Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 as a Jewish neighborhood on the sand dunes north of Jaffa, and in barely a century it has become one of the most vibrant, creative, and hedonistic cities in the Mediterranean. The city’s UNESCO-listed Bauhaus architecture, its 14 kilometers of beaches, its food scene, and its nightlife have made it a global destination. Tel Aviv is everything that Jerusalem is not: secular, hedonistic, progressive, and facing west toward the sea rather than east toward the desert.
Ahuzat Bayit
The neighborhood that became Tel Aviv was originally called Ahuzat Bayit (“homestead”). In 1909, 66 Jewish families who wanted to build a modern neighborhood outside the crowded streets of Jaffa gathered on the sand dunes for a lottery to divide the plots of land among them. Each family drew a seashell with a number from one pile, matched to a plot number drawn from another pile. That lottery on the dunes, captured in a famous photograph, is considered the founding moment of Tel Aviv. The neighborhood was renamed Tel Aviv (“Hill of Spring”) in 1910, borrowing the name from the Hebrew title of Theodor Herzl’s utopian novel Altneuland.
White City
Tel Aviv contains the largest concentration of Bauhaus (International Style) buildings in the world, over 4,000 structures built in the 1930s and 1940s by architects who fled Europe. The “White City” was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. The buildings feature the hallmarks of the style: white facades, flat roofs, rounded balconies, horizontal ribbon windows, and pilotis (columns raising the building above ground level). The architects adapted the European style to the Mediterranean climate, adding balconies for ventilation and pergolas for shade. The Bauhaus Center on Dizengoff Street offers guided tours of the best examples.
Independence Hall
On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion stood in the main hall of 16 Rothschild Boulevard and declared the establishment of the State of Israel. The building, originally the home of the city’s first mayor, Meir Dizengoff, is now Independence Hall. The room has been preserved exactly as it appeared on that day, with the original microphones, the portrait of Theodor Herzl on the wall, and the table where Ben-Gurion sat. Listening to the recording of Ben-Gurion reading the Declaration of Independence, in the room where it happened, is one of the most emotionally charged experiences in Tel Aviv.
The Food
Tel Aviv is one of the best food cities in the world, and that is not hyperbole. The combination of Mediterranean ingredients, Middle Eastern traditions, immigrant cuisines from over 70 countries, and a young, creative chef culture has produced a food scene that is constantly evolving. The Carmel Market is the starting point for understanding how the city eats. Sarona Market offers upscale indoor dining. And the restaurants of Neve Tzedek, Jaffa, and Florentin represent different moods and price points of the same exceptional quality.
Beaches
The Tel Aviv beaches stretch for 14 kilometers along the Mediterranean, and they are the city’s living room. Each beach has its own personality, from the family-friendly Frishman Beach to the trendy Banana Beach to the LGBTQ+-friendly Hilton Beach. The promenade (Tayelet) connects them all, and a sunset walk along the waterfront is one of the essential Tel Aviv experiences.
Nightlife
Tel Aviv’s nightlife is legendary, and it starts late. Most restaurants do not fill up until 9 PM, bars come alive at midnight, and clubs do not get going until 2 AM. The city has been ranked among the best nightlife destinations in the world, and the combination of warm weather, outdoor seating, and a population that treats going out as a constitutional right keeps the streets alive until dawn.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
Hoshen Tours designs Tel Aviv itineraries that combine the Bauhaus architecture, Independence Hall, the markets, Old Jaffa, and the food scene into days that capture the energy and history of Israel’s most modern city. Because Tel Aviv is where Israel lives, and living well is what the city does best.