When looking for a place to shop for more reasonably priced items than on Kikar Ha Medina in Tel Aviv, Dizengoff Center is a great place to check out. Dizengoff Center is one of the biggest shopping centers in Tel Aviv, after all, and possibly the best known out of all of them. It's located in the middle of Dizengoff street, one of the main streets of Tel Aviv, and was built during 5 whole years, between 1972 and 1977, and was the first shopping mall in Tel Aviv when it was ready. 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.
