By air
Israel's main international airport, Ben Gurion , is 50km west of Jerusalem near the town of Lydda (Lod), and 18km east of Tel Aviv. As you leave the terminal building, taxis are directly in front of you, buses over to your left. As well as frequent Egged buses to Jerusalem (every 30-40min; a 45min journey) for around 8NIS, there is also a 24-hour sherut service operated by Nesher Taxis, 21 King George St, Jerusalem (tel 625 2223 or 625 2226), costing 35NIS and best booked in advance; they rank just to the left of the other taxis at the airport. Nesher will usually drop you anywhere in town, though they may not be too keen to take you east of the Green Line.

The telephone code for Jerusalem is 02. To call Jerusalem from abroad, dial the international access code (tel 00 from the British Isles or New Zealand, tel 011 from North America, tel 0011 from Australia), then 972-2, followed by the subscriber's number.

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Arriving by internal flight, Jerusalem's own airport, Atarot , is 10km north of town, close to Ramallah. There are no buses into town, so you'll have to take a taxi or walk to the main Jerusalem-Nablus road (Route 60), and flag down one of the Ford Transit service taxis en route from Ramallah to the Damascus Gate, or the Palestinian bus #18 on the same route.

By bus
Egged buses from within Israel arrive at the Egged Central Bus Station in West Jerusalem, between the Jaffa Road (upstairs) and Agrippas Street (downstairs). Numerous city buses run east along the Jaffa Road into town: #6, #13, #18, #20, #23 and #48 for downtown West Jerusalem; #6 to the Jaffa Gate; and #27 for the Nablus Road terminal, near the Damascus Gate. Should you decide to walk, climb up to the Jaffa Road, turn right, and you'll be in central West Jerusalem after a kilometre or so, and at the corner of the Old City after two.

Buses from the West Bank drop you at one of the two bus stations in East Jerusalem, near the Damascus Gate. From here, bus #23 runs to West Jerusalem, or it's a twenty-minute walk - look for the walls of the Old City, turn right alongside them up Sultan Suleiman and Paratroopers Road until the wall ends, and then take a right up the Jaffa Road.

Mazda Tours buses from Cairo and Amman arrive at their office on the corner of Koresh and King Solomon, at the northwest corner of the Old City, near the New Gate and the Jaffa Road.

By service taxi
Service taxis (sheruts) from Tel Aviv run twenty-four hours a day, and most will bring you to HaRav Kook Street, off Jaffa Road in the centre of downtown West Jerusalem. From Allenby Bridge or the West Bank (and sometimes from Tel Aviv), service taxis will leave you in East Jerusalem by the Damascus Gate.

By train
Unfortunately, there is only one train daily to Jerusalem (a 2hr journey from Tel Aviv), which arrives at the city's train station on David Remez, southwest of the Old City. From there you can either walk for 1.5km along the Hebron Road to the Jaffa Gate (or take bus #30 or #38), or walk up David Remez and continue up King David and Shlomzion HaMalka to central West Jerusalem (bus #21 or #48).