Every Tuesday and Friday, the Nachlat Binyamin pedestrian street transforms into one of the liveliest arts and crafts fairs in Israel. Adjacent to the Carmel Market, the fair features dozens of Israeli artists and artisans selling handmade jewelry, ceramics, glasswork, textiles, woodwork, Judaica, and objects that defy categorization. The combination of the market’s food energy next door and the artisans’ creativity makes the Nachlat Binyamin area one of the most vibrant corners of Tel Aviv.
Artists
Every artist at Nachlat Binyamin has been juried: a committee reviews applications and only accepts vendors who make their products by hand. This means that the quality is consistently high and the products are genuinely original. You will find hand-blown glass jewelry, recycled metal sculptures, leather-bound notebooks, ceramic menorahs, painted silk scarves, and dozens of other items that you will not find in any store. Many of the artists demonstrate their techniques at their stalls, and watching a glassblower or a metalworker create a piece while you wait is part of the experience.
Street Performers
Nachlat Binyamin attracts some of the best street performers in Israel. Musicians, jugglers, living statues, and magicians line the pedestrian street, and the atmosphere on a sunny Friday morning, with the Carmel Market buzzing next door and the music filling the street, is quintessentially Tel Aviv.
Architecture
Nachlat Binyamin was one of the earliest neighborhoods in Tel Aviv, built in the early 1900s. The street is lined with eclectic architecture: Ottoman-era buildings, early Bauhaus structures, and ornamental facades that reflect the optimism of the city’s founding years. The street’s pedestrianization for the fair has helped preserve these buildings and given them a second life as a backdrop for the arts.
Rules
One of the market’s unique rules is that every artist must be physically present at their stall and sell their own handmade work in person. No middlemen, no mass-produced goods. You buy directly from the person who made it.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Nachlat Binyamin is best on Tuesdays and Fridays. Hoshen Tours times market visits to coincide with the fair, combining the Carmel Market food experience with the Nachlat Binyamin art experience in a single morning.