subject: Walking Tel Aviv [print this page] Walking Tel Aviv Walking Tel Aviv
When spending time in Tel Aviv, Israel, instead of visiting museums and tourist traps, it is best to experience the city by simple wandering the streets. The following areas are my favorite spots for meandering, where you will find the best people watching, unique structures, and some of the most interesting bars, cafs, and restaurants in Tel Aviv.
Kerem HaTeimanim (Literally Yemenite Vineyard)
The Yemenite Neighborhood in Tel Aviv is just off the main open-air market, Shuk HaCarmel. It is treasure of a neighborhood with a unique history and plenty of fun quirks. It was established by Jewish immigrants from Yemen in the early 1900's and built in the traditional Yemenite style, as opposed to the modernist Bauhaus style that dominates much of the city. The building are low apartments and many are decorated with stain glassed windows and unique mosaics. On the bottom floor of some of the apartments are small restaurants that serve up traditional Yemenite fare. Recently, young artists have moved to the neighborhood bringing plenty of street art with them.
Levinski & Hertzl
This intersection is one of the most interesting spots in the city and a great place to start your exploration of Tel Aviv. To the north is Neve Tzedek; a pretty but pricey neighborhood, going south on Hertzel and you are in Florentin; a funky, artsy neighborhood, West on Levinski is the Central Bus Station busy with recent Asian and African immigrants, and immediately east on Levinski the street is full of vendors of dried fruit, candy, and other delicious nibbles.
King George
King George Street offers plenty of sites, smells, and colorful people to take in. Starting on Allenby in front of Shuk HaCarmel, there is a square that always has something going on. Usually you will find either a serene looking man with long blonde hair draped in white cloth who claims that he is the messiah or a kindly woman with a guitar singing Israeli folk songs.
Moving down the hill you will pass Gan Meir, a wooded park that is always filled with dogs playing and children laughing. You will also go by the gigantic Dizengoff Center, a labyrinth like mall, and many a Tel Aviv restaurant. The street ends near Rabin Square the place where the late prime minister was assassinated.
These are just a few of the areas around Tel Aviv that are great for the curious pedestrian. To experience Tel Aviv all you need to do is walk it's streets and keep your eyes, ears, and nose open.
