Exploring Israel: Around Tel Aviv »

During my round trip through Israel, I visited Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee and Tiberias. In this article, I will tell you some more about the places Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Netanya.

Tel Aviv

Comparing to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, Tel Aviv is a more modern city and the financial center of the country. For tourists who are looking for a holiday with beaches and nice weather, Tel Aviv is the perfect place. From here, you can take some day trips to the Dead Sea or Jerusalem. Although I haven’t seen much of Tel Aviv, I could take a good glimpse of the ambiance in the city.

During my time in the city, I’ve visited the Rabin Square, which is a large public city square in the center of Tel Aviv. Here you can find, among other things, the city hall building. The square was designed in 1964 by the architects Yaski and Alexandroni and since that time, the square has had several names. Since 1995 the square was renamed Rabin Square, named after Yitzhak Rabin who was murdered at that place on the 4^th of November that year.

Jaffa

In Jaffa, the oldest part of Tel Aviv, we spent some more time. Jaffa is an ancient port city in Israel and nowadays you can wander around the beautiful streets, have some drinks or dinner on the square or at the water and have some nice views over the modern city of Tel Aviv when you walk around. The architecture is very beautiful and authentic Israeli, which makes the place very beautiful. Actually, Tel Aviv has grown out of Jaffa.

Jaffa is, in my opinion, definitely worth a visit. The most well-known attraction for tourists is the Flea Market, where people are selling a diverse range of interesting and unique products. Other shops of Jaffa, which can be found it the little streets, are very unique as well. There are no international shops, but there are many unique boutiques, artists galleries and craft shops.

Netanya

Netanya is located a little northern from Tel Aviv and it’s the city where we stayed at for two nights. The name of the city means ‘Gift of God’. Although the city isn’t that well-known, it do has some nice beaches and a great shopping mall. Our hotel the ‘Q-Hotel’ was located close to the beach. This hotel was very simple, but there are also more luxurious hotels in the city. To the center of the city, we had to walk around 20 minutes, where you can find the Ir Yamim Mall with many shopping- and dining options. If you like to shop, this shopping mall is a place where you can spend the whole afternoon!