Notre Dame of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Notre Dame of Jerusalem is a large stone pilgrim hospice and church centre standing just outside the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem, opposite the New Gate. Built by French Catholic monks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is known today for its rooftop views over the Old City and for its place on the old dividing line of the city.

The story behind it

The building was raised by the Assumptionist Fathers, a French Catholic order, as a hospice for pilgrims coming to the Holy Land. It was designed to look like a grand European institution, and its size set it apart from almost everything around it when it was completed. It was originally known as Notre-Dame de France.

In 1948 the building ended up on the front line between Israeli and Jordanian forces and was badly damaged. It was later restored, and in 1973 it passed into the ownership of the Holy See. Today it works as a guesthouse, pilgrim centre and cultural venue, run by a Catholic religious order.

What to look for

• The statue of the Virgin Mary on the roof, which faces the Old City and makes the building easy to spot from several directions.
• The heavy, symmetrical stone facade, which looks more like a French institution than most buildings in the neighbourhood.
• The view from the rooftop terrace, where you can look across the walls to the domes and rooftops of the Old City, if the terrace is open when you visit.
• The New Gate directly across the road, which makes it clear why this site was chosen as a threshold between the walled city and the new districts.

Tips for your visit

• Allow about 30 to 45 minutes if you want to see the exterior, step inside and take in the view from the terrace.
• Check current opening hours and access to the rooftop before you go, as visitor access can change.
• Late afternoon is a good time for the view, when the light on the Old City stones turns warm.
• The New Gate, the Christian Quarter and Damascus Gate are all a short walk away, so it fits easily into a wider walk around the Old City edge.

Explore it on a quest

The best way to understand why this building stands where it does is to walk the streets around it. Discover the area on one of Questo's self-guided quests in Jerusalem, where the app leads you on foot from place to place, tells you about each stop as you reach it and sets a puzzle in what is in front of you. There is no guide and no group to join, so you can start whenever you like.