Promenading -- The view of Haifa from the promenade in Central Carmel makes you keep coming back for more. Day or night, it's always lovely. For the best experience, combine the Elysian vista with a meal at a restaurant right on the edge of the promenade.Beachcombing -- Haifa's…
Haifa Attractions
- Tour
Aerial Cable Car
Directly across the road from the Af-Al-Pi Chen is the lower terminal of the Haifa Aerial Cable Car. The ride is not as dramatic as it looks from a distance, but it is a fast way to get up or down the side of the mountain. The popular Yotvata restaurant, famous for its salads and ice… - Religious Site
Baha'i Shrine & Gardens
Haifa's most impressive sightseeing attraction is the splendid Baha'i Shrine and Gardens, reached from Zionism (Ha-Zionut) Avenue. The immaculate, majestic Baha'i gardens -- with their stone peacocks and eagles and delicately manicured cypress trees -- are a restful, aesthetic… - Museum
Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum
This museum tells the wrenching story of those who tried to escape from Nazi-occupied Europe and of the few Holocaust survivors who made it to safety. Throughout the time of the Holocaust, when Jews desperately needed a haven, admission to British Mandate Palestine was largely denied… - Natural Attraction
Elijah's Cave
From the Af-Al-Pi Chen, it's just a short walk up to Elijah's Cave, nestled at the base of steep Cape Carmel, below the Stella Maris lighthouse and the Carmelite Monastery. Tradition has it that Elijah hid here when fleeing the wrath of King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. It's also the… - The Performing Arts
Haifa Auditorium
This is Haifa's largest concert hall, where you can find symphony, opera, the Israel Philharmonic, dance concerts, and many other cultural events and big happenings; there's also usually an interesting art display in the lobby, which you can see anytime for free, from 4 to 7pm… - The Performing Arts
Haifa Municipal Theater
Lots of shows are offered at this theater where the play performances are sometimes in Hebrew, sometimes in English, and sometimes both in simultaneous translation. Ticket prices vary according to the performance. - Cultural complex
Haifa University and Hecht Museum
With a dramatic location on the Carmel heights and many buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer (of Brazilia fame, the superfuturistic capital city of Brazil), Haifa University is dazzling and quintessentially “Haifa.” The views from the 30th floor observatory of the university’s Eshkol… - Museum
Israeli National Museum of Science, Technology and Space
This fun and interactive museum is catnip for kids of all ages—and curious adults. There are captivating science exhibits explaining optical illusions, a deep-dive into Leonardo Da Vinci’s prolific observations, a slew of rotating exhibits and more. - The Performing Arts
James de Rothschild Cultural and Community Center
Next to Haifa Auditorium, this community center always has something going on: a dance, an exhibit, or a concert. Also inside the community center is the Haifa Cinémathèque . - Museum
Mané Katz Museum
Located near the Dan Panorama hotel in Central Carmel, this was once the romantic mountaintop villa of French artist Mané Katz. The museum now houses a collection of Katz’s own work and personal art collection as well as interesting, well-curated visiting exhibits of contemporary… - Park/Garden
Mitzpe Ha-Shalom (Peace View Park)
The grounds of the Baha’i gardens are split by Zionism Avenue. Farther up the hill is the lovely Mitzpoor Ha-Shalom (Peace View Park), also called the Ursula Malbin Sculpture Garden. Amid trees, flowers, and sloping lawns you’ll find 18 bronze sculptures by Ursula Malbin of men,… - Park/Garden
Mount Carmel National Park
Israel's largest national park has 10,000 hectares (24,711 acres) of pine, eucalyptus, and cypress forest. It encompasses a large area of the Carmel mountain range and has many points of interest that are well marked and easily reachable. Within the park are the caves of the Carmel… - Museum
National Maritime Museum
This third branch of the Haifa Museum, near Bat Galim, encompasses 5,000 years of seafaring history in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. These include archaeological collections of Mediterranean cultures from the beginning of history until the Islamic conquest in the 7th century.… - Religious Site
Stella Maris Lighthouse, Church and Carmelite Monastery
During the Crusades, groups of religious hermits began to inhabit the caves of the Carmel District in emulation of Elijah the Prophet, whose life was strongly identified with this mountain. These monastic hermits were organized into the Carmelite order, which spread throughout… - Market
Talpiot Market
You have a few choices for how to dine at Talpiot Market. You could simply graze. Along with fresh produce from farms in the Jezreel Valley, the Galilee, and the Shomron, the market hosts a vegan food shop, a few small eateries, baked goods stalls, dried fruit and nut stands, and…Hadr HaCarmel - Cultural complex
Technion
The Technion Israel Institute of Technology is Israel’s version of MIT. Founded in 1912, the 120-hectare (297-acre) campus is a most impressive university complex, offering views of the city, the coastline clear to Lebanon, and the snow-topped Syrian mountains. The Coler-California… - Landmark
The Baha’l Shrine and Gardens
Haifa’s most impressive sightseeing attraction is the splendid Baha’i Shrine and Gardens, reached from Zionism (Ha-Zionut) Avenue. The immaculate, majestic Baha’i gardens—with their stone peacocks and eagles and delicately manicured cypress trees—are a restful, aesthetic memorial to… - Museum
The Haifa Museum of Art
The first branch of the Haifa Museum (the other two are the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art and the National Maritime Museum) is home to a strong collection of contemporary painting, sculpture, and prints by Israeli and foreign artists, but with an emphasis on Israeli art. The museum… - Museum
Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art
As aficionados know, Israel plays host to one of the finest collections of Japanese art in the world. Collected originally by architect Felix Tikotin in the years prior to World War II, this exceptional museum owns some 7000 traditional and modern works, from antique swords to…
Haifa Shopping
Haifa has a number of modern indoor shopping malls, including the Panorama Center in Central Carmel, Migdal Haneve'im in the Hadar District, and the Horev Center on Horev Street at the intersection of Pica Street. The Panorama Center, 1 block from the Central Carmel Carmelit stop, is most easily accessible to visitors staying in the Carmel Center, and offers branches of a number of the country's best women's clothing stores, including Dorin Frankfort.
Steimatzky bookstores has a branch at the Auditorium Mall, just beside the Haifa Auditorium, 142 Ha-Nassi Blvd., and handy to the hotels in the Carmel Center.
Massada Street, with its own Carmelit stop halfway up the mountain between Hadar and the Carmel Center, has become home to a number of small, offbeat antiques and curiosity shops. My favorite stop here is Yad B'homer Contemporary Crafts Gallery at 9A Massada St. (tel. 04/862-9239). Here you can see the work of eight artisans, as well as special exhibits of guest craftspeople. There is also a shelf of very reasonably priced Ethiopian figurines and Judaica. It's open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10am to 1pm and 4 to 7pm and Tuesday and Friday from 10am to 2pm. Most shops on the street keep similar hours. A walk down Massada Street gives you a feel for the architectural structure of Haifa's residential neighborhoods, with 1930s and 1940s apartment buildings virtually climbing up and down the mountain on either side of the street.
If you take an excursion to the artists' village of Ein Hod, south of Haifa, you can shop for silver, enamel, and gold jewelry; handblown glass; pottery; and other contemporary crafts at the village's official gallery.
Haifa Nightlife
Except when the American Fleet is in, Haifa is not a late-night town. Highlights include concerts and performances at the Haifa Auditorium, the film programs at the Cinematheque, and smaller folk and rock performances at Haifa University. Local pubs also buzz with activity for those looking for a fun, low-key night on the town.


