While history and sacred sites may be the image that the world has (quite rightly) of Israel, Tel Aviv is the country’s modern face, with all the lifestyle flair of a global city. The coastal city’s combination of Mediterranean beach life and a vibrant cultural scene keeps us coming back to explore its layers and soak up the energy right here in the city streets. It’s one of our favourite summer destinations to wander through, with lovely lowrise neighbourhoods full of great cafes and bars - an inseparable part of the Tel Aviv lifestyle.
Compared to religious cities like Jerusalem, which are definitely low key over holy days, Tel Aviv is far more secular: people here don’t keep Shabbat as strictly and, although shops close by sunset on Friday, by the time the sun does go down it’s a PARTY TOWN. I always love that time late in the day when the night starts awakening and people start pouring into social meccas like DIZENGOFF ST.
Sheira and I - and lately the boys - love to explore the many different corners: the beach restaurants and nightlife in the north; the endless shops and boutiques between DIZENGOFF SQUARE and the YEMENITE QUARTER in the centre; the bars and regional restaurants of the southern, more boho neighbourhoods like NEVE TZEDEK and FLORENTIN, and this 1909 city’s far older original settlement, ancient port town, JAFFA.
Tel Aviv really combines the best of both worlds: the summer ambience of golden beaches on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline with all the urban assets of being a cultural and financial capital - upmarket shopping, fine dining, plenty of performing arts and galleries, and a thriving dusk to dawn nightlife. Its status as a great summer pick is assured as travelers from Russia, Germany, England, Australia and the US continue to travel here in record numbers.
The locals seem to love this interaction with the outside world and I have had really engaging chats with taxi drivers, strangers in cafes and friends of friends who always have something new to pass on and seem proud of the history - and fun loving attitude to life - at their fingertips.
The turbulent history of such a young nation as Israel naturally means that there are many extraordinary stories to tell. If you are visiting Tel Aviv and would like to delve beneath its wonderful, fun surface, there are brilliantly constructed museums that tell the most fascinating elements of the country’s recent history. On very full days we would sometimes do three.
This is one of the most exciting - educating new generations about the PALMACH, the underground military organisation of the Jewish community that was founded in 1941. This elite resistance force fought the very British presence that they were originally designed to support, raiding coastal prisons to release Jewish prisoners and fighting for Jewish settlement and independence.
Housed in very angular buildings with far out architecture, we found this to be a very contemporary, exciting museum where the material really comes alive, with photo galleries, drawers full of the personal effects of fallen Palmach members, archives and testimonies - as well as an impressive reference library, auditorium, Memorial Room and open air theatre.
You learn about really gripping history, like the Battle for the Negev or tales of the Israeli frogmen and secret female members in a dynamic way, with sound effects as well as vision.
I’m really glad that we bought the kids; it’s a serious subject, but it was explained in a sensitive, fun way. The sensory experience comes at you from all angles, and you really walk away with a greater knowledge of the rebellion and timeline leading to WW2.
The perfect complement to learning the background history to how Israel was born, in museums like the Palmach, is to visit the site where Israel officially began and was written into history with the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE .
This hall is the historic focal point of ROTHSCHILD BOULEVARDE - and the very place where first Prime Minister, BEN GURION, proclaimed the end of the British mandate in 1948. This is my number one, feel-good emotional experience in Tel Aviv.
It is just so moving to be on the spot where a country came into being, and the exhibits sketch in a lot of the background detail. The names of everyone who witnessed this 1948 ceremony are on all the chairs and the dais, the pictures on the wall are the same; the invitations, and broadcasting equipment are still there and visitors hear the recording while standing in the same spot…
With modern hindsight, it is fascinating to see how countries voted when RESOLUTION 181 was put to the General Assembly of the United Nations that British mandates would end and a fully independent new state would come into being.
Film footage takes you right back to the nail biting moment when it all hung in the balance and the votes were read out, with the plan going through 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions.
If you are interested, I have reprinted the votes here:
YES: Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussia, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Liberia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, Ukraine, Union of South Africa, USSR, USA, Uruguay, Venezuela
NO: Afghanistan, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Yemen.
ABSTAIN: Argentina, Chile, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia
Please Note: the Hall of Independence doesn’t take big numbers for each session to maintain the atmosphere, so you MUST book your slot in advance.
In a country famous for its ancient ruins and old architectural wonders, this site is a stunning showcase for modernity - and the “international style” that changed the look of the world forever. This district, also honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has over 4,000 Bauhaus, Modernist buildings in one neighbourhood: the largest concentration of any city.
This massive open city square has been a significant part of Tel Aviv life since the 1960s, when it was known as KINGS OF ISRAEL SQUARE. To this day it is the natural public meeting place of the city, where you would gather if you wanted to take part in a big event with all the Tel Aviv citizens: watch a parade, celebrate Independence Day or protest at a rally - so naturally it’s a very dynamic space for a traveler to witness at certain times.
But ever since 1995 it has also been a painful reminder of the tensions that can erupt in this region: this is where the then Prime Minister, YITZHAK RABIN was assassinated (in the northeast corner), hence the renaming.
Apart from being a civic focal point, with CITY HALL located on its north side, it will always have this emotional significance. Thousands came here to publicly mourn and hold vigil, and you can still see the young mourners’ graffiti on the walls.
Just as the US felt lost when JFK was taken away so long before his time, it was a crushing blow to Israel’s spirit when they lost their father figure. So I found it quite touching to stand at the memorial corner where the tragedy occurred and pay my respects; there is a small, open legacy wall and an eternal flame. Just from my brief time here it felt quite powerful; I could imagine myself surrounded by people attending a rally for peace, which is my ultimate hope for the region.
Soon after arrival, I always hop in a taxi from the Hilton to this beautiful road - my favourite in all of Tel Aviv. It has been built like a French boulevarde with a pedestrian mall lined with established, leafy trees and such a happy pleasant atmosphere. I always see people eating icecreams and drinking coffees, puppeteers busking or colourful public art exhibits. A stroll down Rothschild is a quick way to bond with the city and blend in with the neighbourly, community feeling here.
As guests at the Hilton, in the heart of INDEPENDENCE PARK, there is a lovely coastal walk and outing that we love. For several evenings Sheira and I would take the kids for a ¾ -mile walk along the Mediterranean to this old port area which has been redeveloped into a destination precinct referred to as the New Port, where the old warehouses now make great bars, coffee houses and boutiques. Kids skateboard on the reconstructed boardwalk by day and bands play by night - a really fun, family friendly waterside attraction to walk to that’s so easy to get to from the hotel.
A little way further south down the coast from where we were staying at the Hilton, this ancient port city and trading hub is about 1½ kms from the centre of Tel Aviv. This was the original city (Tel Aviv only sprung up in the early 1900s as overflow) - in fact the charmingly crooked old town dates back to OLD TESTAMENT times and is considered one of the world’s oldest cities.
The harbor has been in use since the Bronze Age and over thousands of years many different cultures have conquered and ruled it: the Egyptians, Philistines and the Romans - who slaughtered thousands. As if its ancient past isn’t colourful enough, more recently pirates took control of the port during the 18th century!
Now the streets are a lot safer from swashbuckling raids, but they are still full of people pouring in to wander around such an intact historical space. One time when everything was closed in town, Sheira and I took a leisurely taxi ride to this furthest point of Tel Aviv on the coast and really marveled at the picturesque appearance of the old fishing harbour, with minarets and clock towers silhouetted on the skyline, old stone buildings densely packed together in medieval style and boats bobbing on the Mediterranean.
Walking these streets is like a snapshot in time, with tiny doorways that make Sheira and I feel unusually tall, and beams and wrought iron palings everywhere; I remember seeing an old day palm reaching for the sun between two cobblestones. But even though Jaffa looks as if it is frozen in time, it is very much alive, with a peaceful mix of Muslims, Christians and Jewish residents that includes old timers and young artists who like the atmosphere created by the ancient architecture. As the old quarters become renovated and cleaned up and the tourists continue to pass through, gentrification is bringing in newer wealth.
Apart from taking in the simple stone beauty of streets that existed centuries before the modern age even existed, Jaffa is really rewarding to walk around. The creative types who live here run theaters and the ARTISTS’ QUARTER is full of galleries if you are interested in modern, Israeli artwork.
There is the local shook, or market to wander through and bargain on anything and everything you could imagine.
ST PETER’S CHURCH is a beautiful 19th century Franciscan Church built on the ruins of a Crusader fortress - naturally this important port attracted a lot of Crusader knights during the famous medieval conflict with the Arabs. To see the same commanding views all along the Mediterranean coastline to the north and the port down below it’s worth climbing to SUMMIT HILL; you’ll get a great photo of the gorgeous district views.
Visitors will work up an appetite exploring the hilly streets and corners of Jaffa; luckily, unlike many touristic areas around the world that rip off people passing through with bad, overpriced food, there is always DR SHAK SHUKA or BABAI to pop in and enjoy an amazing meal. (See “to eat” – Tel Aviv ).
My friends and I were excited heading out of Tel Aviv on Route #2 through the northern suburbs, embarking on our great boys-only road trip with my guide and old friend, David Shavit at the wheel. The first stop of note is this large coastal town, still officially in the Tel Aviv district. It’s a popular holiday spot due to its wide beaches and lavish MARINA with shopping development. The high end restaurants and YACHT CLUB on the Mediterranean reflect the well heeled local population, one of the wealthiest in Israel. There are a lot of ambassador’s residences in the very upscale west side of town, which is fun to drive around.
It’s a modern looking landscape: a mix of high & low rise along the coast, with mid-rise buildings starting to shoot up; but this is Israel, so there is always interesting history to delve into. The APOLLONIA-ARSUF ARCHEOLOGICAL PARK contains the ruins of the Crusader city and Apollonia fortress, built on a spectacular KURKAR (fossilized dune sandstone) overlooking the Mediterranean. Many seasons of excavations have unearthed Roman villas, burials, and fascinating construction all the way though the Persian, Hellenistic, Byzantine and Medieval periods. There are also niche, specialty museums as well as an Olympic stadium.
As a passionate runner I am always on the lookout for how I am going to connect with a new place by pounding the pavement and seeing it slowly by foot, one step at a time. One of the best aspects for me of staying at the HILTON is that I can run along the amazing beaches that stretch in either direction. It’s my favourite way of getting through a day after a long flight to Israel. My check in ritual is always: say hello to the same faces at the boom gate, sign up on the executive floor, dump my luggage then run north all the way to Jaffa, taking in the bright surf and sunlight glinting on the water as the modern skyscrapers eventually fall away and the masts of the fishing boats and pale stone of this biblical-era port comes into view. It’s rare that you get this much contrast on a single run! By the time I get back to the hotel I have earned my refreshing dip in their fantastic saltwater pool…
When I was here with the whole family, my mother would set off to walk along the promenade each morning for a pleasant stroll on the over 3km journey while I would streak by her and wave on my way to Jaffa.
One of the advantages of Israel’s surprisingly compact size is the proximity of so many different types of cultural or scenic attractions within easy reach of the city. Although our family has set off on a dedicated trip into the South and the Negev, and I have gone biking along Israel’s coastline and northern border alone - as well as into neighbouring Arabic kingdom, Jordan - some of the sights we saw on those bigger trips are so close to Tel Aviv that travelers wouldn’t need to leave town to see them. If you are based in Tel Aviv yet still interested in what lies beyond the city limits, it’s well worth venturing out on a few morning drives…
There is no doubt that in the west we are often cocooned from many of the realities of life in the Middle East, which is a melting pot of old and new conflicts, tensions, even dangers. Military service is a huge part of Israeli culture now, so a perfectly safe, but gripping way to experience this facet of Israeli life is to get hands on experience with the weaponry at a FIRING RANGE. Our family guide and friend, DAVID SHAVIT knows the Saids well, so when I bought my family over to Israel in 2009 he knew that we would be up for this unusual experience - even my mother Jackie got into the swing of things! When David came to pick us up he told us to look forward to two amazing experiences that day: one exciting, one moving (see below). We headed north from Tel Aviv parallel to the coast in the direction of Haifa through the SHARON PLAIN past Netanya, then headed east inland to get to the DANI-HI FIRING RANGE near Galilee, where the famous Lake Kinneret or “Sea of Galilee” of great biblical fame is. Under the supervision and direction of the trained gun handlers there, we were allowed to shoot Czech PISTOLS and fire off rounds from military guns and assault rifles like - unbelievably - UZIS, which are illegal in the US, and the Israeli version of the M-16 RIFLE with the same rotating bolt. Although we have all lived life to the full, days are peaceful in Sydney, Australia and none of us had ever shot a gun! In a controlled environment for safety, one person at a time, we put on ear muffs to cut down the noise, lifted our arms into the position we have seen in so many westerns and crime stories and start to try the uzis, AK47s and hand guns. Sheira, my young daughter, Zoe, and my mum, Jackie looked surreal as they fired shots out of the smaller BERETTAS. David has fought in all the wars so he knows how to use a gun quite expertly. Naturally our teen boys were the real focus here and got a huge thrill out of playing soldiers, as only boys of that age can. Personally, I am so glad that I tried it once, but being older and wiser I can’t help but think of the sinister overtones and am just not a violence/ gun kind of guy. My mother took it all in her stride… JACKIE SAID: I had never had any experience of guns - to be honest I am slightly terrified of them! I wasn’t mad about handling them that day but I was determined to experience what it was like. It is the strangest feeling: a real power rush and very exciting, but my gun was a Magnum so it was also quite heavy for me. Israel is a very vibrant country for such a small land area, with a lot of people and everything a-buzz. They are simply used to the presence of the military, so nobody lives everyday thinking about bullets being fired at them. I went ahead at one point and stayed with a friend of mine in the little seaside village, Netanya and I asked her, “How do you cope with all these rockets flying around and so on?” She told me that Israelis just don’t consciously think about it. Humans are very, very adaptable.”
Modern Israel is a relatively young nation built on Judaism’s ancient roots here, and it has many sides. Apart from the stormy political and military backdrop, EDUCATION plays a crucial role in Jewish culture and many great institutes of learning are open to travelers - a great chance to see a whole other side of Israeli life than bar hopping or military conflict.
David brought our family here when we were passing through REHOVOT and heading south into the desert for our Jeep ride into the Negev (see SOUTHERN ISRAEL) and it was extraordinary to find this whole other world dedicated to science, amongst the magnificent, palm-dotted grounds that were like a desert oasis.
This is bone fide “nutty professor” territory, where teachers have won the NOBEL PRIZE (Prof. Ada Yonath won for Chemistry last year), students hold Recreational Math Contests and research is at the vanguard of fields like bioethics and neurobiology. The world-class facilites are impressively modern and glassed in and we enjoyed wandering around.
But the SCI-TREK tour takes you deeper into the research and scientific projects of the institute. Naturally there’s a gadget involved: an OPTIC CARD helps you through a self-guided tour of certain buildings, where an audiovisual presentation is triggered as soon as you enter the space, explaining what is studied and researched there.
The CLORE GARDENS takes the learning outside, where you learn about everything from waves to moonwalking in a gorgeous, open air setting connected by elevated walkways. If you are with your family, it is definitely worth paying extra to get entry here as well. These days everyone seems to think it’s the scientists that will save the world, not the lawyers, so if a visit here sparks an interest in your kids for the future, so much the better!
This other must-do attraction nearby on the northern outskirts of Rehovot, near Science Park on KIBBUTZIM HILL is the opposite of ivory-tower academia. In the early days of struggle before the state in the 40s, life here was very real, although concealed.
This site tells the amazing cloak and dagger story of the Jewish Underground who ran a clandestine BULLET MUNITIONS FACTORY in a large underground chamber 13 feet underground with nearly 2-foot-thick walls and ceiling. This visit is one of my Israel HIGHLIGHTS because I just couldn’t believe the audacity of it as we literally followed in the footsteps - you can still feel the danger.
The whole operation ran under the guise of a working Kibbutz, made to lull the British into a false sense of security. Above ground there was innocent looking housing, a dining hall, chicken coop, barn, bakery and LAUNDRY. This was the Masterstroke, because it ran 24 hrs a day to camouflage the sound of the manufacturing of millions of bullets for Sten sub-machine guns being manufactured underground. They did such a good job that the British officials used to have their uniforms cleaned and delivered!
We went underground on the tour and the boys and I found it so exciting, like being in a Spy Movie full of tricks and secrets: the huge copper imports were explained away as necessary supplies for lipstick cases; clean air came through bakery furnace pipes that also concealed the secret entrance to the factory. It was all so brilliantly done that the public only became aware of it in 1975 - and this operation had such a huge impact on the eventual success of the freedom fighters mission to create an Israeli state that it is a must-do part of hands-on local history.
PLEASE NOTE: The group tours are small, so you must call ahead for reservations.
