Caesarea. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Caesarea, a town on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, was listed as one of the 50 best places to visit in 2020 by Travel + Leisure magazine.

The publication announced its annual list last week and described the town in north-central Israel, known for the Caesarea National Park, as “the happy marriage of antiquity and modernity.”

Travel + Leisure said sites worth visiting in Caesarea included the new King Herod Visitor’s Center, which is “named for the port’s founding monarch and built in the massive arched vaults that once stood beneath a temple, [and] displays recent archaeological finds, such as colorful mosaics and gold coins recovered from shipwrecks.”

The magazine also suggested that visitors “admire the ancient harbor from a table at Helena Restaurant — a seaside fine-dining spot that features locally foraged ingredients and Israeli wines — then wander the ruins of bathhouses or explore submerged Roman breakwaters, columns, and cargo along the snorkeling and scuba diving trails at the Old Caesarea Diving Center. Spend the night at the newly renovated Dan Caesarea, a posh midcentury resort built by French banking scion Baron Edmond de Rothschild.”

Other locations in the Middle East named in Travel + Leisure‘s global list were Dubai, Istanbul, and Doha. This year’s list also featured seven destinations in the United States.

The magazine said it compiled its annual list by taking into consideration tourism statistics, major events, new flight routes and hotel and restaurant openings, among other factors. They also “scroll through the Instagram posts of our most well-traveled pals,” “mine our inboxes for tips,” and consult with trusted travel experts, writers, hospitality insiders and other industry professionals.