Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is a vibrant and modern city located on Israel’s Mediterranean Coast, around 40 kilometres from the disputed capital Jerusalem. It is famed for its iconic 1930’s Bauhaus architecture, which is generally found in the White City Area, as well as its white sandy beaches, perfect for games and watersports or hanging out, relaxing and catching the sun. The city is fairly big with a population of around 500,000 people, making it ideal for a city break on Israel’s Mediterranean Coast.

With a temperate Mediterranean climate, it features hot summers and mild winters. The best time to visit is between May and September, when the temperatures average in the mid-twenties and there is a cooling breeze blowing in off the Mediterranean. This peaks in August, when temperatures average 25 degrees and the sea temperature can be as high as 29 degrees. Its winters are fairly warm, with the coldest month January, recording a pleasant average of 13 degrees making it an excellent all-year-round destination.

The city was founded in 1909 when a group of Jewish families gathered together to form a neighbourhood. It quickly began to expand as European immigrants arrived and wanted to live near to the historic port city of Jaffa. Its affluence meant that it quickly developed a unique architecture, with the residents’ keen to maintain its ‘garden city status’, which still persists to this day. It expanded further when the Nazis began to persecute Jews in the 1930s with huge numbers departing to its relative safety. It became the focus of tensions during the 1948 War of Independence, due to the large number of Muslim Palestinians in Jaffa, which then became a part of Tel Aviv in 1950. The city then became the centre of Israeli business and cultural life, due to the constant disputes over Jerusalem, between them and the Palestinians.

There are a number of great family activities in Tel Aviv, ensuring that it is the perfect family holiday destination for people of all ages. The Eretz Israel Museum is an educational wonderland that will take you through Israeli history and culture, of particular interest is the Planetarium, where there are huge exhibits on extra-terrestrial matters. Families should be sure to visit the beach, where they can play on the golden sands, or do something fun like visit Tel Aviv’s Dolphinarium. While the Park HaYarkon has a hot air balloon experience where families can gaze over the beautiful city from high in the sky.

With many beautiful beaches, Tel Aviv provides easy access to the cool waters of the Mediterranean and these are some of the finest city beaches that can be found anywhere. It is also home to the historic Old City of Jaffa, whose famous harbour is an absolute must see. While the famous Bauhaus Houses of Rothschild Boulevard and the modern art in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art are also excellent ways to spend a day.

Famously known as the city that never sleeps it more than lives up to its reputation as one of the finest nightlife destinations in the world. It has a plethora of bars and clubs too numerous to list here, attracting DJs from across the planet to mega-clubs, cosy bars, trendy cocktail joints and underground parties. Tel Aviv is a late-night city, like Barcelona or Madrid, where the party starts around 10pm and then proceeds until dawn, with some clubs not opening until midnight and filling up before 2am. You will find bars in every area of Tel Aviv, but some particular hotspots, include: the Rothschild, Levontin and Lillenblum areas. Suffice to say, if you are looking for a party, then Tel Aviv is the ideal destination for you.

Fast becoming known as one of the finest shopping destinations in the entire Mediterranean, it is full of trendy pop-up markets, vintage stores, second-hand shops, shopping centres and a plethora of local shops that feature the best of local designers. The most luxurious goods are found in Kikar Hamedina (State Square) and the nearby Ramat Aviv Mall, which host a multitude of high-end brands. While the Jaffa Flea Market is a fascinating place where you can find plenty of antiques and unique items, with other markets such as the Camel Market and the Sarona Market also excellent. Sheinkin Street has a large number of boutique shops and there are a vast array of other malls and shopping streets for visitors to explore.