in the Yarmouk valley 25 km southeast, with Roman baths and a crocodile farm.
A volcanic plateau of wineries, the vulture cliff at Gamla and the crater on Mount Bental.
The lowest marathon course in the world, run out and back along the lake at about 200 m below sea level.
The new year for trees. Galilee almond blossom is out and the hills are at their greenest.
Pilgrim coaches fill Capernaum, Tabgha and the Mount of Beatitudes from opening time.
Israel's busiest domestic travel week. Lake hotels sell out months ahead and the beaches are full.
A mass pilgrimage to the tomb of Shimon bar Yochai, 40 km north. Expect road closures across the Galilee.
The second peak week of the year. The promenade, the beaches and the national parks all run at capacity.
A 1.9 km swim in the Kinneret, 90 km on the bike through the Galilee, then a half marathon.
Eight nights of lights along the waterfront, and one of the few busy weeks in the winter low season.
The country's main gateway, 140 km southwest. Under two hours by car, or by bus with one change in Tel Aviv or Afula.
Tiberias has no station. The Jezreel Valley line runs to Afula, 30 km southwest, and on to Beit She'an; buses cover the last leg.
Egged and regional operators run to Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Nazareth from the central station. Pay with a Rav-Kav card.
Route 90 runs the length of the lake, Route 77 crosses to Haifa. A car is the only practical way to the north shore sites on Shabbat.
The lake's own tilapia, split and grilled whole. Priced by weight on the promenade.
Warm, with whole chickpeas and olive oil. A breakfast in the Galilee, not a side dish.
Fried to order and packed into pita with salad, pickles and tahini.
Eggs poached in spiced tomato and pepper, served in the pan they cooked in.
Bulgur shells around spiced lamb, fried, or dropped into a sour winter soup.
Shredded pastry over hot cheese in sugar syrup, cut to order at the counter.
Rice, chicken and fried aubergine cooked in one pot and turned out upside down.
Strained yoghurt under Galilee olive oil, scooped up with bread at breakfast.
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