The Galilee is the backdrop for most of the scenes in the Gospels.
If you’re based in the Lower Galilee or making a day trip from another region, here are some of the Christian sites you must see, and just a few of the many other gems(*). We will divide the sites into day trips. Remember that in this case the itinerary is very ambitious. This means that we cover many sites without the ability to meander about at all of the sites.
One or Two day tour
The sites listed below will take you a very intense day or a more leisurely two days. When we begin to add in the off-the-beaten-track gems you easily reach a full two days of touring.
Nazareth, childhood home of Jesus, has several moving, historical sites with which we begin our tour. The Church of the Annunciation, highlight of this Franciscan compound, is the traditional site of the Angel Gabriel’s meeting with the Virgin Mary. Nearby, over an area said to be the place where the townsmen engaged in commercial activities stands the 20th century Church of St. Joseph.
About a ten minute walk north of the The Church of the Annunciation, we approach the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Gabriel. If time permits stop on the way to the church as the spice shop along the road. In the church a spring issues forth out of the rock. This spring was used until the 1960’s. Nearby is the so-called Mary’s Well, a symbolic representation of the ancient well.
Later, we will walk through the Old City market of Nazareth and see the Church-Synagogue of Nazareth, said to be built over the ancient synagogue from the time of Jesus. If time permits, wandering the streets of Old Nazareth is worth while.