Tel Aviv’s star attraction, the beach, is the focal point of its fun, relaxed, noworries vibe.
With a wealth of exceptional beach hotels, restaurants and bars, it is tempting to spend the entire day working on your tan, enjoying watersports and chilling out by the sea. However, Tel Aviv is a complex and versatile city with many more daytime delights to offer. Its fascinating museums and art galleries, beautiful green spaces and innovative cultural events offer much to discover and explore.
After dark the city is a different beast altogether, coming alive with a legendary all-night party scene. Huge, glamorous clubs, opening in either winter or summer, offer dancing and drinks on beautiful rooftops or right on the beach. For a more relaxed evening, hip Lilienblum Street is filled with elegant cocktail bars with excellent music and a mellower vibe. On quieter days you might simply wish to stroll Tel Aviv’s streets, ducking into cafés for coffee and enjoying the unique Bauhaus architecture that made the city a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Whatever you choose to do, our recommendations will help you strike the perfect balance, and enjoy Tel Aviv at its best.
Eretz Israel Museum
Israel’s largest and most important museum, the Eretz Israel Museum is a vast hive of knowledge and activity, with a wealth of artefacts, displays, reconstructions, demonstrations and events about the history and culture of Israel – including its archaeology, folklore, industry and art and crafts – from the prehistoric age to the present day.
There’s something for everyone at these exhibitions and events, and even those with no interest in history will enjoy the museum’s state-of-the-art planetarium, where armchair astronauts can glimpse the wonders of the universe and music fans can enjoy spectacular laser light show concerts.
Yarkon Nat ional Park
Yarkon is a wonderful location for a day out, with a wealth of beauty and culture to discover.
When you want to relax, picnic or admire a view there are botanical gardens bursting with unique local flora and fauna, lakes, a river and a water park, and sports facilities if you’re feeling a little more energetic. You can explore Israel’s past with the park’s fascinating history and archaeology, including Tel Afek, the site of an ancient biblical town and home to a ruined, Ottoman-era fortress. What’s more, the park has a busy calendar of events, which includes spectacular open-air concerts by the likes of Madonna and David Bowie.
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Since it was founded 70 years ago the Tel Aviv Museum of Art has become the leading contemporary art museum in Israel and has one of the largest collections of Israeli art in the world, from sculpture and painting to photography, video and design.
The focal point of a lively and energetic art scene, the museum presents exhibitions, films, lectures and performances and includes an impressive library featuring the leading art publications and journals. This makes the museum an invaluable resource for students, scholars, artists, curators and interested amateurs, and one of the most important cultural institutions in the Middle East. Show-stoppers include works by Dali and Picasso, but it is well worth visiting for everything else.
Scuba Diving with Sea Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv’s beach location is its greatest asset, attracting thousands of local and visiting revellers for sun, fun and spectacular views.
While in Tel Aviv you’ll no doubt party in style at a hip beach mega-club, stay at a lavish beach hotel and take in magnificent sea views from top restaurants. But if you’re feeling adventurous, why not experience the city’s ocean heritage from a new perspective with a bespoke scuba diving adventure with Sea Tel Aviv? You’ll enjoy a customised private diving experience – made to fit around your busy schedule – and discover a wealth of underwater wonders, from unearthly marine life and ghostly shipwrecks to ethereal caves and canyons. Every aspect of the dive can be tailored to your desires. There are opportunities to dive at sunrise, sunset or at night – perfect for a hectic schedule or as a wonderful romantic surprise.
Greg Lipsky, Owner and Manager
+972 52 869 8080
6 Israel Galili Street
Beit Hat futsot – The Museum of the Jewish People
Intensely personal, challenging, moving and memorable, the unique displays at the Beit Hatfutsot museum, on the campus of Tel Aviv University, explore and recount the journeys, struggles, oral histories, genealogies and cultural evolution of the Jewish diaspora across the world.
Innovative use of multi-media technology brings stories, people, places and events to life in exhibitions that don’t shy away from exploring difficult issues or asking searching questions. At their best they illuminate little-known histories that are part of the Jewish story, such as the current exhibition that tells the ancient and ongoing story of the Jewish community in Iran. A standout among Tel Aviv’s many stellar cultural attractions, a visit to Beit Hatfutsot makes for a contemplative and fascinating morning in Israel.
