Things To Do in Tel Aviv

For other sights in Tel Aviv, look at our individual listings. We'll be devoting this page to the historic area known as Jaffa.

Now an integrated component in the sprawling Tel Aviv–Jaffa complex, Jaffa has a long and colorful history, dating from biblical times. This is the port, the Bible tells us, where King Solomon’s ally, the Phoenician King Hiram of Tyre, landed cedars of Lebanon for the construction of Solomon’s Temple. From here Jonah embarked for his adventure with the whale. The Greeks were here too, and they fostered the legend that a poor maiden named Andromeda, chained to a rock and on the verge of being sacrificed to a sea monster, was rescued by Perseus on his winged white horse. Today, visitors are shown this rock, a tourist attraction since ancient times.

But that’s just the beginning of Jaffa’s history: The Crusaders also came this way. And Richard the Lion-Hearted built a citadel here that was promptly snatched away by Saladin’s brother, who slaughtered 20,000 Christians in the process. Napoleon passed through 600 years or so later; a few Jewish settlers came in the 1890s; and Allenby routed the Turks from the port in 1917.

One Jewish legend has it that all the sunken treasure in the world flows toward Jaffa, and that in King Solomon’s day the sea offered a rich bounty, accounting for the king’s wealth. Today, Jaffa still shows traces of its romantic and mysterious past. The city is built into a kind of amphitheater on the side of a hill. The old section of the city has become the starlit patio of Tel Aviv, providing an exceptional view, fine restaurants, and the most beautifully restored Old City in Israel. The flea market district, near the Clock Tower, is ramshackle but has real personality.

Tel Aviv’a Ha-Yarkon Street runs into Jaffa’s Yefet Street where the landmark stone Clock Tower and the large Turkish mosque, Mahmudiye (1812), remind you of the city’s continuing Arab community.

A Stroll Around Old Jaffa

The reclamation of Old Jaffa—only a short time ago it was a slumlike area of war ruins and crumbling Turkish palaces—has proven to be one of the most imaginative projects in Israel.

Yefet Street, near the landmark Clock Tower (built in 1896 to commemorate the reign of the Ottoman Turkish sultan) is the place to start exploring. On the west side of Yefet Street is the vast 19th century Mahmoudiye Mosque. Although closed to the public, you can peek past its impressive gates to see a glimpse of the courtyard and hear the calls to prayer that drift over the neighborhood five times a day. On the east side of Yefet Street (as you walk south), you’ll find the streetside counters of Abulafia’s bakery, famous throughout Israel for its freshly baked snacks. Just beyond Abulafia’s, are the streets leading eastward into Jaffa’s motley but always interesting Flea Market and Covered Bazaars, selling everything from old jeans and British Mandate Era detritus to old Persian tiles and reproductions of antique Hanukkah menorahs. To your right, as you walk south on Yefet Street, is an uphill road that leads to the beautifully gardened hill of Old Jaffa, with its stunning views of the Tel Aviv coastline. At the summit is the open space of Kikar Kedumim, the central plaza, and at one side of it, the Franciscan Monastery of Saint Peter, which was built above a medieval citadel. The church commemorates the visit of Saint Peter to Jaffa, and the raising from the dead of Tabitha. Opposite the church is an excavation area, surrounded by a fence, where you can inspect remnants of a 3rd-century-b.c. catacomb. Facing the catacomb is a hilltop garden, Gan Ha-Pisgah, atop which, surrounded by trees, is a white monument depicting scenes from the Bible: the conquest of Jericho, the near-sacrifice of Isaac, and Jacob’s dream.

Past the church gardens, on the sea side of the hill, you can wander through Old Jaffa for a superb all-encompassing views of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean coastline. Incidentally, Andromeda’s Rock is traditionally the most prominent of those blackened stones jutting up from the floor of the bay. The view is brilliant in the morning sunlight and magical at sunset and into the dark of the evening.

Returning to Kikar Kedumim, you enter the restored maze of Old Jaffa’s picturesque, cobblestone market streets, filled with interesting Crusader-era architecture, eateries, artists’ studios, galleries, antiques, and souvenir shops. For those interested in art and interior design, the Ilana Goor Museum (www.ilanagoor.com; tel. 03/683-7676) is a delightful stop. It’s a beautifully renovated mansion/gallery of one of Israel’s most successful sculptors who also specializes in furniture and jewelry design. Over the centuries, this building has been put to many uses, including a long stint as a caravansary for 19th-century Jewish pilgrims. Now each room is like a page out of fancy architecture magazine, filled with Goor’s own works and her private collection of art. Before entering, ask if the rooftop cafe is open. It has good food and sweeping views. The admission fee is rather steep (NIS 45), but the building is interesting architecturally, and there are often temporary exhibits of Israeli artists. It’s open Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 4pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 3pm.

A short (.5km/ 1/3-mile) stroll south of Old Jaffa brings you to the old port area of Jaffa Harbor, which hosts a few nice fish restaurants, and the fantastic Na Lagaat, meaning “please touch” in Hebrew (tel. 03/633-0808), a culture and arts center where the deaf-blind community put on stunning plays (tickets around NIS 40) and host dinners in the dark at the kosher restaurant, BlackOut (NIS 155 for a three-course fish meal). All proceeds feed back into the organization, which employs some 100 members of the deaf, blind and deaf-blind community.

From north to south, Tel Aviv is filled to bursting with sweet shopping enclaves. Each neighborhood pocket has independent Israeli boutiques, local brands, secondhand shops, jewelery designers, and more. While there are massive malls, with their ice-cold ACs blasting into big-box chains like Zara, H&M and Mango, the more singular and interesting shops will be found on the streets (and that goes for the cool people-watching as well).

You may want to start on Allenby Street, not so much for its shops (which mostly hawk basics like tank tops and flip flops), but because it's a transportation hub, and just a 10-15 minute stroll from better shopping streets, like Nachlat Binyamin which is known for crafts stores and vintage shops; the boho Sheinkin which has trendy, independent boutiques; and King George, a long stretch with varied merchandise, from alternative shops selling hippy/festival garb to others selling sneakers and comics. Other notable shopping destinations include Shabazi Street in Neve Tzedek for French brands, art galleries and jewelry; Masaryk Square and Levontin Street for independent Israeli designers; Basel Compound which has a number of adorable shops for kids’ shoes, clothes and toys. Heading up and down Dizengoff Street you will find numerous shops by Israeli designers, plenty of housewares, cute shoe shops, and cafes and ice cream stops for when you need to take a retail break. Then there is also Tel Aviv Port filled with a mix of kids’ shops and activewear outlets, and HaMedina Square, best known for its temples of luxury (brands like Gucci and Dior). Depending on where you lay your head for the night, any of these areas across the city offer an eclectic mix of shopping, strong coffee, great eats, and the distinct vibrancy of Tel Aviv.

We have individual reviews of the top markets in town (including Carmel Market, pictured above). Surf to those from our index page.

Art

Tel Aviv’s Gordon Street district is the center of serious art in Israel. Gordon Street and the cross streets, from Ha-Yarkon to Dizengoff streets, are almost wall-to-wall galleries and distinctive shops. The trendy Neve Tzedek neighborhood, in south Tel Aviv, and the nearby, shady, Rothschild Boulevard, with its superb restaurants, are also becoming art districts. Most galleries open Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 1pm and 5 to 8pm.

Bookstores

If you’re looking for English reading material, especially fiction, Halper’s Quality Used Books, 87 Allenby St. (tel. 03/629-9710), is the mother lode, with at least a quarter of a mile of used, reasonably priced books on its packed shelves!

For a great selection of brand new books with thoughtful English sections, head to HaMigdalor (18 Mikveh Israel St; tel. 03/686-8225), and Sipur Pashut (36 Shabazi St; tel. 03/5107040), which are both independent booksellers in fun shopping neighborhoods.

There is also the very reliable and well-stocked Steimatsky (109 Dizengoff St. tel.077/269-9932) chain with branches across the country.