Tel Aviv is probably not at the top of everyone’s list as a beach and relaxation holiday destination but it can be a bit of a surprise. For a big, vibrant, working city it is also full of bars, cafes, restaurants and clubs and is full of surprises. For a start it is located on a great beach as this picture, taken from Jaffa shows. And the beach just goes on and on. We were staying in the town of Herzliya some ten kilometres north of the city and were able to walk from one to the other along the beach.
Though this particular bit of beach above, I must admit, is in Herzliya. Within the city itself there is a handsome promenade called the Tayelet that runs along the seafront and it is lined with beach clubs and bars.
At the north end of the city seafront there is a pleasant marina with cafes and shops while at the south lies the old town of Jaffa. I find Jaffa a little too prettified, with perhaps too many artists shops but it cannot be denied that it is a beautiful location and that some of the shops sell very attractive things. Israel is well known for very imaginative jewellery but you will also find pictures or ornaments or straightforward souvenirs, while the restaurants and bars down by the harbour itself are good. The Old Man and The Sea is particularly well known.
A few streets in from the sea there is the flea market of Hapishpishim where, amongst the junk there are also collectors pieces to be found from the 1950’s and 60’s. There are also some really interesting eateries. This was the old arab town and there are still some good arab restaurants to be found. But we decided on an Israeli take on an old food. Shakshuka is a spicey vegetarian dish of Libyan origin, which has been transformed in Israel into a dish of soft scrambled eggs and tomato and spices that is often eaten for breakfast. The place is the legendary but inexpensive Dr Shakshuka for lunch where they serve dozens of variants, many with meat – I can recommend the shwarma shakshuka.
Talking of markets, a ten minute walk along the front from Jaffa and just a little inland you find the Shouk Ha Carmel or Carmel Market. It is not up there with the Grand Bazaar or the Spice Market of Istanbul but it is still a colourful experience and a great place to get your food shopping. Not far from there, by way of contrast, is the cool shopping street of Shenkin.
Though, if you want to talk market experiences, I suggest an outing to Jerusalem on a Friday morning to visit the Mahane Ben Yehuda. You may think it strange and extravagant to go to Jerusalem just for the market, so don’t think I am ignoring the rest of this remarkable city, but we did drive the forty five minutes to Jerusalem just to experience the market and, along with hordes of others, to buy the ingredients for Friday night dinner.
You start with the challa bread, a slightly sweetened, slightly eggy, plaited bread that is customarily eaten on Friday night as the Sabbath is welcomed in.
There is halva, there is fruit and veg but there is also freshly baked chocolate Rugeleh at Marzipan, the best place in the market, as verified independently by my kids. There is everything you need for the Sabbath, together with cafes and restaurants and personality. There is a tiny synagogue and a barber’s shop, there is an Iraqi section where elderly men play cards and backgammon and sip tea and around them are excellent open air restaurants serving Iraqi food.
But this is a digression. Back to Tel Aviv. The city has more than 4,000 examples of Bauhaus architecture, a style developed in Germany in the 1930’s and, as a result is a world heritage site. They are not all in great condition but take a walking tour or just look around you as you walk around the city.
The night-time picture above also features bikes. Like many cities nowadays you can easily hire a bike for an hour or two or three: pick it up at one rack and drop it at another. The controlling machines have instructions in English as well as Hebrew. Take advantage and do a tour…look at the recently renovated parts of the city such as Neve Tzedek and, although we did not go to art galleries or museums on this trip, pop into the house of David Ben Gurion, first prime minister of Israel. It is interesting as a period piece and for its simplicity. Entrance is free, it only takes a few minutes to wander round and it is conveniently situated near the sea on the northern coast on Rehovot Ben Gurion (Ben Gurion Street).
The message is that there is lots to do in Tel Aviv and just mooching around is good too.
Brian Finch