The 6 Best Art and Craft Studios in Safed (2026)

Updated July 2026 · 6 picks

The best art and craft studios in Safed in 2026 are Sheva Chaya Glassblowing, the Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art and Safed Candles. Safed has been an artists' town since the 1950s, and its blue-painted alleys hold one of the densest concentrations of working studios in Israel. Below are six worth going into.

1. Sheva Chaya Glassblowing — Artists' Quarter

A working glassblowing studio with live demonstrations and Kabbalah-inspired work.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Families · Couples · Groups

Sheva Chaya's studio in the artists' quarter is a working glassblowing operation where the artist demonstrates at the furnace and explains the Kabbalistic ideas the work draws on.

Watching glass being blown is compelling regardless of the philosophy attached, and the combination of live craft and explanation makes this the most engaging studio visit in Safed.

Demonstrations run at set times; check before arriving.

Good to know: Check the demonstration times before you go — watching the glassblowing is the whole point.

Google Maps Website

2. Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art — Artists' Quarter

Avraham Loewenthal's gallery, where the Kabbalah is explained as well as painted.

₪₪₪ UpmarketBest for Couples · Solo · Groups

The Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art is Avraham Loewenthal's studio in the artists' quarter, showing paintings built explicitly on Kabbalistic concepts.

What distinguishes it is the explanation: the artist talks visitors through the ideas behind the work, which turns a gallery visit into something closer to a short class on Jewish mysticism.

It is a small space and the conversation is the reason to go in.

Good to know: Go in expecting to talk rather than just look — that is what this gallery is for.

Google Maps Website

3. Safed Candles — Old City, near the synagogues

Hand-dipped braided candles and enormous wax sculptures.

₪₪ Mid-rangeBest for Families · Couples · Groups

Safed Candles is a workshop and shop in the old city producing hand-dipped candles, including the braided havdalah candles the town is known for, alongside large and elaborate wax sculptures.

The sculptures — biblical scenes worked in coloured wax, some of them substantial — are the thing people remember, and the workshop is usually visible from the shop.

Candles are among the better souvenirs from Safed: light, inexpensive and genuinely local.

Good to know: The braided havdalah candles are the classic buy — small, cheap and they survive a suitcase.

Google Maps Website

4. The Artists' Quarter — Southern old city

Not one studio but a whole quarter of them, in the old Arab town.

₪₪ Mid-rangeBest for Couples · Solo · Groups

The artists' quarter occupies the old Arab neighbourhood on the southern side of Safed's old city, established as an artists' colony in the 1950s and continuously worked since.

Dozens of studios and galleries open off the stone lanes, most of them one-person operations where the artist is at work in the back, and the general printers' gallery in the old mosque building acts as a hub.

Wandering is the method. Half the studios you walk into will be shut and the other half will be the reason you came.

Good to know: Go mid-week — on Friday half the quarter is already closing for Shabbat.

Google Maps Website

5. Livnot U'Lehibanot studios — Old City

A restored old city compound with craft workshops and excavated cellars.

₪ BudgetBest for Couples · Groups

Livnot U'Lehibanot occupies a restored compound in Safed's old city, and alongside its educational programmes it runs craft workshops and maintains excavated medieval cellars beneath the buildings.

The site is a working example of the old city's restoration — buildings brought back into use by the people using them — and visitors can generally see both the workshops and the underground spaces.

It is a different proposition from a commercial gallery and worth an hour.

Good to know: Ask about the excavated cellars beneath the compound — most visitors never see them.

Google Maps Website

6. Ascent studios and workshops — Old City

Workshops and craft sessions attached to Safed's best-known visitor centre.

₪₪ Mid-rangeBest for Families · Groups

Ascent of Safed runs as a visitor and study centre in the old city, and alongside its programmes it hosts craft workshops and sells work from local artists.

For visitors who want to make something rather than buy it, the workshop sessions — candle making, art, Judaica — are among the few hands-on options in the city.

Check the schedule; sessions run at set times and around the religious calendar.

Good to know: One of the few places in Safed where you can make something rather than just buy it.

Google Maps Website

Frequently asked questions

Why is Safed an artists' town?

An artists' colony was established in the old Arab quarter in the 1950s, drawing painters and sculptors to the light, the altitude and the mystical associations of a city that had been the centre of Kabbalah since the sixteenth century. The quarter has been a working artists' district ever since.

Why is everything painted blue in Safed?

Blue is associated in Kabbalistic tradition with the heavens and with protection, and the doors, window frames and stairways of the old city are painted in it — which is why Safed photographs the way it does. It is a genuine local tradition rather than a tourism decision.

When are Safed's studios open?

Sunday to Thursday and Friday morning, closing early on Friday and shut on Shabbat — Safed is a religious city and observes it strictly. Many studios are one-person operations with irregular hours, so a visit mid-week is far more reliable than a Friday.

What should I buy in Safed?

Hand-blown glass, Judaica, candles, prints and paintings from the artists' quarter. Safed candles in particular — hand-dipped, braided havdalah candles — are a local speciality and travel well.

How long do you need in Safed?

Half a day covers the artists' quarter, the old synagogues and the main lanes. A full day lets you add the cemetery, the citadel park and a slower wander. It combines well with Mount Meron and the Galilee wineries.

1. Sheva Chaya Glassblowing — Artists' Quarter

2. Tzfat Gallery of Mystical Art — Artists' Quarter

3. Safed Candles — Old City, near the synagogues

4. The Artists' Quarter — Southern old city

5. Livnot U'Lehibanot studios — Old City

6. Ascent studios and workshops — Old City

Frequently asked questions

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