Things to do in Tel Aviv
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Bauhaus Centre
Bauhaus fans will want to stop by the Bauhaus Centre which is loaded with souvenirs and artwork. The centre runs a Bauhaus city tour on Fridays.
Bauhaus style offers simplicity and egalitarianism, designed by architects who carried socialist ideals with them from Europe to Israel. One result of their collective beliefs is the flat roof, intended to be a communal area for all the residents of each building. Of the 4000 Bauhaus-style buildings in the city, just 360 have been renovated, the rest crumbing in the salty, humid sea air, which is not kind to the plaster used for the building façades. Despite its Unesco status, there are no public funds for the restoration of buil…
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Carmel Market
Passionate free-marketeers pedal everything from fresh-cut flowers to piles of cumin in this frenetic market, squeezed between the old Yemenite Quarter and Nahalat Binyamin St. This bubbling cauldron of commerce starts at Kikar Magen David, where hippies strum guitars for shekels. You need to push your way past the first few metres of clothing (Sponge Bob Square Pants boxer shorts and knock-off Nikes) to reach the more aromatic and enticing stalls of fruits and vegetables, hot breads and spices.
When in form, the stallholders have an amusing sales patter, singing songs to promote their goods and often joining in with one another.
Each of the narrow sidestreets specialises …
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Shesek
Something of a black sheep on this street of progressive bars, Mish Mish is a rough-around-the-edges scenester bar and bohemian haunt well-known for pumping out a variety of music (mash-ups and punk to trance and avant-garde hip-hop) and quality beer (including Taybeh, a micro-brew manufactured in Ramallah). It's the kind of place where you can have a civilised conversation with the DJ and make a few requests.
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Manta Ray
Spectacularly set on the beach, Manta Ray combines a five-star seafood menu, attentive service and Mediterranean views. Pick a few dishes off the mezze platter (we liked the goat cheese and the eggplant) and then enjoy a main course of roasted scallops, sea bass fillet, grilled shrimp or a juicy steak. It's also a great place for breakfast.
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Breakfast Club
Plastered with photos of the famous and infamous (Kim Il Sun, Stalin, the Ayatollah and Salvador Dali), and showing bizarre movies on its TVs (Blade Runner, The Wall), this place makes for a unique downtown dance experience. It's known as a late-night destination, so don't bother turning up until 02:00 or 03:00.
reviewed
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Hummus Ashkara
This is where locals go when they're after excellent hummus and fuul (fava bean paste). Further credibility was earned when a national newspaper recently voted its hummus the best in Israel. The sign is in Hebrew only, so look out for the Coca-Cola sign and the tables on the street.
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Minzar
Set back from the main street, this is a bohemian-style coffeehouse that actually specialises in beer. Happy hour extends from 17:00 to 22:00.
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Bagels & Coffee
US-style bagels served up with your choice of cream cheese or veggie toppings.
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Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport Private Departure Transfer
40 minutes (Departs Tel Aviv, Israel)
by Viator
Make your departure from Israel as smooth as possible with a Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion International Airport Private Departure Transfer. Forget about the haggling wit…Not LP reviewed
from USD$16.18 -
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Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora
The Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora doesn't actually display any artefacts from the past. Rather, this is a good collection of models, dioramas, films and presentations chronicling the diversity of Jewish life and culture in exile. The main role of the museum, Beth Hatefutsoth in Hebrew, is to relate the unique story of the continuity of the Jewish people through exhibition, education and cultural endeavours.
Special attractions in the museum include the Feher Jewish Music Centre, the Douglas E Goldman Jewish Genealogy Centre (where visitors can register their family tree to be preserved for future generations) and a Visual Documentation Centre, which is the l…
reviewed
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Rothschild Blvd
This pleasant leafy boulevard was named after the Jewish family of financiers. At one time Rothschild Blvd was the address to have. It's no longer so exalted but former glories are invoked at Independence Hall (16 Rothschild Blvd), where on 14 may 1948, Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Previous to that, the building had been the home of Meir Bizengoff, one of the founders of Tel Aviv.
Entry includes a short introductory film and a tour of the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
West of the junction with Allenby St, the Haganah Museum (23 Rothschild Blvd) chronicles the formation and activities of the Haganah, the military org…
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Almonit (Anonymous) Alley
It's easy to miss this tiny sidestreet while walking up King George St. But as a decidedly non-trendy, alternative hangout, the people that do come here appreciate its obscurity. The alley was originally named after Getzel Shapira, an American Jew who financed civic projects in Tel Aviv in the 1920s.
Later, Mayor Dizengoff, irritated that anyone with money could have a street named after themselves, ordered the street names changed and a clerk gave the alley a name that essentially means 'John Doe'.
Almonit sports a café, a secondhand bookshop, a vintage clothing store and a hairdresser fond of outrageous wall art (which is changed every couple of months). The most interes…
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Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Part of an attractive modern development that includes law courts and the municipal central library, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art is home to a superb permanent collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works, as well as some fine 20th century avante-garde. Works by Picasso, Matisse, Gauguin, Degas and Pollock feature prominently and there are some works by Jewish post-Impressionists Chagall and Soutine. The jewel of the collection has to be van Gogh's The Shepherdess (1889).
The museum often screens films and holds special exhibitions - check the Jerusalem Post on Friday or ask at the tourist information office for the Tel Aviv-Jaffa tourist booklet which usually l…
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Messa
More than a restaurant with impeccable haute cuisine, Messa has a magical quality that raises the restaurant experience to a new level. The centrepiece of the white-on-white dining hall is an elongated table, where strangers are placed together to mix and mingle over their seafood casseroles, zucchini flowers and crème brûlée. Around the edge are small alcoves where others disappear into enormous black cushions so soft they nearly induce sleep.
The servers appear frequently to announce options for the next course, and everything is made from scratch by chef Aviv Moshe, who blends his Kurdish heritage with French and Mediterranean cooking. Following your meal, spare tim…
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Azrieli Observatory
Israel's version of the Empire State Building (but without the four-hour line for the elevator) involves a trip up to the 49th floor of the Azrieli round tower to the Azrieli Observatory . Admission includes use of an audio guide (in English or Hebrew) which describes the various buildings and landmarks around the city - you'll get a better grasp of it all during daylight hours.
There is also a film covering the history of the city using 3D animation. Its target audience (four-year-olds) may appreciate the talking, time-travelling camel and flying robot companion, but we recommend you save your money for lunch.
You'd be wise to call ahead to check that the observation deck…
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Free City Tours
The municipality runs three tours in the city and it's worth joining at least one of them while you are in town. All three tours are free of charge and there is no need to make an advance booking. If you do have questions, contact the Tourist Information Centre.
The most interesting tour visits various buildings in Tel Aviv to study Bauhaus architecture. It runs at 11:00 Saturday (except Yom Kippur) and the meeting point is at 46 Rothschild Blvd (at the corner of Shadal St).
A second tour walks around Old Jaffa, its archaeological sites and the flea market. It meets at 09:30 Wednesday (except Yom Kippur) at Jaffa's clock tower.
The third tour studies the art and architectur…
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Kikar Dizengoff
The geographic heart of the city, Kikar Dizengoff is regularly populated by a motley mix of mohawked punks, hippies, ice cream-licking tots and energetic centigenarians.
The square, named after the city's first mayor (1910-1937), is located on a raised platform over the street, a block north of the Dizengoff Centre shopping mall. The Fire and Water Fountain in the centre of the square makes for a somewhat appropriate symbol of the city. Spinning crazily, spurting water at random moments and occasionally launching flames into the air, its outlandish behavior continues naughtily into the night, almost unnoticed by city residents infected by similarly unpredictable manner. T…
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Sportek
Joggers, footballers and frisbee throwers should head for the long strip of grassy parkland along the Yarkon River, otherwise known as the Sportek. It's most crowded in the afternoons and weekends.
The Sportek also features the Olympus Climbing Wall (www.kir.co.il; 42 Rokach Ave), which offers rock climbing lessons. Avoid overcrowded Saturdays, when schoolchildren take over the place.
Near the climbing wall is a skate park, basketball courts and trampolines. Ultimate Frisbee matches are held here at 16:45 every Friday and at 16:30 Saturday. North of the Sportek, across Namir Rd, the young and the young at heart will enjoy Mini Golf(www.minigolf.co.il).
To reach the Sportek …
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Ben-Gurion Ave
Once considered a singles neighbourhood, it's now a popular address for families, a trend that becomes even more evident the further north you head. The bike lane running the length of Ben-Gurion Ave carries cyclists from Rabin Sq to the sea at Namir Sq, a run-down slab of concrete that sports a couple of cafés and a new nightclub.
The historical highlight of Ben-Gurion Ave is the home that once belonged to Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Now the respectable Ben-Gurion Museum (17 Ben-Gurion Ave), the site was maintained more or less as it was left at the time of David Ben-Gurion's death, the small rooms are simply furnished and contain part of the revere…
reviewed
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Hilton Beach
This beach has good facilities and attracts tourists from the nearby hotel. It is Tel Aviv's unofficial gay beach.
When the weather is warm Tel Avivans flock to the city beaches en masse. Here you'll find bronzed bods soaking up the Mediterranean rays, kite surfing and the knocking back and forth of little rubber balls in friendly matches of matkot (Israeli beach tennis).
The beaches are safe and clean, with changing rooms and freshwater showers scattered along its length. Swimmers, however, must heed lifeguard warnings when conditions become rough; a black flag means that swimming is forbidden; red means that swimming is dangerous and you certainly shouldn't swim by yours…
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Trumpeldor Beach
This beach tends to attract the teenage tearaways and is probably one of the least pleasant.
When the weather is warm Tel Avivans flock to the city beaches en masse. Here you'll find bronzed bods soaking up the Mediterranean rays, kite surfing and the knocking back and forth of little rubber balls in friendly matches of matkot (Israeli beach tennis).
The beaches are safe and clean, with changing rooms and freshwater showers scattered along its length. Swimmers, however, must heed lifeguard warnings when conditions become rough; a black flag means that swimming is forbidden; red means that swimming is dangerous and you certainly shouldn't swim by yourself; white means that …
reviewed
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Ge'la Beach
This beach tends to attract the teenage tearaways and is probably one of the least pleasant.
When the weather is warm Tel Avivans flock to the city beaches en masse. Here you'll find bronzed bods soaking up the Mediterranean rays, kite surfing and the knocking back and forth of little rubber balls in friendly matches of matkot (Israeli beach tennis).
The beaches are safe and clean, with changing rooms and freshwater showers scattered along its length. Swimmers, however, must heed lifeguard warnings when conditions become rough; a black flag means that swimming is forbidden; red means that swimming is dangerous and you certainly shouldn't swim by yourself; white means that …
reviewed
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Yerushalayim Beach
This beach tends to attract the teenage tearaways and is probably one of the least pleasant.
When the weather is warm Tel Avivans flock to the city beaches en masse. Here you'll find bronzed bods soaking up the Mediterranean rays, kite surfing and the knocking back and forth of little rubber balls in friendly matches of matkot (Israeli beach tennis).
The beaches are safe and clean, with changing rooms and freshwater showers scattered along its length. Swimmers, however, must heed lifeguard warnings when conditions become rough; a black flag means that swimming is forbidden; red means that swimming is dangerous and you certainly shouldn't swim by yourself; white means that …
reviewed
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Sheraton Beach
This beach has good facilities and attracts tourists from the nearby hotel.
When the weather is warm Tel Avivans flock to the city beaches en masse. Here you'll find bronzed bods soaking up the Mediterranean rays, kite surfing and the knocking back and forth of little rubber balls in friendly matches of matkot (Israeli beach tennis).
The beaches are safe and clean, with changing rooms and freshwater showers scattered along its length. Swimmers, however, must heed lifeguard warnings when conditions become rough; a black flag means that swimming is forbidden; red means that swimming is dangerous and you certainly shouldn't swim by yourself; white means that the area is safe.
reviewed
