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First of all, I had a hard time finding pricing for this museum online, so you should know up front it's 45 shekels per person (about $12 US as of Dec 2019). There are discounts for children, seniors, students, etc. I also want to start by saying that our guide, Sarah, was extremely personable, and that her talk (in Hebrew) was excellent. A very impassioned retelling of the story of the life of Dona Gracia Mendes. Beyond that, there was... nothing. I don't know why other reviews haven't mentioned that there is hardly any museum here. And that the museum is not at all connected with Dona Gracia or her life. Many articles seem to give the impression that the hotel/museum is "the house of Dona Gracia," and this is not the case. I don't even think she ever visited Israel herself, though she might have. You will learn about her, but you will not see anything connected with her except some copies of documents and some relics and furniture designs from the places where she lived and spent her life (medieval Spain, Portugal, Italy). There are some creepy dolls on the second floor. They were presented at the end of the "tour" as an afterthought, like we might want to stop by and see them before we left. Reviews I read here and elsewhere suggested that there is a short movie about her life (one site even refers to it as an "audiovisual display". Whatever you call it, there was no movie. Reviews I read here and elsewhere suggested that after the "tour" you can try on period costume and take pictures. There was no opportunity to try anything on, and no pictures offered. That was a real letdown. Essentially, the "tour" consisted of walking from one room to another and sitting in each room while looking at the furniture and artifacts in display cases. Again, our guide's explanation was terrific -- she has a deep knowledge of this period and a passion for telling the story. But in my opinion that's not quite enough to call this a "museum." It's a 1.5-hour talk, with accessories, for quite a lot of money. I honestly can't believe a place would take your money, call itself a museum, and then just talk at you for 2 hours. It's a private company, so they can do what they like, but as someone living in northern Israel I'm kind of ashamed that this is considered a centerpiece of tourism in Teveria (Tiberias). The story of Dona Gracia is an interesting and even perhaps important chapter in the city's history, but the way this "museum" presents the story, it feels more like a gimmick to attract visitors to their hotel than a deep, rich historical experience.…
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Date of experience: December 2019
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Excellent exhibit of the life of Dona Gracia, a heroine and certainly a leader .in the 16th century. She was extremely inspirational as a woman for all times Excellent display of period costumes and the movies were also in English. We were not fortunate to have the tour in English. I highly recommend this site and feel that everyone should learn about this part of history. …
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Date of experience: April 2019
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We visited the Dona Gracia Museum in June. It is located inside the Dona Gracia Hotel, so if you are using a GPS, you have to indicate that you are looking for the hotel. More than a traditional museum, this is a history lesson about Dona Gracia, given by a tour guide, when you are comforably seated, listening to him. We are a French - American couple and the guide spoke very good English. And at the end of his mini-conference (about 1 hour) tips are appreciated. As for museum fare, there are dolls upstairs illustrating the mail events in this liberated lady's life back in the 15th century. You should call ahead especially in prime tourist season, to make sure a guide is available.…
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Date of experience: June 2019
2 Helpful votes
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This unexpected museum is part of a small hotel; and is very informative, about the life of the under-celebrated very remarkable Doña Gracia Nasi "La Senyora", a Spanish-Portuguese Jewish woman who escaped the Inquisition and worked tirelessly to save lives and enrich culture.
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Date of experience: May 2018
1 Helpful vote
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Enjoyed the hotel/museum. The hotel guide was in hebrew but there was enough written in English to understand.An enjoyable hour and a half.
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Date of experience: April 2018
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