Visiting Israel: Tel Aviv

If you have no interest in seeing any holy sites whatsoever, then you will not be disappointed with Tel Aviv, Israel. This busy and sprawling city was not even established until 1909 and it is often compared to the hustle and bustle of New York City, even being called the Big Orange. This beach city on the Mediterranean Sea is considered Israel’s commercial center and cultural capital. The modern city is known for its art, theater, fashion, entertainment, and nightlife. Here you will find high-art museums, an opera house, performing arts theaters, nightclubs, high-end clothing stores, and gourmet cuisine.

A few years ago, the city renovated and revived its beachfront which had turned into a rundown, dirty area over the years. Today, however, the city beach is one of the cleanest and most accessible urban beaches in all of Israel and the world. There is a promenade that runs the length of the beach and summer concerts are often held here.

Tel Aviv has some truly wonderful museums that you should try to visit in-between all the shopping, sunning, and dining. The Diaspora Museum is an amazing, hands-on museum that tells of the 2,500-year history of the Jewish Diaspora using a variety of multimedia methods. The Eretz Israel Museum Complex is home to an ancient archaeological site where the remains of 12 ancient civilizations have been found. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art has a large collection of modern, Impressionist, and contemporary 20th century art pieces.

You might also want to take a trip to the Safari Park and Zoological Center where you will find 250 acres of wide-open plains where African animals roam freely. You must travel through the majority of the park inside a closed vehicle in order to see the most dangerous animals, such as lions and elephants, but there is also a walking path where you can see the less dangerous animals up close.