The Independence Trail is a marked walking route through central Tel Aviv connecting the key sites of the city’s founding and Israel’s declaration of independence. The trail runs along Rothschild Boulevard and through the surrounding streets, following the story of Tel Aviv from a lottery on the sand dunes in 1909 to the reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1948.
Key Stops
The trail connects approximately a dozen sites, each marked with informational plaques in Hebrew and English. The highlights include Independence Hall at 16 Rothschild Boulevard, where David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948; the Founders’ Monument, commemorating the 66 families who drew lots with seashells to divide the plots of land on April 11, 1909; the First Kiosk, a reconstruction of Tel Aviv’s first commercial establishment (1910); Bialik House, the preserved home of Israel’s national poet Haim Nahman Bialik; and the site of the Herzliya Gymnasium, the first Hebrew high school, where the Shalom Tower later rose as the tallest building in the Middle East.
Walking the Trail
The trail is approximately 3–5 kilometers long and takes 2–3 hours at a comfortable pace with stops to read the plaques and absorb the history. It is marked on the pavement and easy to follow independently, but the stories behind each stop — the lottery, the declaration, the poets and the pioneers — come alive with a guide who knows them.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Hoshen Tours walks the Independence Trail as the story of how a city rose from empty sand dunes and became the place where a state was born. The trail combines naturally with Neve Tzedek, the Carmel Market, and the Bauhaus White City.