TEL AVIV
Five days in Tel Aviv.
Sunny beach front, surf, green boulevards, street art and the best hummus of your life.
Tel Aviv is a modern Mediterranean city offering anything from beaches, green areas, surf spots, nightlife venues, art and culture.
We delved into food and beach life mostly, to chill after the intense touring in Jerusalem and surroundings of the previous days.
Coming from that little jewel Jerusalem, our arrival at the Airbnb in the bohemian neighbourhood of Florentine was quite impactful.
Narrow streets covered with urban-style graffiti, a combination of new buildings and abandoned homes nearly falling apart, garages and art workshops, hipster bars and cafes that we could expect from East London, and lots of dogs!
There’s a reason behind this. Throughout the 20th century Florentine suffered from urban decay and declined from being residential to the poorest neighbourhood in the city; by the 1990s a bohemian community took over the area, as they saw in the abandoned buildings and garages the perfect spot to open workshops and promote street art.
Street art in Florentine has a strong political message. Graffiti tours are available and are a great option to get to know the city better.
We were not put off by first impressions and started endless strolls through the neighbourhood, along the promenade, the boulevards and the beautiful Jaffa’s Old City.
The scenery changes quite a lot from one area to the other, but the lively and young hipster vibe stays the same.
RECAP & ITINERARY
When? Mid-April. How long? 5 days. Temperature? Sunny and warm, around 23-25°C during the day and around 16°C at night. Sea? Warm for surfing, some decent swell. Budget? 400-500€ per person all inclusive. Planning needed? Moderate. Accommodation? AirBnB. What to book in advance? Day trip to Cesarea with Tourist of Israel.
***
Day 1 // Evening arrival in Tel Aviv (bus from Jerusalem)
Day 2 // Surf lesson // Stroll through Tel Aviv // Evening in Jaffa’s Old City
Day 3 // Surf lesson // Lunch at Miznon // Explore Boulevards and Marina
Day 4 // Cesarea, Haifa, Acri day tour
Day 5 // Jaffa flea market // Lunch at Abu Hassan // Evening flight to London
CONTENT
TEL AVIV BOULEVARDS: A TASTE OF BAUHAUS
ABU HASSAN: THE LEGENDARY HUMMUS
MIZNON: EAT LIKE A LOCAL
THE NORTHERN COASTLINE: WHAT TO SEE
OUR HIGHLIGHTS
TEL AVIV BOULEVARDS: A TASTE OF BAUHAUS
Our favourite walk in Tel Aviv is without any doubts along the boulevards that lead to the Marina.
Start your walk from Boulevard Rotschild, one of the first streets to be built in the city just over 100 years ago, and enjoy the variety of buildings embracing it from both sides, ranging from Bauhaus buildings, restaurants, cafes, offices and skyscrapers.
The boulevard ends north on Habima Square, home to the Israel’s national theatre and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Cross the square to enter Boulevard Chen up to Rabin Square, named following the assassination of Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin at the end of a peace rally in support of the Oslo Agreements in 1995.
On a Sunday afternoon the square looked like the perfect place to sit down and relax while looking at the peaceful fountain and unique memorial sculpture.
Finally proceed west onto Boulevard Ben Gurion, one kilometre of street shaded by beautiful trees and diverse vegetation, equipped with walking and bike paths, cool kiosks selling coffee, juices or drinks.
This boulevard was our favourite, we loved the chilled and young vibe of local and tourists meeting for a weekend catch up or outdoor activity.
The boulevard ends on the Marina, and you can either take left and keep walking on the promenade, or turn right like we did and enjoy the sunset with a beer in your hands perched on Independence Park overlooking the beach and the sea.
ABU HASSAN: THE LEGENDARY HUMMUS
Do not visit Jaffa’s Old City without taking a stroll through the flea market and stopping at Abu Hassan for the best hummus of your life!
Jaffa (or Yafo), is the ancient port city through which many Jews from around the world began to return to Israel during the 20th century. Most of them settled in Jaffa and this led to overcrowding and increasingly tense relations with the Arabs that already resided in the city.
Ultimately the Jews started to build new neighbourhoods outside of Jaffa, such as Tel Aviv.
As Tel Aviv grew bigger, Jaffa - now dominantly Arab - was made into a neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, hence the name Tel Aviv-Yafo.
We first visited Jaffa at sunset, and fell in love with the view across to modern Tel Aviv and the narrow streets and courtyards that seem to speak to you from a different era.
We visited again on a morning, getting lost in the flea market with vendors selling an incredible range of unique products, and enjoying the picturesque walk along the sea.
Food-wise, there are plenty of options in Jaffa - from gourmet restaurants and fancy tourist traps to cheaper eateries, selling shawarma and kebab until late. And so many hummus places.
However, only some of them are city institutions, and one of them is Abu Hassan.
At Abu Hassan, everything is simple and essential, from the ambience and service to the menu: hummus (the traditional smooth chickpeas blend), msabbaha (chickpeas remain whole here), hummus-ful (chickpeas and fava beans).
It’s just a matter of seconds for your plate of choice to reach the table, and for you to dip the warm pita bread and onion slices into the heavenly hummus. Then get up, pay and kindly leave.
We loved the hummus and msabbaha as well as the speed-of-light service and the authentic and genuine local vibe.
MIZNON: EAT LIKE A LOCAL
We had read about it and were SO ready to try it: the roasted cauliflower at Miznon.
Miznon (here) is an Israeli contemporary food chain that first opened in Tel Aviv in 2011 and now has branches around the world. There are two venues in Tel Aviv.
We went to the one in King George Street 30, walking distance from the beachfront but in a residential area that gets bustling with locals on weekends.
The place is young and lively, with tables indoor and outdoor on the patio overlooking the street.
We ordered the legendary roasted cauliflower (around €8), and a lamb kebab (around €11). While waiting for our food, we delved into the warm pita slices and tahini sauce that are up for grabs next to the counter.
Both the cauliflower and the pita were a joy for our taste buds - the cauliflower was so incredibly soft and tasty, while the lamb pita was very fragrant, with so much filling that every bite was a fight to make it all fit in our mouth.
Considering the amount of customers at the time (Sunday afternoon) the service was quick and smooth - in 30 minutes we had finished up with our food. We shared nibbles, a full cauliflower and a pita and we ended up being pretty full.
SURFING IN TEL AVIV
Tel Aviv is not bad at all for surfing if you are not looking for giant waves and are lucky enough to be there on days where there is some swell - let’s not forget that Israel lies on the Mediterrean Sea, not on the ocean!
We took surf lessons with Chilli Surf School (here) during two consecutive days.
The school is conveniently located close to the promenade in a small garage repairing bicycles.
The vibe is pretty relaxed and friendly - we were offered a cup of tea while waiting for the class. We had lots of fun and also caught some decent waves (the first in Fab’s career).
Equipment was also ok - not the most brand new surfing suits but they did fit well and did their job. Ben, the owner, is a really nice guy with a passion for surfing and organises the classes based on your surfing level and with a maximum of 8 people per class.
Easy to imagine, right after the surf lesson the hunger started to kick in.
We casually ended up in a cafe that looks to have closed by now, where we tried our first shakshuka, one of the Israeli’s most loved food.
The dish is traditional from North Africa and in its purest form consists of spiced stewed tomatoes topped with poached eggs and parsley, served with warm pita bread.
We had one traditional shakshuka and one with cheese, and they were both delicious to the point that it has become one of our favourite dishes and we occasionally try to replicate it at home with the addition of labneh or greek yogurt (Ottolenghi is our go-to for the recipe).
There are plenty of places serving shakshuka in Tel Aviv and we’ve heard they do a very good one in the Carmel Market, so make sure you try it!
THE NORTHERN COASTLINE: WHAT TO SEE
The northern shores of Israel offer some really interesting places to visit and Tel Aviv is the perfect city to use as a base to roll north.
We took a one-day guided tour because of the limited time we had, but you can easily rent a car and drive around by yourself and hit the destinations below.
The Roman ruins of Caesarea - well conserved and very interesting site, this ancient city was built by King Herod and once was the main port in these waters. We explored the site for one hour but we would have loved to roam the amphitheatre and the aqueduct a bit longer.
The Bahá’í Garden in Haifa - too beautiful to describe, a UNESCO pearl on the slope of mount Carmel near the busy city of Haifa. These geometrical gardens are built around the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb, the resting place of the prophet of the Bahá’í faith. For our tour this was the only stop in Haifa so we didn’t see much of this portual city.
The historical city of Acre - also known as Akko, this a nice coastal city with a complex history, and many reminiscence of the Crusader-period. It was conquered and destroyed many times but the main landmarks are still there: the Pisan Harbour, the city-walls, the Templar tunnel and the Al-Jazzar Mosque (2€/10 NIS cash to enter, check the nice green-domed sabil, or kiosk, near the entrance). It's one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, it deserves a visit if you are around.
The grottoes in Rosh Hanikra - very cool site, this complex of caves and grottoes is literally on the border with Lebanon, closer to Beirut than Tel Aviv. Blue sapphire waters, thunderous waves echoing in the caves and a breath-taking cable car that takes you straight down the mountain, almost vertically.
We booked this guided tour with Tourist of Israel (here).
The whole thing costed us around 100€ pp and it started early in the morning at 6am, finishing at 7pm. Our group was made of 10 other travellers, all fitting in a van driven around by our guide.
The tour is multilingual and runs only four days a week. At times you might feel it's a bit slow as the guide has to translate into French or German, so if you are not a patient tourist you might not like it.
It is a long trip to be done in one day, but if you're fresh and rested it's doable.
Alternatively, probably it is best to go at your own pace with a rented car and take as many breaks as needed along the way to enjoy quite some panoramic spots.
TRAVEL TIPS
In Tel Aviv we mostly did long walks. We once took a taxi back to our apartment in Florentine from the Marina (around 3km) and agreed on the price (15€) with the taxi driver at the start of the journey.
We booked an AirBnb one-bedroom flat in the Florentine neighbourhood. After the positive experience in Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem, we wished we had booked our stay with Abraham Hostel in Tel Aviv too!
During a summer stroll through our beloved Camden Town we bumped into a colourful shop called "To Home from London" and we fell in love with the original hand-painted souvenirs in the form of mugs, magnetic coasters, eco friendly shopping bags and more.