2 Best Sights in Haifa and the Northern Coast, Israel

The name of this site is a misnomer because it's actually the town's original water tower, built in 1891. Zichron Ya'akov was the first village in Israel to have water piped to its houses; Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv, came here to see how it was done. The facade, with its inscription honoring Baron de Rothschild, resembles that of an ancient synagogue.

In Venezia Square, in front of the port, is the two-tiered Inn of the Pillars. Before you visit this Ottoman khan—the largest of the four in Akko—and the Pisan Quarter beyond, take a stroll around the port, with its small flotilla of fishing boats, yachts, and sailboats. Then walk through the khan's gate beneath a square clock tower, built at the turn of the 20th century. The khan served vast numbers of merchants and travelers during Akko's golden age of commerce, in the late 18th century. The 32 pink-and-gray granite pillars that give it its name are compliments of Ahmed el-Jazzar's raids on Roman Caesarea. There was once a market at the center of the colonnaded courtyard.