While Israel's vibrant culture provides for interesting festivals throughout the year, summer is when it really kick starts. June events begin with the majestic opera in the desert at Masada as well as Jerusalem's light festival. World famous music stars will perform this summer in Israel, with the Queen Madonna opening her world tour in Tel Aviv couple of days ago.The Sunday Telegraph ESCAPE Magazine Travel editor Brian Crisp shares his experience in Tantalising Tel -Aviv !

Over 50,000 spectators are expected to enjoy The Masada Dead Sea Opera Festival that will take place on June 7-12, 2012, at Mt. Masada, Israel. This year the third Masada opera festival held at the majestic landscape at the Judean desert overlooking the Dead Sea, will perform Bizet’s Carmen.

Under a canopy of shining stars the majestic power of the Mountain of Masada will serve as a background to a huge “Opera House” in the middle of the desert.Read more..

Just a few months after opening their doors the new Effendi Hotel in the ancient city of Acre has already been awarded by the prestigious Travel and Leisure magazine as one of the world’s best new hotels.Praising the new Effendi which offers travellers a unique boutique experience on the shores of the Mediterranean sea, Travel and Leisure Magazine said: “It’s hard to believe that two Ottoman-era mansions in Acre, a beach-lined port city in Israel’s northern Galilee..Read more..

Jerusalem was selected as one of the top 25 most sought after destinations in 2011, reacing number 13 out of 337 in a survey held by the prestigious and popular website “Tripadvisor”.In 2011 the number of night stays in Jerusalem hotels amounted to 3,854,500 nights, 18% of all night stays in Israel.80% of the tourists who visited in Israel in 2011 visited Jerusalem.The most visited sites were the Wailing Wall (visited by 60% of all tourists), the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem (55%), the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem (48%) and the Mount of Olives (46%).
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