A fool's guide to Akko! (Akko (Israel))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Akko (Israel)
Date:	25/02/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice walled town with a beautiful relaxed coastline

Disadvantages: None except I missed the good part

Whilst Jaffa surpassed my expectations as a charming Israeli coastal town, Akko disappointed. Akko is located in the north west of Israel, relatively close to the Lebanese border. It's accessible by train from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and of course Haifa. Egged bus also ply several routes, connecting the majority of large towns with Akko.

I had stayed the night in a northern suburb of Haifa and under-estimated the distance between Haifa and Akko, I walked the whole lot - quite far on a hot morning!

By the time, I got to Akko, I wanted to check out the coast. I had a feeling that I was missing something throughout my visit to the town as it didn't quite seem to match the descriptions that I had read about. Sure it was old looking, sure the town had a fortress right along the coast but I failed to find much in the way of bazaars, restaurants or mosques and I even struggled to come across people. The streets were dead! Well I had a nice walk around along the coast and watched the fishermen fishing out at sea on the rokcs, a scene which they say hasn't changed for 1000's of years.. On the other side of the road were a handful of restaurants but apart from that it mostly seemed a bit like a parking lot. I didn't see what the big deal was.

A few days later, I let my curiosity get the better of me and decided to look at some satellite maps of the area, I saw where I had gone wrong - I basically missed a small but important section of Old Akko, the very centre of Old Akko supposedly with a special atmosphere, an array of good food and a selection of fine old buildings with a great history - it seems as though I will have to return to Akko - perhaps combining it with a visit to Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights.

Summary: Take a map with you!