The museum tells you a lot about Nachum Gutman and has a lot of different types of works of his on display. The museum is divided between 2 different buildings, which is a bit weird but is excellent for parents and grandparents especially as it is extremely child friendly, something you can’t accuse most other art museums in town of being.

(play area at the Nachum Gutman area, one of the many suitable areas in the museum for small ch

ildren)

The museum also has a pretty nice gift shop, but a lot of the items, although not all, are for Hebrew speakers only. You will find translations into English in the museum itself, however, so you do not need to know Hebrew to enjoy the museum, but if you are looking for something else than art in the gift shop and do not know how to read Hebrew, the selection will not be the best.

The museum is located in the charming neighborhood of Neve Tzedek, on 21 Rokach Street (yes, there seems to be 2 of these in Tel Aviv for some reason!), and you need to pay an entrance fee of 24 NIS to enter if you are an adult, children enter for free and discounts are available for senior citizens, Tel Aviv residents etc.

If you are able to read Hebrew, you can find out a lot more about the museum on their website.

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We must say we have visited some of the restaurants listed, and we do agree that the ones we know out of the list are pretty good, so it seems someone over at Conde Nast Traveler has indeed been doing their research!

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We are really looking forward to that, but meanwhile, those looking for some amazing French treats can always try Fauchon in Sarona, which we recently visited, but forgot to take photos of, which is also really good! (we will try to post a more comprehensive post about it when we have the time)

(image of Laduree from Things that make me go Mmmm)

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Because the book is indeed a street photography book, filled with amazing photos from the streets of Jaffa, all in black and white.

For more information about the book, titled Somewhere in Jaffa, see The Green Prophet and The Sydney Morning Herald. You can order the book through the author/photographer’s website (that’s what we did).

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The reason being, presumably, that the Bauhaus school was of German origin, so there is a connection to Germany, and Tel Aviv boasts the largest collection of these buildings in the world.

A whopping 3.2 million dollars are said to be donated by Germany for this purpose, and we definitely look forward to seeing Tel Aviv become even prettier than it is today!

Read more on Architectural Digest.

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While Claro might seem a tad expensive if you go here for dinner, they actually have very nice lunch deals, so if you’d like to give this place a try, we recommend you visit the restaurant for lunch. And if you do, don’t forget to ask about the specials!

(Claro’s English website seems to be under construction, but they do have a website in Hebrew for those who read it, where you can see the menu.

We will definitely be going back here, over and over again!

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From then on, we’ve made sure to always eat at Kampai whenever we are in Beersheva (which is not that often, to be honest), but we never expected this desert gem to pop up in Tel Aviv as well.

However, when taking a walk in Sarona recently, we saw a sign saying “Kampai” on one of the buildings, and while we weren’t completely sure we were looking at another branch of THE Kampai, we were really hoping, and we thought there might be a chance that this was the case, since we saw that the Kampai in Sarona also served sushi, noodles, fried rice and other Asian dishes. So we decided to ask, and the hostess confirmed that THE Kampai indeed had a branch in Tel Aviv now. How could we not give it a try?

We did, of course, and the food at the Kampai in Tel Aviv is just as delicious as in Beersheva (although we’ve only been there once, so we have not had a chance to try the sushi yet, only the noodles and the home fries).

The service was really excellent as well, and we liked how they paid attention even to the smallest details, such as giving you Asian, not Israeli soda, when you ordered some bubbly water.

Kampai does have a website (only in Hebrew) and they even do deliveries! If you read Hebrew, and would like to know more about them, you may want to check out their Facebook page too.

The address is Osvaldo Aranha 9, in the beautiful Sarona complex.

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We have to admit we have not been to this restaurant yet, but having found this out, we are already making plans to go there as soon as possible! (as, we are sure, are many other Tel Avivians)

The restaurant has a website, where you can read a bit more about them, but apparently it is a French bistro (which we love, who doesn’t like French food, after all), located on Shaul Ha Melech 27 (yep, inside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, so maybe it’s no wonder the restaurant can be seen as a piece of art too?), and based on the pics we’ve found, it may very well be that this restaurant deserves the title it has been awarded. But like we said, we need to go there in order to find out for ourselves, and when we have, we will be sure to update you of course!

(pic from 51Arch.com)

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We were quite suspicious of this sushi place, both due to its location and because it is kosher (as non kosher diners, we generally tend to find non kosher places better), but after having tried it, we actually found it quite good. The sushi was tasty, the service really fast (also during lunch hours, when a lot of people eat at Azrieli) and the variety of sushi quite nice.

So if you are a typical Tel Avivian, or at least have the taste buds of one, and happen to need to eat in Azrieli, Oshi Oshi sushi is really worth a try.

Oshi Oshi has a website, in case you want to take a look at the menu or know a bit more about them. Unfortunately, it is only in Hebrew though.

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You see, Pol Cafe is located on the third floor in the Azrieli mall, making it a perfect spot for everyone looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of Azrieli for whatever reason. No matter if you’ve simply grown tired of the crowds, if you have to have a meeting with someone, or something else, Pol Cafe is a bit of an oasis in this busy mall.

Don’t get us wrong, however, Pol Cafe is not completely quiet or empty, there are plenty of people here, too, but compared to the rest of Azrieli, it is significantly more quiet. So if that is ever what you are looking for when you are in Azrieli, head over to this coffee shop!

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The award was given to Tel Aviv at the Smart City Expo, and annual event held in Barcelona this year, and Tel Aviv beat 250 other cities to the title. The reason for this title is mainly that the city of Tel Aviv is said to have had what is called a “digital revolution”, and some parts of this revolution are interesting for tourists visiting Tel Aviv, too, like the wifi you can find all over town, it certainly does come in handy for tourists a lot of times!

Most aspects of the digital revolution are mostly interesting for the residents of Tel Aviv, of course.

If you’d like to read more about the title, you can do so over at Ynet and Times of Israel.

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That restaurant is Indira, a restaurant established in 1991, in the London Minister building (on the Shaul Hamelech Boulevard side), and still serving amazing meals. We actually go there quite a lot, and have been doing so for years already, but since Indira, as good as it is, is a somewhat common place for us to dine, we probably don’t appreciate it enough, and also never remember to take any photos when we go.

But don’t let that fool you! Indira is by far the best place for Indian food in Tel Aviv, and although the prices are not cheap, they are definitely reasonable (by Tel Aviv standards, maybe not as much by Indian standards), and there is a lot of variety on the menu too.

We especially recommend the garlic naan, the samusas and the tikka masala if you are at all into that.

For a full menu (in Hebrew), see Indira’s website.

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Now, this might not sound like such a big deal, but it actually is. In a lot of the smaller cities in Israel, you do not have this luxury, but have to go pick up your mail at a mail station instead. And it is not very uncommon that this place is not very close to where you actually live.

So while the city of Tel Aviv might not have all the greenery of the moshavs and smaller cities of Israel, at least getting the mail is fairly simple, even if you are only staying in Tel Aviv for a short while.

That is, until you have to go to the post office to get packages or something. That can be quite an unpleasant experience, after all. But how to manage at the Israeli post offices is probably a topic for another post entirely…

(the mail station pictured is from the small town of Yavne, Israel)

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Generally, the stores are slightly more upscale than the ones you find in other malls in the city, and if you are looking for a store that you like, but find hard to find in Tel Aviv otherwise, it may very well be worth checking if they have it here (happened to us with Kiehl’s!). However, this is not a place we recommend for bargain hunters, for obvious reasons. (There are some other places better suited for bargain hunters in the city, however)

The mall houses nice coffee shops and restaurants on top of the stores you will find there, as well as some embassies, and it is located in Ramat Aviv, a part of town most tourists go to if they want to visit either the University, or the Diaspora Museum or the Eretz Israel museum. Ramat Aviv is fairly easy to get to from central Tel Aviv, even though it may look like it is far away, thanks to direct bus lines that take you straight here.

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People who read Arabic often complain that the Arabic parts are not completely correct, and there are some funny street signs if you just look at the English parts, too, but for the most part, we find the English names and instructions on street signs to be correct and understandable.

This obviously makes it much easier to get around the city on your own, as a non-Hebrew speaker, so with this post, we mainly want to reassure anyone in this position that there really is no need to worry should you not read Hebrew. Most tourists who visit the city actually don’t, and the manage just fine anyway!

The post Finding your way in Tel Aviv – A word on street signs in Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

The restaurant has a Facebook page you can visit if you want, and you can see their menu before you go as well (Hebrew only), here. There are English menus at the actual coffee shop, though, so there is absolutely no need to be fluent in Hebrew in order to order something here.

We would definitely recommend going to Jeremiah if you are in the mood for typical coffee shop food, because everything here is nice, even if not the most memorable you have ever had.

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The interesting thing about this particular restaurant is that it combines Swedish and Iraqi food in the menu, since the owner/chef has a Swedish father and an Iraqi mother, so he cooks things he knows from his childhood, that he spent in both Israel, with his mother’s Iraqi family, and in Sweden.

Both the oriental and the Scandinavian dishes are well prepared and tasty, and since most people do not know both Swedish food and Iraqi food very well, even if they might know one of these cuisines, we’d guess that almost everyone can find something interesting and new to try here.

We should mention, however, that the menu changes daily, since what they serve depends on what’s on offer in the market nearby. So you might not always be offered your favorite dish if you become a returning guest.

The staff is super friendly and when we ate at Gedera 26, even the chef came out to speak to us, so we definitely liked the service, and the cute look of the place too!

We will definitely go back, preferably as soon as possible!

(the restaurant is located on Gedera street 26, hence the name)

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Not only is the restaurant, as well as the rest of the hotel, super charming in a Parisian classic way, the way they serve the food at Eden Bistro is also really charming (not a lot of attention is paid to how things are served in a lot of Tel Aviv restaurants, but Eden Bistro is definitely an exception to this rule!) and the place is located in Kerem ha Teimanim, the Yemenite Vineyards, in Tel Aviv, which is really a very charming neighbourhood to visit anyway. So the surrounding is lovely in every way when you eat here, but the food is not half bad either!

The portions are really huge and the dishes original. You can also check out their menu online (here) if you want to see what they can offer you before you go.

We shared their The Rendevous meal for 2, which was a great choice, because you got to try several of their specialities by doing so. (what is pictured below is just part of the meal, however, since they serve it in several different rounds)

We highly recommend this place for everyone looking for a really nice breakfast or a Parisian feel in a restaurant i Tel Aviv. This really is a very unique place!

The bisto is located on 11 Yishon Street in Kerem ha Teimanim.

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First of all, it is a nicer area to walk around in, at least in the spring and fall (in other words: when it is not too hot!), than most other shopping areas in Tel Aviv, for the simple reason that it is outside. There’s also playgrounds for kids, some greenery, a fish pond etc., making this a perfect location for anyone going shopping with kids too.

The historic buildings of Sarona have also been renovated really beautifully, so we would actually say that the area is worth visiting even if you are not shopping, but we suspect it will be pretty crowded at least in the beginning when it opens, which will probably make that a bit less enjoyable.

There are several restaurants (including some really good ones, like Rustico) and coffee shops in the area as well, so you can really make a day of it if you do decide to come here. The area is located very close (we are talking a very short walking distance) to Azrieli Center, but has less, yet more unique stores than the big mall, in our opinion.

So we will definitely be coming back when Sarona is fully ready! For now, we’d say that around half of the stores/companies are open.

The post Shopping in Tel Aviv: The Sarona Complex appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Or on the grass, since they can give you a blanket as well.

We really liked the concept, as well as the food (we tried some pizza and pasta with meatballs), which is really delicious, although definitely not kosher, if that matters to you, and we met some friends in the restaurant, too, who had tried the ice cream on offer, and loved that too. So it seems both the food and the desserts are worth trying!

We will definitely be coming back to Picnic, and we look forward to trying the other Little Italy restaurants in Sarona in the future as well!

The post Restaurants in Tel Aviv: Little Italy Picnic – Italian Picnic Market in Sarona appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

The decor is nothing special, however, so if you are expecting the place to be fancy and high end, you’ll be disappointed. But then again, almost none of the Tel Aviv ice cream bars are very special or fancy, so this is not something specific just for Siciliana.

There are tons of different flavors to choose from, and Gelateria Siciliana also sells vegan gelato if that is your thing. We hear that is pretty good too, but we can’t say if it’s true or not, due to only having tried the regular ice cream. They are said to have some ice creams suitable to those who are lactose intolerant as well.

For more info on Siciliana, check out their cool website, at least if you read Hebrew!

We’d definitely recommend this ice cream bar for ice cream lovers visiting Tel Aviv! Keep in mind, however, that they do not sell much besides ice cream (possibly some drinks), so this place is only worth visiting if it is indeed ice cream you are after.

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Wineberg has a cute and cozy, while not overly fancy, decor, making it perfect for dates and meetings with friends alike.

They also make really nice tapas, something that can be hard to find elsewhere in Tel Aviv.

But if tapas is not your thing, you can find other, larger dishes as well. (We especially liked the baked ziti)

They also seem to have a nice selection of different alcoholic drinks, such as wine (of course!), different beers etc. So you can find unusual things to drink here as well, if that is your thing.

You can apparently have brunch and breakfast here, too. We haven’t tried that, yet, though, but look forward to doing so at some point in the future. we will definitely be back and can’t believe we have been skipping this place for so long, as it really is quite charming!

We didn’t find a website for Wineberg, but they do have a Facebook page and you can check out their menu here.

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If you’d like to eat in the vicinity of the Jaffa fleamarket (that definitely has its own, very unique vibe), Al-Jamila is definitely an excellent choice. We can especially recommend the Arabic dumplings as well as the Fattoush salad, both amazing!

The place also seems to have quite a lot of wine, but we did not try any. The selection looked really nice though!

You will find Al-Jamila on Oley Zion 4, right by the Jaffa fleamarket, but unfortunately we haven’t been able to find a website for them (in English or Hebrew) where you could take a look at their menu.

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There is no regular zoo in Tel Aviv proper, even though there used to be a small one here in the past, and the Ramat Gan Safari is actually a pretty good zoo, so it’s worth making the short drive out of town to go see it.

The park is divided into 2 parts: one where you can drive around in your own car and see a lot of the animals up close, and one which is more like a regular zoo.

(these are hippos hiding under the water, even though it’s kind of hard to see)

(these are all images from the safari part of the park, where you drive around yourself)

(and these are pics from the regular zoo)

There are over 200 species of animals in the park, some of them rare, and some of them more common. (But if you don’t manage to see a camel otherwise during your trip to Israel, at least you can see some here, right?)

One of the best known residents of the zoo is of course Yossi, known to be the biggest elephant in capitivity at the moment, and taking the time to see him is indeed recommended, he is huge!

While the park is large, there are plenty of different vehicles you can rent in order to get around the regular zoo easily, including some vehicles suitable for children alone, trains the whole family can take, and so on. There are also several small stalls as well as restaurants all over the zoo, as well as public bathrooms.

The zoo arranges several different speciality tours that may be worth taking, and you can also join the zoo keepers when they feed the animals and so on.

You’ll find all the information you need in order to visit the zoo, including opening hours and prices etc. on their website (in English).

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One of the spas we recently visited is exactly such a spa, located at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, on the beach in Tel Aviv. We went here for some massages (that were excellent!) and some time in the pool and hot tub that you also get access to as a visitor to the spa, and have to say that while this spa is not very luxurious and does not have any super rare treatments, it is nice and basic, and the treatments offered are done well.

If you book any treatment at the spa, you also get free access to their pools for as long as you want, so if you want to go to a nice indoor pool, this spa is a great choice as well.

The only complaint we have about the spa is that the locker rooms and showers don’t seem to be cleaned very often during the day. We do understand that the spa cannot be blamed for messy guests, but keeping the locker rooms spotless at all times is a must for a high end spa if you ask us, and their locker rooms were far from spotless when we were there…

The spa is located on 145 Ha Yarkon street in the center of the city, and they do have a website in Hebrew, you can see it here, but we did not manage to find an English version of it. They also have a Facebook page, check it out here.

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The mall consists of 2 large floors full of stores + some coffee shops scattered on floor 4, and a single flower store on floor 1, and you can find pretty much any type of store here, from make up stores like MAC to beauty product emporiums like Laline and book stores such as Steimatzky, bakeries like Roladin, Adidas and NIKE stores, a Zara store, a Pull and Bear and Mango store, a GAP store and much more.

So no matter what you are looking for, Azrieli Center is usually worth a visit!

The mall may be a bit crowded during holidays and weekends, though, so if you can, come during the weekdays when nothing special is going on.

The transportation to the Azrieli Center from all over Tel Aviv is pretty good, so it shouldn’t be an issue to get here, even if the mall is not located in the center of town. There is also a big railway station right next to it, if you should want to leave town right after you visit, or visit it first thing after you take the train to Tel Aviv from the airport or something.

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You see, there are several train stations in Tel Aviv (the station pictured in this post is the one close to Azrieli – Tel Aviv HaShalom, but there are 3 others too) and you can easily check when the trains are departing on Israel Railways’ website, here (available in English!).

The trains are generally quite nice too, and while they might not always be right on time (but delays of more than 5 or 10 minutes are rather rare, which isn’t to say they never occur…), they take you to where you need to be much faster than buses. So if there is a train connection to another destination in Israel where you want to go, we would highly recommend taking the train!

There are usually small kiosks in the railway stations in Israel, too, if you want to buy a snack or a drink, as well as vending machines, and unless your destination is a very small city or place, you can usually find cabs outside them too, for easy transport when you arrive to where you need to go.

The post How to get out of Tel Aviv if you need to: Trains appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

What you get is basically a starter, a main course and dessert. We had the mushroom/spinach risotto for a starter, which was simply divine, highly recommended!

We chose pasta with sea food for one of the main courses:

And a hamburger for the other.

When the time came for dessert we were really full (the courses at Kimmel are certainly not small! So it would be advisable not to eat too much before going here), so we forgot to take photos and almost couldn’t finish the desserts either, but we tried the pannacotta as well as a crunchy chocolate dessert.

All the dishes served were really, really good, so after having eaten here for the first time, we can certainly understand why people say Kimmel is so good! It’s definitely a dining experience out of the ordinary, since the food is great, and so is the decor.

Located next to the charming neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek, Kimmel has a charming, rustic/vintage style, making it a really great place for special events too, if you are going for a more “homey” feel.

The only thing we were not too thrilled about during the Friday special meal was the sangria. We’re not big sangria drinkers, so we are unable to judge if the sangria that comes with the deal is better or worse than other sangrias served in town, but it would have been nice to have another option for an included drink, since not everyone is big on sangria.

But other than that, our visit to Kimmel was definitely a very positive experience and we will surely go back again. We’re quite sure it’s worth going there during the evening too, and not just for the lunch deal. But if you would like to try the lunch deal, and read Hebrew, you will find the special lunch deal menu here.

(Kimmel does have an English menu in the restaurant, too, but apparently not on the website… You can see an old menu for the Friday lunch deal here, but you should know that the menu has slightly changed since this was published. Some of the dishes are the same though)

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First of all, manicures and pedicures are way cheaper, as well as more common in Israel in general, and in Tel Aviv in particular, compared to most other western countries.

Second of all, you will probably spend a large part of your holiday in sandals, so it makes sense to have your feet looking your very best.

A good manicure/pedicure place can definitely help you with that, but not all beauty salons in Tel Aviv are equally good. Specifically when it comes to manicures and pedicures, an issue is that there are a lot of salons that may look nice, but where the treatments are less than perfect, as well as a lot of places where the treatments are good, but where the decor and the vibe are not what you are looking for when you are on vacation and want to spoil yourself a bit.

So finding the combination of a really nice environment where you can have your mani/pedis done, as well as a really effective treatment is not always the easiest thing to do.

But there are some gems out there, and one of them is the fairly recently opened Shooshka, on Ehad ha’am street 79, located in a very nicely renovated, typical Tel Aviv building (with typical Tel Avivian floor tiles and walls, for instance), very close to Rotschild Boulevard, as well as Habima (where you can also usually park if you are coming to Shooshka by car for some reason). We would say that this place is probably the most typically Tel Avivian out of all the beauty salons we’ve been to, and less touristy than many of it’s competitors. So if you want a very typically Tel Avivian manicure/pedicure experience, Shooshka is definitely a great choice!

But the typical Tel Aviv vibe is not the only advantage about Shooshka. They also use a lot of great products, including the most popular nail polishes around (O.P.I, Essie, Ciate… you name it!). The selection of colors is also pretty impressive (not something you can always take for granted in all Tel Aviv beauty salons), so even if you are into the trendiest colors of the moment, you should be able to find that here.

And they also sell some products that you can take with you, if you’d like. We spotted this basket of Israeli beauty products that looked really interesting for instance, but apparently, what products are on offer changes from time to time, so if you were to become a regular, you would probably find new products to try on a regular basis too.

The place obviously has a girly, but not too girly feel, which is why they have also stocked up on design and fashion books as well as a lot of magazines (fashion and other), in case you need some reading material while you have your treatments done. There is plenty of reading material in English (also not something one should take for granted when visiting a beauty salon in Tel Aviv, for sure! So if you go to other places, you might want to bring your own reading material, but at Shooshka, that doesn’t seem to be necessary).

You can also have a massage while you have your pedicure done, since the salon  seats you in a massage chair for this. So going to Shooshka, the salon voted to have “the best manicure pedicure in Tel Aviv” by Time Out Magazine two years in a row, on a day when you’re feeling a bit achey or tired (whether from too much partying or sightseeing…) is a great idea as well.

We were actually really impressed by how good the pedicure was. Several tools were used, in order to achieve the perfect soft “baby feet” end result (some pedicure places use only one or two), and the manicure was flawless as well.

Besides manicures and pedicures, wax hair removal treatments, paraffin treatments and make up services (both express makeup, for a date or job interview, as well as bridal makeup and makeup classes) are offered at Shooshka. We definitely want to go back, to try one of the makeup services next!

Shooshka has a lot of regulars (we talked to some of them while there, and they all only had the best things to say about the place), and we were told a lot of hotels in the area send them clients on a regular basis too, so drop ins are not recommended (even though they might be possible, depending on when you go), so you should book an appointment in advance, at least the day before. You’ll find all the info you need in order to do this on their English website.

Oh, and did we mention they give you cookies and coffee or tea, too? So even if you should arrive a bit early in order to have a look at the products they sell or something, no worries, having a coffee on their charming balcony will make the time pass by until it’s your turn!

Also, in this website you will find a nice selection of beauticians in Israel.

Enjoy!

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So far Israel has had over 3 million tourists come over during 2013, and 339 000 during October 2013 alone! So if you’re thinking of coming over, you are definitely not alone!

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Because the view from this place is actually really nice, and as long as you can sit in the shade, it’s actually a really nice place to sit and look at Tel Aviv’s beaches both in the morning, the middle of the day and the evening. And there are actually plenty of shady spots on the terrace.

We went there for breakfast, and if you are interested in doing that as well, you should know that Cafe Masada has really long and generous opening hours. You can start getting breakfast here at 6 in the morning already, for instance. We didn’t go quite that early, and decided to book a table in advance, which was a good idea in the end, because the place was already crowded in the morning. So if you really want to try this place out, we definitely recommend making reservations!

We actually started eating before we remembered to take a photo of our food, so the plates are already a bit messy on this photo, we’re afraid:

But the food was good and tasty, even if not very unique in any way. But sometimes classic, simple food is just what you want, and then Cafe Masada is a great choice!

A lot of people come here to eat and watch the sunsets, so we will definitely try to go back for that sometime soon.

Cafe Masada is located on Hayarkon 83.

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First of all, Time Out is great for Hebrew speakers and those who have someone to help them with the Hebrew. (Google translate unfortunately doesn’t work in this case, due to the format)

There is an English version of Time Out Tel Aviv as well, but in our opinion, it is not as updated as the Hebrew one. If you are interested in taking a look though, you’ll find the English version here. (We have to admit that we haven’t been reading the English version on a regular basis lately, so it might have gotten better)

Another good option is to buy Haaretz/International Herald Tribune on Fridays, because then the magazine comes with a guide to the upcoming week.

This guide lists pretty much everything going on all over Israel, so it’s actually not only useful for those staying in of visiting Tel Aviv, but all of Israel.

You’ll find information about what movies are showing right now:

Activities suitable for children:

Information about museums and their exhibitions:

Information about comedy shows (both in Hebrew and in English):

Information about what is on in the different theatres in Tel Aviv and elsewhere:

and much more.

So we actually buy Haaretz/International Herald Tribune every weekend, not ONLY for the guide to events, but also for that reason. So this, besides different Facebook groups and such, would be our recommendation for those who want to be updated on what happens in Tel Aviv on a regular basis. Since the guide covers the entire week, you don’t even need to buy the newspaper every day or anything, once a week is enough, giving you some time to plan ahead as well.

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And even if you don’t like playing foot-volley yourself, it’s actually a really interesting sport to watch, as the people who do play are often really talented, and it is a very difficult sport indeed.

There’s also plenty of seating around the field where the tournament is played, so you can either watch the games very comfortably yourself or bring tons of people to cheer you on, if you enter the tournament yourself!

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We had never been there, though, until today, when we decided that having lunch in the port of Tel Aviv would be a good idea. And we are happy to say that we think Pier 23 is really a very good restaurant on it’s own too, it’s not just living off the reputation of the more known bigger brother.

The food is very classic surf n’ turf food, if you’ve ever had that in the States, but they do have some meaty sandwiches and tortilla rolls on the menu too. And lovely rose wine, that we simply could not resist!

(Would definitely love to go back to Pier 23 for the wine alone!)

As for the food, we had a fish n’ chips:

As well as the New York Sandwich:

And while Goocha may serve a slightly better fish n’ chips in comparison, the sandwich really was very tasty and had high quality ingredients as well as a very generous amount of meat (which is not something you can always count on when buying sandwiches in Tel Aviv, unfortunately) and both dishes were very filling. The side dishes could have been a bit more interesting though, especially when it comes to the sandwich that just came with a pickle. A salad might have been a better choice, for instance.

But the standard of the food, described by the restaurant themselves as “gourmet fast food”, was really quite high and the vibe is very nice and beachy, a very nice change from most other restaurants in the port, that seem to go for a rather polished feel, so we would definitely go back! But we’d probably try other dishes next time, not because we didn’t like what we had, more because there were quite a lot of tempting dishes on the menu there…

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Fit and Slim is a small and intimate gym, located on 34 Basel St., in the heart of Tel Aviv, offering its clientele close and personal fitted training, which specializes in two very unique fitness programs. so unique in fact, that we are not sure you will be able to find similar programs in the entire country!

One of Fit and Slim’s specialty programs is the Aqua bike, which is just as cool as it sounds – you change into your swimming suit and together with a small group of up to 6 people and a trainer, get into a pool containing special “water rider” stationary bicycles, and for the next 45 minutes you have a chance to enjoy an underwater spinning-style training session!

The trainer, Yoni, has been very friendly and professional, explaining patiently about the training program and its many advantages (water training works on your entire body, is easier on the joints, can be used for rehabilitation purposes, etc.).

The experience has been amazing – a true combination of fun and workout, which we will definitely be looking forward to enjoy again real soon!

Fit and Slim’s other unique training program is a special type of treadmill machine called “Silhouette Plus”.

Basically, the way it works is that you get on the machine with your legs and mid-section being “closed off” and a vacuum effect starts up putting various levels of pressure on your body during a 30 minute training session, which works mainly on your legs, backside and stomach muscles.

Despite it being walking and not jogging, some of the levels can be quite difficult and intensive, leaving you tired but also very satisfied when you’re done.

We were also given a chance to speak with Regis – the gym’s owner and manager, as well as with Yoni – the head trainer, which had been very hospitable and have kindly answered all our questions and given us every bit of relevant information about the gym.

We’ve learnt that the gym is the exclusive operator of the “Silhouette Plus” training program in Israel, as well as the first to operate the Aqua bike program in Tel Aviv.

Besides Slim and Fit’s special fitness programs, another important advantage (especially for tourists visiting Tel Aviv), is that in contrary to many other gyms in Tel Aviv, Fit and Slims offers one time entries to the gym and access to its programs, and not only a monthly/annual payment plan.

So, to sum up, perhaps we can’t say with certainty that Fit and Slim is the absolute best gym in Tel Aviv, but its special programs, along with its intimate atmosphere and caring and accommodating staff, definitely make it a gym well worth visiting!

For more information about Fit and Slim and its training programs, feel free to visit the gym’s direct website.

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First of all, this restaurant is located in a very touristy area of Jaffa, right next to St. Peter’s Church, so it’s very easy to get to if you visit the old parts of Jaffa anyway, but it also means there are tons of other tourists there, so it may be hard to get a table sometimes. (When we went, we saw several people being turned away because they hadn’t made reservations)

So it seems making a reservation is a good idea.

The restaurants has tables both inside and outside, and if you are worried about eating outside in the summer (we sure are!), there are some rather powerful air conditioners out on the terrace too, so in that case, we would just recommend you to sit near one of them.

The building where the restaurant is located is absolutely beautiful, a typical building for Kedumin Square, where Abrage is located, and you really get a feel of old Jaffa when eating here.

At first, the service seemed kind of slow, we had to wait quite some time for menus and for someone to take our order, but after that, the service was excellent, and the food was really nice, as well as more unique than in some other, similar restaurants. We especially liked the starters, some grilled halloumi cheese with a lovely sauce:

As well as portobello mushrooms with lentils and goat cheese:

And as for the main dishes, if you order shrimp they serve it in a really interesting bread, in a big bread, with some delicious sauce on it.

There’s a lot of seafood and fish on the menu, so that seems to be their specialty, but they do have meat on the menu as well, as well as pasta and some vegetarian dishes.

The only complaint we have is that the cocktail we ordered wasn’t that exciting. But the food and the atmosphere was lovely! (And psst! The bathrooms were clean and nice, pardon our French. So it seems to be a clean restaurant too)

When we were there, in the evening, they also had a singer singing internationally known romantic songs. So if you have a date or are in Tel Aviv with your significant other, this would probably be a very romantic place to have a meal, due to all the romantic songs as well.

For more information about Abrage (including their menu), see their website.

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One of the things you should be aware of if you are considering staying at the Tel Aviv Crowne Plaza is that is located on the beach. That said, there are plenty of other Tel Aviv hotels on the beach too, but we actually think this has one of the best locations, since it is located close to the extremely popular Gordon Beach, as well as the marina and several coffee places and restaurants. Also, if you just need a room for a couple of hours, in Tel Aviv Crowne Plaza hotel you will find a nice selection of rooms solely for this purpose.

The spa was very nicely decorated, and the spa services offered (we had some massages) very nice. When you visit the spa you also get access to a big pool area, located under this window dome, which was rather big, nice and not too crowded.

The only downside we can think of regarding the pool area is that you can hear quite a lot of noise from the beach when lounging there, but due to the location, maybe that’s to be expected?

So all in all, we think the Crowne Plaza seems like a very nice hotel, with nice amenities as well as very nice staff, and based on our very limited experiences with the place, we would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a hotel in Tel Aviv!

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The restaurant also has a rather impressive bar, a nice selection of wines, and an excellent variety of cocktails if you happen to like that, including some more rare cocktals that can be hard to find elsewhere in Tel Aviv, where most people are more into beer and wine than cocktails.

The food is modern fusion, so you will find some very interesting combinations on the menu here, and the portions are very generous indeed, especially when it comes to the desserts, as well as tasty of course.

So our visit to Mizlala was very nice, and we will definitely be going back there, since the price we paid was more than worth it, having been there during lunch, when we could take advantage of one of the business deals.

The bread at Mizlala (complimentary with most meals) is served in an interesting way as well, and their own aioli sauce is really delicious!

The restaurant also looks quite nice, and has both large and small tables, making this a perfect place for both a date and bigger celebrations.

For more information about Mizlala, including a menu in English, their website is well worth a visit.

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NOLA is both a coffee shop/restaurant and a bakery, so you can either choose to sit down here for a meal, of just buy some of their amazing baked goods to go. We’ve actually done both, because after having our first breakfast here, we were so impressed we wanted some more!

NOLA is owned by a New Orleans native, Talya Rasner, who grew up on the food the southern city is so famous for, meaning that you can find dishes at NOLA that you can’t find anywhere else in Tel Aviv (buttermilk bisquits and Po-boy, for instance), as well as all the classic American baked goods such as cupcakes and muffins. The difference is, at NOLA everything is exactly how it is supposed to be, and not an Israeli adaptation of the dish. This is probably why you will find a lot of American tourists, as well as Americans living in Tel Aviv in the restaurant whenever you go.

The place is pretty crowded during the weekends, though, so prepare to wait if you do here then. Breakfasts are served all day, though, so if you don’t mind breakfast a bit later in the day, your chances of getting in improves.

We have tried several of the breakfasts (the Blackstone Biscuit is our favorite), as well as several of the desserts (the peanut butter pie is divine!) and we also got some cupcakes to go.

Everything was really, really tasty, and we will definitely be going back here!

If it wasn’t for the crazy lines outside, NOLA would definitely be a contender for the “Best Breakfast in Tel Aviv” awards, but a wait of over 30 minutes is a no-no for us, so no can do. The food is excellent though!

For more information about NOLA, we recommend their Facebook page, since they don’t seem to have a website yet. You can see their menu on the Facebook page too.

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In our opinion? Not really, unless you want to visit the Yitzak Rabin memorial, which is located in one of the corners, see the City Hall (not at all as nice as Tel Aviv’s first City Hall, that we wrote about here) or visit Gan Ha Ir, which is actually a great place for shopping (read why here).

There are plenty of coffee places and restaurants around the square though (we especially recommend dropping by Cinnabon if you want some delicious cinnamon rolls, Wolfnights if you want to try the best burger in town and Amore Mio if you are in the mood for some Italian food, but there are plenty of other nice restaurants around too), and Rabin Square has a lot of places to sit, if you happen to pass by and want to take a short break there.

But all in all, we don’t really think most tourists should make visiting Kikar Rabin, as Rabin Square is called in Hebrew, a priority, since you can find nice restaurants all over town.

So only plan a visit here (the square is centrally located, though, so should you decide to visit, it shouldn’t be too much of a hassle) if you really want to see the Rabin monument!

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But as we said, the food in Manta Ray definitely is amazing, and we can especially recommend the small meze dishes they offer for starters, the speciality of this particular restaurant. One note though: We once took someone who eats neither fish or sea food here, and for people who do not like anything that used to live in the sea, this is not a great choice, since a lot of the food really is sea-based. But if you like fish or sea food, the menu here is really good!

The service is nice too, and this place is nice both during the day and at night. We’ve heard they have amazing breakfasts too, but we’ve never had a chance to try their breakfast so far, so we can’t really judge that, but it seems likely the breakfasts are just as good as the rest of the food served here as well. We’ve never tried anything here that wasn’t good, after all.

The address is simply Alma Beach (a beach you should be able to find on any map of Tel Aviv) and they do have a website (only in Hebrew) if you want to take a look at their menu, here.

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Unfortunately, Shabazi street is being renovated at the moment (the street is supposed to be new and improved by November 2013), so the street around the restaurant is a bit dirty at the moment, but the restaurant itself is quite lovely, the staff very professional and sweet, and the breakfast indeed quite nice. Maybe this is because Dallal actually has their own bakery, where all the baked goods are made (pictured)?

We had a salmon croissant as well as their special dish Fry Up, as well as a continental bread basket.

Everything was really tasty, and you can add a lot of things to the dishes if you want, for an extra fee, so this is really the perfect place for anyone who likes unusual combinations of some kind.You can find a Dallal menu here, but it looks slightly different to the one we saw at the restaurant today, so it might be old…

So is this indeed the best breakfast in Tel Aviv? We would say it’s definitely a contender, especially for those who want one dish, but not to be too stuffed and have tons and tons of food, that you get in a lot of the other breakfast places in town. We really enjoyed our breakfast at Dallal, and will be going back, and also look forward to trying their regular dishes some evening! Definitely recommended!

And the area where this restaurant is located is really nice too, so you can stroll around and experience Neve Tzedek at the same time if you are not in a rush.

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This station was actually not only the first railway station in the Middle East when it was first built, but also the last stop on the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway line for a long time, and was originally built in 1891, well before the Jewish state was founded.

It is also located very close to Neve Tzedek, the first Jewish neighbourhood to be built outside of the old city of Jaffa. So if you are planning to visit Neve Tzedek (something we highly recommend!), a visit to Ha Tachana can easily be combined with that. The train station has actually not been in use since the state of Israel was founded in 1948, and it took until 2005 before the city of Tel Aviv decided to do something useful with this charming old sight, so they renovated the area for five years, what you see when you visit Ha Tachana today was only opened to the public in 2010.

So while Ha Tachana has a really long and impressive history, it’s fairly new as a tourist attraction, but we think it’s one that’s here to stay. It’s a very charming place to do some shopping, or to have a bite or a drink, even though none of the restaurants we’ve visited stand out very much (so for gourmet food, you might want to head somewhere else. But who eats gourmet food every day, anyway?). But the area is constantly developing, new stores are added and so on, so we’re guessing we haven’t really seen the “final” Ha Tachana yet.

This is a really good sight to visit with kids as well, especially during weekends and holidays when there are kid friendly shows and events quite often.

Ha Tachana has a website as well, where you can read some more about this complex, as well as find a list of the stores and restaurants you’ll find there, and information about the different events being held here on a regular basis. (So if you don’t really care when you are going to Ha Tachana, you might want to check the website in order to see if you can go when there is something out of the ordinary going on)

Ha Tachana is open every day, including on Shabbat, but some of the stores close earlier on Friday. Everything is open from the morning on Saturdays, though.

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If it should rain while you are in Tel Aviv, it shouldn’t be a very big inconvenience, since it rarely rains for very long. One should know, however, that Tel Aviv is not very well equipped for rain, which means that the rain doesn’t really dissappear very quickly after it has rained, instead, large puddles can be found around the city for quite some time after the rain has stopped. And should it rain a lot, crossing streets can be difficult for a while, since crossroads can be quite flooded.

Another thing that can be a bit problematic when it rains in Tel Aviv is catching a cab while it rains, at least if this happens during the week, when people have to go to work, and if you are trying to get a cab during rush hours. A lot of people in the city seem to rely on cabs when it rains, as we’ve noticed a couple of times when we’ve tried to get a cab ourselves in these situations.

Some things to amuse yourself with, should you ever find yourself in Tel Aviv while it rains:

– See how many Israelis will say that it’s good for the Sea of Galilee, or Kinneret, as it is called in Hebrew. This lake, while not even remotely close to Tel Aviv, is notoriously known for being in danger of drying out, but each time it rains, the lake gets into better shape, and since the lake, although not very impressive by international standards, is a great source of pride for Israelis, they get very happy when their beloved lake gets some more water.

– People watch and see how scared many locals are of the rain. This can be seen by the expressions on their faces, their running and quite a few other things.

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The breakfasts here are pretty expensive (we believe the one below cost 72 shekels, which is way more than most places charge for a breakfast) but they are huge, so you can easily share a breakfast with someone if you want. And you can get a lot of additions to the breakfast (most of them without any extra charge, which is unusual in Tel Aviv), which is nice as well. You also get a champagne cocktail with your breakfast, so if you do like some alcohol with your breakfast (hey, we won’t judge!), this is a great place to start your day.

The restaurant itself is charming, although obviously not renovated recently, and the service was excellent.

People we’ve talked to say that the regular food (meaning not the breakfast) is excellent at Gilly’s too, but we haven’t had a chance to try that yet. But we will definitely come back for the breakfast, even though we do think Dallal is slightly better than Gilly’s when it comes to breakfasts.

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A lot of people confuse the Shuk Ha Namal with the Farmer’s Market that is sometimes held outside of the building of the Port Market, but the difference is that the Port Market is open every day, while the Farmer’s Market is only to be found here on Friday mornings. But like the Farmer’s Market, the Port Market has a lot of really fresh and organic stuff too. So you can get everything from super fresh veggies to fine cheeses, wines, home made pastas, freshly squeezed fruit juices, fish and meats here. Everything is sold in small stalls, and you can choose to buy very small amounts too. Many people buy small dishes and eat them on the spot, too, so in that way, the Shuk Ha Namal is a much smaller version of the world famous La Bouqueria in Barcelona. But you can just as well buy ingredients for your own cooking here, too (that’s what we usually do when we go here).

You should know that the Shuk Ha Namal is pretty small, though, there is around 20 stalls here in total, maybe, and while everything sold here is of pretty high quality, there is a new similar market in the port of Jaffo, that will probably be a very strong competitor to this gourmet market in the future. But it’s still very much worth a visit, we especially recommend getting some olives and seasonal fruits and berries, as well as trying the fabulous pasta at Pasta Fiori here.

For more information about the market, try their website, they have quite a lot of information in English too.

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The most important thing you should know about Ben Gurion Airport is, first of all, that you should always get there on time, if flying out. In some countries, it is not necessary to be early when you fly, but on Ben Gurion it may be. So you should be at the airport more than 2 hours before you flight if possible (3 hours should not be necessary, however). If you are going to the airport during rush hours, you should also be prepared for traffic jams on the way, so try not to under estimate the drive there either!

A lot of people might also be interested in knowing that there is free wifi on Ben Gurion Airport, so if you are travelling with a laptop, iPad or tablet, smart phone or similar, you should be able to pass the time even if you get there a bit early!

There are also a lot of duty free shops at the airport, so if you would like to do some shopping, that’s quite a good option too.

One can’t really sleep at Ben Gurion Airport, however, there simply aren’t very good chairs for that at the airport. So you should preferrably get here well rested!

Lines for passport control can be long at times, and you need to have a passport that is valid for 6 months after you leave the country in order to be able to enter. Tourists are also required to fill in an entry form upon arrival. You should usually be given this form on the plane already, but in case you aren’t, or you were simply sleeping when they gave them out, you can get it at the airport too.

If you decide to get a cab to get to Tel Aviv or any other city in Israel from the airport, there should be a fixed price for this. So no need to haggle! But there are trains, as well as mini cabs and buses available too, in case you don’t want to take a cab.

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But Jaffa is very different from Tel Aviv, founded in 1909, since this city is actually considered to be the world’s oldest port, and the area where it is located has been inhabited since around the year 7 500 BCE. The city itself is believed to be over 4 000 years old, so it’s no wonder Jaffa is mentioned several times in the Bible, and the historical feel is still something you very strongly feel when you visit this part of Tel Aviv.

The municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffo was not always great at taking advantage of Jaffa’s long and impressive history, but in recent years the municipality has taken several measures that aim to make Jaffa more accessible and welcoming to tourists. Major renovations of the port have taken place, and walking around in the port of Jaffo is now a very nice experience. There are many great restaurants and coffee shops in the area, which is basically a long boardwalk that you can access by simply walking south from any beach in Tel Aviv (and while you do so, you can actually see Jaffa, so estimating the distance from where you are should not be too hard), as well as a nice food market, in a new building. We especially recommend the Rokach tapas bar, if you are not very hungry!

While walking in the port of Jaffo you will also be able to enjoy wonderful views of the sea, as well as of Tel Aviv, because in the same way that you can see Jaffo from Tel Aviv, you can see Tel Aviv from Jaffo as well. If you’d like to do some shopping, there are also several small shops (mostly selling jewelry and other locally designed small items) and galleries in the port.

But the biggest effort when it comes to tourism in Jaffa has been put into developing a museum where visitors can learn more about the city and it’s history. The museum is called Museum of Antiquities of Tel Aviv Jaffa or the Jaffa Museum, and while we (the bloggers running this blog, that is) haven’t had a chance to go there yet ourselves (we’re really hoping too, soon though!), we have heard excellent things about the museum. It’s located in a really nice historic building and displays several archaeological items actually found in the city, but also a multimedia experience that brings the history of the city to life in an interesting and unique way.

You can also get a headset and do your own walking tour of the port, as well as to other attractions in Jaffo if you want. You pay 30 NIS as a rental fee for this, but it is well worth it, since you will be able to understand what you are actually seeing much better with it. You can read more about this DYI tour and headset here.

But no matter if you decide to get a headset or not, there are tons of things to see and experience in this port, making it one of the top attractions in all of Tel Aviv-Jaffo these days. We also recommend it, even for those who live in Tel Aviv, for weekends and similar, just because it’s such a different experience compared to the rest of the city.

So if you feel like having a break from the skyscrapers and hustle of bustle of central Tel Aviv, the port of Jaffo is really a great option for you!

But of course there are tons of other things to see in Jaffo besides the port of Jaffo as well. We hope to introduce them to readers separately though. So for now our tip is just to get to the port area, enjoy the boardwalk and see what strikes your fancy!

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The good thing about Gan Ha Ir is that despite its very central location, right next to Rabin Square, and right off Ibn Gvirol, one of the main streets of the center, it’s usually not very crowded, unlike Dizengoff Center, for instance, so it suits shoppers who want to shop in peace and without crowds really well.

Of course, the amount of stores is not as large as in Dizengoff Center either, but you have a nice variety of stores here, from book stores to a sports store, a natural supermarket, a pharmacy, a chocolate store, stores selling beauty products and clothes and lingerie, as well as some interior design stores, so it’s a great option if you do not need to visit a bunch of stores at once.

The mall is open 10-20 every weekday and 10-14 on Fridays, closed on Shabbat, and is located on 71 Ibn Gvirol.

Highly recommended if you want to do some shopping, escape the crowds but still stay in the center of town some time!

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You’ll find a lot of international brands at “The Center”, from Zara to Mango, to Nike, Adidas, Topshop, Aldo, Accessorize and Nine West, but also some local stores and chains, such as Michal Negrin, Fox, Golf, To Go, Castro, Renuar and many others (there is an estimated 430 real stores in the mall), and there is also a great food court at this shopping center, that is worth checking out on Friday mornings and Tuesday evenings especially. You’ll find foods of all kinds, as well as desserts, for sale on the bottom floor.

There is also a small section close to the food court where independent, smaller Israeli designers sell their self made jewelry and clothing, which is worth seeing if you like more unusual designs and don’t want to run into others wearing the same pieces as you.

Movie buffs will also find a big cinema in Dizengoff Center (even though other movie theaters may be better for those who want English subtitles), and there are of course several coffee shops scattered around the mall as well.

The only downside to Dizengoff Center is really that it can be hard to find what you are looking for, since the layout is really complicated. So many people actually get lost here, even if they’ve been here many times before! The best approach to shopping at Dizengoff Center is therefore to not be stressed and take your time and just see what you’ll find.

But if you want some more specific tips, some of the highlights of Dizengoff Center, according to us, are:

– Skin care items at L’Occitane (a rather upscale French brand), Israeli Laline (now found elsewhere too) and The Body Shop.

– The huge United Colors of Benetton store

– The “kind of Benetton-vibey” store Ginger, that sells all kinds of colorful knick knacks for the house.

– The Crazy Richard t-shirt store, for unusual t-shirts, including several that will make great souvenirs from the Holy Land for yourself or someone at home.

– The Design Store Soho, that sells everything from top international design brands to some Israeli top design. Stock changes frequently, so it’s hard to say exactly what you’ll find when you go there, but the European design section is almost always very impressive.

– On the go manicures and pedicures at Laka, an Israeli chain that has now started opening branches outside Israel as well.

– World class cosmetics at MAC, located right next to the Laka.

– The fab gym Holmes Place, one of the best gyms in Tel Aviv in our experience. A great choice for a gym in  Tel Aviv, if you’re staying for a big longer. There is also supposed to be a roof top pool and gym at the top floor, but we’ve never been there ourselves, so we can’t really give our verdict on it. But it does sound pretty cool!

– Empanadas at the food market, usually on sale close to the L’Occitane store.

For more information about Dizengoff Center, the best source is their website, which is unfortunately all in Hebrew, but using Google translate or a Hebrew speaking friend, you should be able to find opening hours and lists of stores, as well as other useful information there.

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Kikar Ha Medina is actually not a street, but a circle, since the area is located around a large park, that is surrounded by a traffic circle, in the northern parts of central Tel Aviv, so if you do decide to walk around here, you will indeed be walking in a circle.

If you should get tired during your shopping excursion, there are plenty of nice coffee shops on Kikar Ha Medina as well, and you will also find some stores selling excellent meats, cheeses and baked goods in the area.

Personally, we think people watching is almost as fun as shopping itself on Kikar Ha Medina, since a lot of the clientele is dressed in amazing things, something you don’t really see that much elsewhere in Tel Aviv, where most people dress in a more laid back way. So make sure you are not in a rush, and dress up if you can in order to fit in better.

For those of you interested in reading more about Kikar Ha Medina, we noticed that Haaretz recently ran a story on this upscale shopping area. You can read their piece on it here.

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The house is of course the former home of Israel’s national poet, Haim Nachman Bialik, who bought the plot of land where the house is now located in 1924, and the house itself was ready in 1925. Bialik lived here until 1934, and after his death, the house was donated to the municipality of Tel Aviv, who made it into a museum.

Even if you are not that familiar with H.N Bialik’s work, this house is well worth a visit, due to the beautiful details in it. One of the most striking features are the tiles in the reception area.

But if you are indeed familiar with the poet, you will surely learn quite a few new things about him during your visit as well. There is also a large library on the premises, as well as an area behind the house itself, where special exhibits are often held.

The museum is located on 22 Bialik Street (a street where several other museums are located as well), and admission is 20 NIS for adults, but discounts are given to students, soldiers, senior citizens and many others. The museum is open every day, including weekends.

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The building, built in 1925, and a museum since 2009, is very beautiful itself, and the interior has been kept in excellent condition as well.

Currently, there is a fashion exhibition at the museum, called A Year In Fashion, but this is said to change from time to time, but we would say the space is amazing and well suited for most exhibitions, so whatever the museum decides to put here, it should work well.

While visiting the museum, you should also take a look at the many short video clips of Tel Aviv, available on a number of computers. Looking at these videos, you will ge a better picture of how Tel Aviv has developed over the years, and may probably also be able to spot quite a few places you recognize from modern Tel Aviv among the footage.

Make sure you visit legendary mayor Meir Dizengoff’s office when he was mayor as well. It’s located on the second floor, and has a lovely view over Bialik Street.

For more information on the museum, visit their website. The museum is open every day, except Sunday, including weekends, and the entrance fee is 20 NIS. But beware, many first timers spend a lot of time in this museum, since there is so much to see, and all the photos of old Tel Aviv and the videos can take quite a lot of time if you are into that. So make sure you have at least a few hours to spare when you come!

The museum does not have a gift shop as far as we know, but there are plenty of places to buy photos and items somehow related to Tel Aviv’s past elsewhere in the city.

The post Things to see in Tel Aviv: Old City Hall and the Tel Aviv Museum appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

One of the few places that pretty much all hummus eaters agree is one of the best, if not even THE best in the entire country, however, is Hummus Abu Hassan, in Jaffa, the world’s oldest port, and now a part of the municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Jaffo itself is a rather charming place to visit, with a lot of interesting sights (but more about the rest of them some other time), so making the trip here just for the hummus is actually well worth it.

There are three Hummus Abu Hassan branches in Jaffa, but none so far in Tel Aviv, so if you want to try the best hummus in Tel Aviv, you need to find one of the branches in Jaffa. And that is not always that easy, since some of them are well hidden, and they don’t look all that noticeable either. In fact, one of the branches of Abu Hassan looks like this:

You can choose between a few different varieties of hummus when you go, but what Hummus Abu Hassan is actually famous for is actually their Hummus Masabacha, so if you do decide to give this amazing hummus place a try, we recommend that you try that.

You will find 2 branches of the place on Shivtai Israel street, on number 14 and number 18, and one on Dolphin street 1. The prices are very reasonable, expect to pay 16 shekels for a personal dish and two pita breads, or 35 shekels for a kilo of hummus.

Bon Apetit!

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Why do we recommend Yullia?

First of all, the staff speaks English, which is very convenient if you don’t speak Hebrew yourself, and second of all, they make sure your experience is a good one, and don’t try to sell you more treatments by saying your body, hair, skin or anything else is in really bad condition.

You can also do a variety of different treatments here, which is nice, because then you don’t have to run from one salon to another, should you need more than one treatment.

For more information about Yullia, check out their website here.

(We have only ever been to the Dizengoff and Yeremiahu branches, though, but they are both great. The photo is of the Dizengoff branch)

The post Great place for beauty treatments: Yullia appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

David Ben Gurion and his family lived in the house between 1931-1968, and Ben Gurion gave the house to the State of Israel in his will, which is the reason it is still a museum today.

In our opinion, the most impressive part of the museum is David Ben Gurion’s library on the second floor, but make sure you get a guide if you go, since they will be able to tell you all the important facts and all the trivia you should be aware of about the house and Ben Gurion’s life.

More information on what you can expect from the museum can be found over at Wikipedia.

The post Things to see in Tel Aviv: Ben Gurion House appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

This means there are often lines outside Hashdera 34, so if you want to eat here, you might want to consider doing so during hours when most people do not go out to eat as much if you want to avoid standing in line, or prepare for a long wait.

But rest assured: once you make it into the restaurant, it is definitely worth the wait!

The atmosphere is fun, there is also plenty of alcohol for those who want to drink a bit, and there are plenty of different kinds of dishes to choose from; from salads to pasta to meaty dishes.

The restaurant is located on Shderot Ben Gurion 34 and you can see their opening hours here.

(Unfortunately we did not manage to find a menu anywhere, but we will of course update this post if we do further on)

The post Places to eat in Tel Aviv: Hashdera 34 appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Besides the yoghurt, however, you can also get tons of fun toppings on it, making a frozen yoghurt at Tamara a treat even for those who are not big fans of frozen yoghurt in itself. Toppings include fresh fruit, nuts, berries, melted chocolate, many different sauces, granola, Oreos and other crushed things.

(We personally love the melted Ferrerro Rocher chocolate sauce and oranges, kiwis, strawberries and other fresh fruit as toppings, so if you really do not know what to choose from the large selection, you might want to try a combo like that)

The place itself is really nicely designed as well, with swings instead of seats for some people, and a lovely, light blue decor.

So we can definitely recommend you visit Tamara, on Ben Yehuda 96, on the corner with Gordon Street, in central Tel Aviv when you are in the mood for some froyo!

For more information about them, check out their Facebook page (in Hebrew) here.

The post One of the best places for frozen yoghurt in Tel Aviv: Tamara appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Since many kinds of sea-food are non-kosher, finding good sea-food in Israel (a Jewish state, for those of you who forgot) may be more challenging than in some other countries.

In Goocha, where the distinction between Kosher and non-kosher food does not really exist, you will be able to find a rather large variety of sea-food, ranging from traditional fish dishes to more special shrimp , calamari, mussels and crab dishes – all for fairly reasonable prices, from between 50 NIS to a bit over 100 NIS.

For all you non sea-food eaters, other options are also available: personally I would recommend either the entrecote, the hamburger or the delicious chicken in curry and coconut sauce.

Goocha is conveniently and centrally located on 171 Dizengoff St. (on the corner with Ben-Gurion Blvd.) – close to much of the action that Tel Aviv has to offer, and nearby to most of the hotels (and the beach) as well.

Bon Apetite.

The post Places to eat in Tel Aviv: Goocha appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

(Mini buses, or the moniot sherut as they are called in Hebrew, already run on the sabbath)

It is, however, not clear when the buses on sabbath will start running. We will keep you updated of course!

The post Tel Aviv to have buses during the sabbath appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

We took a stroll on Nachalat Binyamin street today (6/12 2012) and these are some of the things we saw for sale:

(You can click on the pics to enlarge them if you want to have a closer look)

Since the people selling these things are artists and made all the things themselves, the actual merchandise changes a lot though, based on trends as well as on what the artists themselves are into at the moment.

Nachalat Binyamin (sometimes also called Nahalat Binyamin, נחלת בנימין in Hebrew) is one of the best places to go shopping in Tel Aviv, if you are looking for something really unique, but strolling around here, looking at all the artists and the things they have created is quite a fun experience as well.

If you don’t mind crowds, go on Friday when the street is packed, and if you prefer less people, Tuesday is the day to go.

Some fun facts about Nachalat Binyamin

The street was named after Zeev Benyamin Herzl, the founder of zionism who many other things in Israel (from cities to schools and anything else you can think of) are named after as well. It used to be the longest street in Tel Aviv when it was first founded, and you can still see quite a lot of old buildings here.

The Art & Craft Fair has been a Tel Aviv tradition since 1987 and over 220 artists take part in the market activities on a regular basis. All goods sold in the market must be handmade, original and the artist who made the goods must be there himself to sell them.

The post Things to do in Tel Aviv: Nachalat Binyamin street market appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Since all juice bars use fresh fruit to make the juices, they are all pretty good, but some of them are better than others when it comes to recommending which fruits go well together.

The juices are fairly cheap, and you can buy either a small cup, a medium cup or a big cup of juice, depending on how thirsty you are at the time. We highly recommend trying small cups of several different fruit juices if you have the chance. But beware, these juices are actually much more filling than they look! (So in the summer especially a glass of juice can easily substitute a snack)

The post Things to try in Tel Aviv: Freshly squeezed fruit juices appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

They serve everything from tacos, burritos, tortillas, guacamole to Mexican inspired cocktails and we like this restaurant since the food is really good, the prices reasonable and you usually do not even need to make a reservation, which is nice for a change in a city where most popular restaurants require reservations.

The atmosphere in the restaurant is fun, young and the staff usually do a really good job.

Mexicana has a website where you can see their menu in English if you want, click here to see it.

We can especially recommend the fajita con carne for meat lovers, the chili con carne for those who like spicy foods and the tasty Mexican rice. Desserts are however not Mexicana’s strong suit, we are not great fans of those here.

The post Tel Aviv restaurants: Mexicana Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

One such example are the many smaller supermarkets that are open all day and night, every day (except for certain holidays, but there are very few of them), so if you are staying in central Tel Aviv, you can always count on being able to find a supermarket that is open no matter when you need it.

The most famous 24/7 supermarket chain in Tel Aviv is the AM/PM, but there are several others as well. Keep in mind however, that these supermarkets do not sell fresh meat and fresh bread all the time (Tiv Taam being the exception) and that their prices are slightly more expensive than the ones in regular supermarkets. Most 24/7 supermarkets also only sell kosher food (again, Tiv Taam being the exception).

The post Good to know about Tel Aviv: 24/7 supermarkets appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

The first Burger Ranch branch was opened in 1972 on Ben Yehuda street in Tel Aviv, and the second one opened in 1978, also in Tel Aviv, but on Ibn Gvirol Street. So Burger Ranch is really Tel Avivian at heart, even though branches of this chain can now be found all over the country.

Burger Ranch does not sell non-kosher products like cheeseburgers or seafood (many of the McDonalds branches in Israel are also kosher, by the way) but we highly recommend their fries (especially the ones with the jagged edges, so good!) and the spicier hamburgers.

There are 4 glatt kosher Burger Ranch branches, one in Jerusalem, one in Petach Tikva and two in Bnei Brak, but none in Tel Aviv. For Passover, however, all of the branches offer buns for the hamburgers that are kosher for Passover.

The post Things to try in Tel Aviv: Burger Ranch appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

There is also a hotel at the Tel Aviv Opera Tower (which is actually not a place to go see operas anymore, but the original Tel Aviv opera was located here before it was moved to a new location, hence the name) and several luxury apartments. We haven’t been able to check the hotel out yet though, so a separate review of the hotel will be posted once we have.

There is also a beautiful fountain right in front of the Tel Aviv Opera Tower which is well worth seeing for those into monuments and fountains.

The post The Tel Aviv Opera Tower appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Mike’s Place is actually a part of a whole chain of Mike’s Place restaurants, that were started in Jerusalem in the 1990’s. The first Mike’s Place was opened in Tel Aviv 2001 and became an immediate success, and that success has only continued until today.

Why is Mike’s Place so popular?

There are several reasons, really. Some of them include:

It being a great place for Israelis and tourists to meet people from all over the world, since everyone seems to go here at some point.

They have a great selection of beers.

They have live blues music every night.

There is a really cool pool table, where pool contests are held every night after 9PM.

It’s also the place to go if you want to celebrate non-Jewish holidays like Christmas or Halloween big time.

The food is not very unusual in any way, but typically American, and you have the chance of being as unhealthy as you want, should you happen to crave that. The dishes are generally pretty big and not very expensive however, making it a good place to eat at, even if you should go there for other reasons than the food to begin with.

Please note

The first Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv was and is still located right on the beach, on Herbert Samuel street, but since the opening of the first Mike’s Place, two others have been opened in the city as well. One is located in Ramat Ha Hayal in north Tel Aviv, and the other at the beginning of Ben Yehuda street, close to the harbour.

These two newbies are built around the same concept as the original Mike’s Place, but are less crowded and less popular, probably due to the less attractive locations.

Still, this is good to keep in mind in case you find the original Mike’s Place a bit too loud and crowded, yet still like the vibe of the place.

You can see a list of all upcoming events at Mike’s Place in Tel Aviv here and the menu is available (in English) here.

The post Mike’s Place, Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

It is kind of a touristy place however, so if you are mostly looking for an authentic Israeli experience or to meet locals, Jessica Restro Bar is not the best choice for you. But if you don’t mind meeting expats or tourists when you go out (we personally think that can be kind of fun), we highly recommend stopping by here.

If you want to take a look at the menu before heading to this bar, you can find it here, but it is currently only available in Hebrew.

The post Jessica Restro Bar, Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

There are also a few bicycle rental companies in central Tel Aviv, such as O-Fun, located very close to the beach (as well as many hotels) on Ben Yehuda 197. You pay 60 shekels to rent a bike for a whole day, or 30 shekels for an hour.

In May 2011, the city of Tel Aviv also started a project inspired by public rental bikes available in many European cities, such as Amsterdam and Barcelona. The project is called Tel-O-Fun, and you can read more about it here.

The project works pretty well as far as we can tell, mostly because there are many, many Tel-O-Fun locations all over Tel Aviv, and you do not need to book a bike in advance. Instead, you just pick one up when you feel like it. You can buy both daily, weekly and monthly subscriptions, depending on your needs. You will need to be at least 18 years old, however, and have a valid credit card of your own. Residents of Tel Aviv get a discount.

The terminals you use when renting the bikes have instructions in both English, Hebrew and Arabic, so using these terminals should not be a problem even if you are not fluent in Hebrew. All of the Tel-O-Fun bikes are suitable for men and women alike.

(the bikes pictured above are from one of Tel-O-Fun’s pickup places)

Good to know about bicycling in Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is rather flat (unless you go deep into Jaffa), which makes it great for bicycling. Even some of the most attractive areas of the city, including the beach as well as the Ha Yarkon park, are great places to bicycle since they are very flat. Bicycle thefts are however pretty common, so keep an eye on your bicycle if you end up renting one!

The post Bike rental Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Molly Blooms also has a great atmosphere, a typical Irish decor and real, tasty Irish beer, so if you are into Irish bars at all, this bar is well worth a visit.

Interestingly enough, Molly Blooms is located right in front of the American embassy, on Mendele street 3 (at the corner with Ha Yarkon) and you can order beer by the pint and they also have quite tasty food. (We’ve never really went here just to eat though, but we’ve tried some of the smaller dishes while visiting)

The opening hours are:

Sun-Wed 16:00-3:00, Fri 12:00-4:00, Sat 16:-4:00

and you can find their English website here,

as well as a list of current events here.

If you want to take a look at their menu, you can sneak a peak at that here.

We especially recommend the Tullamore Mud Pie if you are into that kind of thing at all.

The post Molly Blooms, Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Normally a shwarma is also filled with some kind of sauce, like tahini, as well as some vegetables, like cucumber and tomatoes, but in most places you also have the option to ask for toppings besides the meat yourself.

You might say that shwarma resembles the Turkish döner kebab or Greek gyros, but due to the toppings it tastes a bit different. The dish was brought to Tel Aviv and Israel by Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz recently published a list of the 5 best shawarma places in Tel Aviv, so if you are looking to try this dish, and want to do it in the best possible way, please read the Haaretz recommendations here.

For those too lazy to read the article themselves, the top 5, according to Haaretz are:

Daboush on Ibn Gvirol 46 (very easy to spot!)

Kababa on Karlibach 14

Ha Kosem on Shlomo Ha Melech 1

Olei Zion on Olei Zion street in Jaffa

And

Haj Kahil on Shivtei Israel in Jaffa.

(the photo is of a shwarma sales guy on Ben Yehuda Street in central Tel Aviv. You see some shwarma on a spit to the right of the guy)

The post Things to try in Tel Aviv: shwarma appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

Expect for tickets to cost between 300-900 shekels, however. Tickets to concerts with international artists in Israel are notoriously expensive, and of course the Scorpions gig is not exception.

The arena for the show will be the Nokia Arena, home of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team.

The post Events in Tel Aviv: Scorpions to play in Tel Aviv in May appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

First of all, most people in Tel Aviv go to the beach during the summer, and many Israelis from outside of Tel Aviv come into the city specifically with the purpose of going to the beach as well. Last but not least, tourists love the beach, which means that it can get pretty crowded, especially during the weekends in the summer. So if you are not comfortable with crowds, off season or during the middle of the week is the time to go if you can.

Second of all, swimming and sun bathing are not the only activities you can enjoy on beaches in Tel Aviv. Instead, you can kitesurf, play the famous Israeli rubber ball game of matkot, rent a boat or surf, depending on what you are into.

There are rental places for most things somewhere along the beach, but if you want to avoid walking a lot, you might want to consider checking where you can rent the equipment you need before heading off to the beach, since the beach is indeed very long.

Some general info about beaches in Tel Aviv

The beaches are safe, and generally clean, even if they can get a bit more dirty due to all the tourists at the end of the summer. There are life guards at hand during the summer, and you will also find both changing rooms as well as freshwater showers all along the beach.

Different flags are used by the life guards to show you how well suited the water is for swimming at the moment. A white flag means it’s perfectly safe, a black flag that you should definitely not go in and a red flag that swimming might be dangerous.

There are plenty of beach cafes on the beach, as well as Tel Aviv hotels on the beach, so if you are really coming to the city to spend a lot of time on a Tel Aviv beach, you might want to consider booking a hotel located right at the beach. There are plenty to choose from.

(Entry to Banana Beach Tel Aviv)

The post The beaches in Tel Aviv appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

The Dizengof Square flea market is open twice a week, on Tuesday afternoons and on Friday mornings.

You will find a large variety of things for sale here, from actual valuable antiques to vintage books and postcards, vintage handbags, sunglasses and jewelry and much more. The quality, however, varies quite a bit and some of the stalls are rather overpriced, so always inspect all the things you are interested in buying very carefully.

Haggling is possible, but most of the sellers are rather good at it, so if you try to haggle in order to get the price down, be prepared.

A lot of the time one of the sellers brings a boom box and plays music from the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1980’s, which creates a nice, vintage-feel atmosphere around the square. Both tourists and locals visit the Dizengof Square flea market and collectors and those really interested in antiques or vintage items can really spend hours here. So if you are looking for anything vintage while in Tel Aviv, this is definitely one of our top choices!

The post Shopping in Tel Aviv: Dizengof Square flea market appeared first on Tel Aviv Tips.

The center is both a library, a museum, a store selling souvenirs, books related to Bauhaus and Tel Aviv’s buildings and other interesting products as well as an organizer of Bauhaus tours of Tel Aviv.

The tours are considered to be the best in the city, and over 15 000 people have taken a tour with the Bauhaus Center during the last 10 years.

The meeting point for all tours is at the store/museum on Dizengof 99, but there are several different tours to choose from. If you want to learn more about them, we suggest you visit the website of the Bauhaus Center here.

We particularly like the modern Israeli design for sale in the store, from modern Judaica to candle holders and other decorational items and the selection of books for sale is really good too.

You will also find a variety of Tel Aviv related postcards and posters in the store, that are well worth taking a look at, especially the ones with a vintage look.

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