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A14

April 23 * 2009

Top 10
Sites In
Tel Aviv

Tel AvivIJTA

I

n celebration of Tel Aviv's centen-
nial, here are the top 10 places to
visit in Tel Aviv.
• Neve Tzedek: This picturesque,
recently restored part of old Tel Aviv
offers a quiet, intimate look at the city's
first neighborhood. Home to artists and
writers before falling into disrepair as
the new Tel Aviv raced northward and
upward, Neve Tzedek was restored to
its former grandeur earlier this decade,
and the artists have returned — along
with galleries, cafes, boutique hotels and
beautifully restored homes.
•Nachalat Binyamin: Just north of
Neve Tzedek, craftsmen set up on the
pedestrian mall of Nachalat Binyamin on
Tuesdays and Fridays to sell their wares,
ranging from pottery to jewelry. If you're
not in the mood to shop, street performers
and clowns provide entertainment. Old
and new mix on Lilienblum Street, which
runs between Neve Tzedek and Nachalat
Binyamin. Here, 90-year-old recently refur-
bished buildings share space with bars
and restaurants that stay open late into the
night, including the infamous Nanuchka, a
Georgian restaurant where if you've called
ahead to reserve a spot at the bar, you can
drink under a portrait of Stalin and watch
patrons dance on the bar.
• Beach and Tel Aviv Port: Tel Aviv's
beach is the quintessential symbol of this
Mediterranean city. Flanked by a row of
hotels and the entire city behind it, the
beach is the city's main selling point for
locals who ride its waves, jog its shoreline
or bask in its sun on a daily basis. Among

Kirya Bridge between Azrieli tower, mall a nd military base

the best beaches: Hof Frishman and Hof
and outdoor concerts. It includes sports
Gordon. North of the beaches and the
facilities, botanical gardens, a small zoo
city's marina, the new boardwalk along
and several artificial lakes. The last leg of
Tel Aviv's northern port has transformed a the Yarkon River runs through the park,
derelict area into a thriving neighborhood
attracting bikers and joggers to the river-
of restaurants, nightclubs and shops — all bank. The Luna Park amusement park is
within earshot of the Mediterranean's
opposite the park.
waves. Fine for a stroll, the boardwalk is
• Kikar Hamedina: The shops around
also an excellent place to see all the ele-
this relatively spare public square is
ments that define Tel Aviv's character: the
where Israel's wealthiest do their shop-
beach, the food, the shops and the people.
ping. Lined with designer stores, it's a far
• Old Jaffa: Walk south
cry from the city's early
along Tel Aviv's beach
days as an austere, social-
and you'll find yourself in
ist-minded city. The best
the ancient stone alley-
time to visit is during the
ways of Old Jaffa, where
= day; at night it empties out.
art galleries, mosques
• Rabin Square: Tel
and even a synagogue are
Aviv's main public square
hidden among its nar-
is a gathering place for
row streets. From dining
rallies, protests and dem-
on freshly caught fish in
o onstrations, and the site
restaurants where you're
where, on a November
liable to be sprayed by
night in 1995, Prime
the Mediterranean surf
Minister Yitzhak Rabin was
to watching the sun set
assassinated after address-
from atop the city's stone Art galleries and restau-
ing a massive peace rally.
rants can be found in Old
walls, Jaffa provides a
The site of Rabin's killing
Jaffa.
historic counterpoint to
has become a shrine to the
the ultra-modern sky-
slain prime minister, and
scrapers of neighboring Tel Aviv.
an exhibition at the site shows exactly
• Museums: Three must-sees are
how he was shot.
the Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art,
•Sheinkin Street and Rothschild
the Land of Israel Museum and the
Boulevard: Sheinkin Street in central
Diaspora Museum on the campus of Tel
Tel Aviv is bustling with trendy cafes,
Aviv University. Together they
boutique clothing shops and an outdoor
encapsulate the different forces
market, Souk HaCarmel, where you can
at work in the Jewish state. But
buy everything from used clothing to
don't miss Tel Aviv's smaller
Turkish desserts. Not far away, tree-lined
museums, from the Jabotinsky
Rothschild Boulevard offers a slice of life
Museum on King George Street
in the city.
to Independence Hall on historic
• Azrieli Towers: It's not quite the
Rothschild Boulevard, where
Empire State Building, but the view from
David Ben-Gurion proclaimed
the Azrieli observatory atop the Azrieli
the independence of the new
Towers (three and counting) offers a
State of Israel on May 14, 1948.
unique, bird's-eye view. You'll see at once
• Yarkon Park and the Yarkon how big Tel Aviv is and how small Israel
This market attracts artisans every Tuesday
River: This thousand-acre urban is, with the Samarian hills visible in the
and Friday.
park is Tel Aviv's place of reaction distance.

