The city of Tel Aviv was amazing. It was fresh and inviting and as I left the city after a few days I thought to myself, I could live here.
Tel Aviv is young, being found in 1909, and is Israel’s second largest city after Jerusalem. The beaches are white and crisp and the city is easy to navigate.
I stayed in Jaffa which is the older city which is an ancient port city in Israel. The city is built up on a hill and is mostly all buildings made with limestone, giving the city a distinct look. It is beautiful to have the light stones next to the blue water, the city is definitely a site to see.
Our first night we arrived late so we got settled into our Airbnb and then enjoyed apps on our roof patio. One of our favorite places we found in Jaffa was the convenient store below our Airbnb. We had cheese and hummus with matzo crackers which the owner thought was weird. But he was super friendly and helped us pick the wine that was alcoholic. We then headed out and enjoy a wonderful meal at The Old Man to The Sea right on the water in Jaffa. When we sat down we received about 20 dishes with different salads and dips. It was incredible. We also had th emost amazing dessert taht was basically fried dough balls soaked in honey, which is actually called teiglach. They were life changing. I cannot wait to try to make some at home!
During our day where we explored Tel Aviv we started by wandering around the Jaffa Flea Market and shopped a little and had brunch at Puaa. We then decided to rent bikes (they have an easy city share program) to see the coastline and get from Jaffa to the new part of Tel Aviv. As we stood ready to mount our bikes looking out at the water to your right was Tel Aviv and all things new and to the left was Old Jaffa, and like the name all things old. We biked the coast and then walked into the city to see the market. The market was huge and had fresh produce, spices, desserts, tourist shops, almost anything you could imagine. Walked up and down Rothschild Boulevard and then enjoyed sunset at Kalamata.
The city stayed up late and we had no problem leaving our place around 10 pm and still finding places to drink and eat! Shuk Hapishpeshim aka the Jaffa Flea Market area had lots of bars and restaurants.
I don’t want to read your post, what should I know?
- Stay in Jaffa if you visit Tel Aviv
- Have dinner at least one night at The Old Man and The Sea
- Bike from Jaffa to Tel Aviv on the coast line
- Visit the Jaffa Flea Market area
- Brunch anywhere but a good option is Puaa
- Enjoy sunset at Kalamata
- Visit the Tel Aviv market
- Walk around Tel Aviv on Rothschild Boulevard
