Tel Aviv - Jaffa
Tel Aviv - Israel's largest city and by far the most modern, Tel Aviv offers everything that one looks for in a big city, alongside beautiful beaches. Though public transit closes for Friday night and Saturday, many restaurants and stores remain open. The city has an incredible array of dining options, markets and stores.
Beaches - Tel Aviv is well known for its coastal location and sandy beaches (and get crowded during the peak summer season). There are a variety of beaches and some restaurants on the coastal strip, with the beaches generally getting cleaner the farther north you go. Chairs for a fee are available on these beaches, so if you don't want to pay, bring towels to lie on and come early to catch a shady corner.Shuk HaCarmel - Shuk HaCarmel is Tel Aviv's famous market in the center of the city, and only a ten minute walk from the beach. Here you can find everything from pita and spices to cheap clothes and menorahs, mezuzas, and shabbat candle holders. On Fridays, the place is a throng with last-minute Sabbath shopping, so beware, although the best deals are available then. Like most things in Israel, the market closes a few hours before the Sabbath on Friday night until Sunday morning. Nachalat Binyamin Arts and Crafts Market is adjacent to the Shuk HaCarmel. Here, local artists sell their unique handicrafts - everything from lampshades to art to dolls to leather goods. It's a good place to get souvenirs for your friends. Kids will love the street performers (jugglers and musicians) at the entrance to both of these markets. The market operates only on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Tel Aviv Port (Namal Tel Aviv) - Tel Aviv's newly refurbished port, built as a wide pier over the Mediterranean, offers shopping, seafood restaurants, an organic farmers market, and ice cream. Jaffa - Jaffa is the original Arab port city from which Tel Aviv grew. Though the walls have long since been demolished and it is sometimes hard to tell where Tel Aviv ends and Jaffa begins, the flavor of this city is unmistakable. The old city is visible form Tel Aviv's beaches, jutting out into the sea south of Tel Aviv, with its iconic lighthouse prominent at night.
Dr. Shakshuka - Dr. Shakshuka, Jaffa's iconic restaurant, is a visit for everyone who comes to Israel. It's signature dish, Shakshuka, is slow cooked tomatoes, onions, garlic, (meat optional) and spices, with eggs added at the end, and bread to mop it up.This restaurant is only two minutes from Jaffa's prominent Clock Tower, near the entrance to the city. Ask anyone and they'll point the way. Seating indoors and out, fast service, and affordable prices. Closes for Friday night and Saturday day, reopening at Saturday night.
Jaffa Old City -- A short walk up the hill from the Jaffa Clock Tower will bring any visitor to the central square of the old city. On the walk up, you pass cannons that Napoleon placed along the city after its capture, and a breathtaking view of Tel Aviv. Kedumim Square at the top of the hill is a cobblestone piazza with a Catholic church dominating its Western side. In the piazza, there are often craft tables and in wintertime, an artisan's fair. Behind the bathrooms and farther up the hill sits the ruins of the ancient Egyptian city upon which Jaffa was founded. Kids will also enjoy the Wishing Bridge with its 12 astrological zodiac signs engraved along the wooden railings.
- Walking around the narrow and winding cobblestones of the old city will reveal many surprises. Look for Simon the Tanner's house where Peter is said to have had his epiphany while staying the night. In another street, hangs a suspended orange tree, and a third will surprise you with a crowd of bats hanging around a gated cellar.
Flea Market (Shuk Hapishpishim) - The Flea Market is located around Dr. Shakshuka, to the east of the Clock Tower. Closed on Friday evenings and Saturdays, the streets are filled with stalls selling antiques and trinkets that many immigrants brought from their homes when immigrating to Israel, including Soviet medals and old Iraqi coins.Jaffa Port - A continuation of Tel Aviv's beach promenade, located below the old city, Jaffa's port is home to seafood restaurants and a children's discovery playground.
