“AN URBAN, SOPHISTICATED CITY, CRAMMED FULL OF IMPOSSIBLY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE”..TEL AVIV
Tel Aviv: Miami of the Middle East
By Paul Clements
The Daily Telegraph
November 25, 2009
Founded 100 years ago on a vacant stretch of Mediterranean coast, Israel’s second city was dreamt up as an overspill for Jaffa, the nearby medieval port town mentioned in the Old Testament. Now, Tel Aviv is a pocket-sized metropolis in its own right, with Jaffa one of its many gentrifying neighbourhoods.
With miles of boardwalked beaches, upscale shopping, world-class nightlife and head-turning buildings by some of the 20th century’s leading “starchitects” (most notably those from the Bauhaus school), Tel Aviv lives up to its billing as the Miami of the Middle East.
An urban, sophisticated city, crammed full of impossibly beautiful people, it has been celebrating its centenary all year, with concerts, water displays and fireworks. Three walking trails covering key aspects of the city’s attractions – its architecture, beaches and greenery – were unveiled last month. (For downloadable maps, and mobile phone directions, visit tlv100.co.il/en)
The festivities culminate on December 15 with the opening of the Museum of the History of Tel Aviv-Jaffa (27 Bialik Street), housed in the former city hall. It documents the region’s development using a mix of film, scale models and an exhibition of reportage photography.
If the centenary celebrations aren’t reason enough to visit, prices for the five-hour flight are tumbling. Now that easyJet has launched a six-times-a-week service from Luton, the party is only just beginning.
Travel by…
Low-cost airline: easyJet (www.easyjet.com) operates from Luton, from GBP103 return, while Jet2.com flies up to twice a week from Manchester, from GBP147 return. Of the full-service airlines, BMI (www.flybmi.com) is regularly the cheapest, flying twice-daily from Heathrow, from GBP308 return.
Ben Gurion International Airport is 14 miles south-east of Tel Aviv. A taxi to Rabin Square should take 20 minutes and cost about NIS100 (GBP16). Direct trains run to Tel Aviv’s main station, Savidor-Merkaz (GBP2.15), but services are suspended for the duration of the Jewish Sabbath, between sunset on Friday and sunset on Saturday.
Stay at…
The city’s most exclusive address, the Dan Tel Aviv (99 Hayarkon Street, www.danhotels.com), an exquisitely designed waterfront hotel with a newly renovated spa; doubles from GBP187.
For alternatives to the large chain hotels that predominate here, try the Montefiore (Montefiore 36, 00972 3 564 6100, www.hotelmontefiore.co.il), a new 12-room residence fitted out in contemporary colonial chic; doubles from GBP167. Architourists and cineastes alike will enjoy the 82-room Hotel Cinema (1 Zamenhof Street, 00972 3 520 7100, www.cinemahotel.com), set inside a former Bauhaus-designed film theatre; doubles from GBP104.
Spend the morning…
Ticking off the city’s 20th-century architectural treasures. Some of the most striking buildings in the so-called International Style – sleek-lined in concrete and glass – are within the White City, a Unesco-protected neighbourhood built by mostly Bauhaus architects who fled to Tel Aviv to escape the Nazis. Stock up on postcards and replicas in the Bauhaus Center (99 Dizengoff Street, 00972 3 522 0249, www.bauhaus-center.com), whose permanent collection offers a history of the dazzling style.
Have lunch at…
Manta Ray (Alma Beach, 00972 3 517 4773), a nautical-themed bar facing the lapping shore. Pick at fresh shrimps, or free-flowing, tapas-style bowls of squid, French beans and lightly spiced okra for about GBP5 a throw.
Spend the afternoon…
Lost in the Dizengoff Center, Tel Aviv’s largest mall. The more fashion-forward locals prefer the groovy independents dotted along Nordau Street. Or head to Kikar Hamedina, a stately plaza that’s home to the ritziest boutiques showcasing Israeli design talent, as well as chic cafes and galleries. For gourmet souvenirs, Olia (73 Frishman Street, 00972 3522 3235, www.olia.co.il) stocks custom-blended oils, tapenades and olive soap.
Dine out at…
Deca (10 Hata’asiya Street, 00972 3 562 9900, www.deca.rest-e.co.il), a serious-minded, modish gourmet favourite with ultra-modern luminous decor and ambitious kosher Med dishes; try the whitefish falafel. The wooden bar at French-Italian hang-out Herbert Samuel (Kaufman Street 6, 00972 3 516 6516, www.herbertsamuel.co.il) is perennially propped up by oenophiles sampling Israel’s finest vintages over plates of anchovies, calamari and Italian hams.
After hours, night-owls refuel at the Dixie Grill Bar (120 Igal Alon, 00972 3 696 6123, www.dixie.co.il), a 24-hour kosher diner owned by Israeli celebrity chef Haim Cohen and serving hearty burgers, Cajun chicken wings and fries with everything; mains from about GBP12.
Spend the evening…
On the tiles. A suitable springboard is Rothschild Boulevard, a ritzy, cafe- and bar-lined avenue in the White City with spotlit Bauhaus facades. For less raucous action, Lucas (3 Rehov Mazeh Street, 00972 3 525 2565, www.lucas.co.il) is a grown-up brasserie with a patio for al fresco carousing and imposing views of the Azrieli Center skyscrapers.
More boho-chic is Nana (1 Ehad Haam, 00972 3 516 1915), a bare-brick lounge bar near the beach kitted out like a Louis XV orangerie, with foliage creeping around the gilt-framed oil paintings, chandeliers and chaise longues.
Spend the next day…
Amid the old stone houses in the alleys of Jaffa, now colonised by art galleries and sculpture studios. According to legend, the port dates back some 4,000 years and was named after Noah’s son. Be sure to take your camera and photograph the city’s rolling coastline.
Alternatively, Jerusalem is just an hour away, and all major hotels will arrange excursions for you. A guide will not only unravel the significance of the various religious sites – from the Western Wall, and the gold-topped Dome of the Rock, to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – they will help you negotiate the numerous security checkpoints.
At all costs avoid…
Tel Aviv’s “celebrated” markets. The vast, open-air Carmel Market (Allenby Street) is good only for knock-off designer T-shirts; Jaffa’s Shuq Hapishpeshim flea market specialises in scrap jewellery; and the reputed bazaar on Nahalat Binyamin Street is piled high with flick-knives, bootleg CDs, and – improbably – piles of yellowing 1930s newspapers carrying Hitler headlines.
Further information…
Go to www.visit-tlv.com for details of centenary events, or visit the main tourist office (46 Herbert Samuel Street, 00972 3 516 6188).
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