Caesarea, Israel

CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES

The happy marriage of antiquity and modernity is drawing more visitors to Caesarea, a coastal town and national park in northern Israel on the site of a 2,000-year-old Roman harbor. The new King Herod Visitor’s Center, named for the port’s founding monarch and built in the massive arched vaults that once stood beneath a temple, displays recent archaeological finds, such as colorful mosaics and gold coins recovered from shipwrecks. 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 with 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. —Sara Toth Stub