Acre: Crusaders, Markets & Sea

Acre, also known as Akko, is one of the Mediterranean’s great historic port cities. Its Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with visible layers from the Crusader and Ottoman periods inside walls that still face the sea.

A private walk can move through the underground Crusader city, including halls built for the Knights Hospitaller, then emerge into Ottoman markets, mosques, khans, sea walls, and the working harbour. There is room to focus on architecture, food, Jewish and Arab history, the Crusaders, the Ottoman city, or Acre’s relationship with the wider Mediterranean.

After Jerusalem fell to Saladin in 1187, Acre became the capital of the Crusader Kingdom and the main Christian port in the Holy Land. Its story is about a city built around arrival: merchants, pilgrims, armies, refugees, spices, languages, and ideas all came through its harbour, leaving a city that still feels connected to the sea.