Never sleeping Tel Aviv

Hello, travelers!

Welcome to the city that never sleeps - Tel Aviv! 

Tel Aviv is Israel’s epicenter, culturally, economically, and especially socially. A young, vibrant, cosmopolitan city that stretches for miles along the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, with a street vibe that is the perfect blend of cool trendy fashionista and laid-back beach bum, with a healthy splash of lively, chaotic middle-eastern charm. Although by no means a massive city in terms of population, Tel Aviv is truly a city that never sleeps!

Energetic, hedonistic and endlessly fun, Tel Aviv is in many ways the counterpoint of nearby Jerusalem. Having only celebrated its centenary in 2009, this is also one of the world’s newest cities.

Tel Aviv is liberal, easy-going and incredibly diverse. It has a great cafe culture, impressive architecture and pulsating nightlife and feels like a beacon of modernity compared to the hotly contested Israeli capital.

You won’t have trouble finding Tel Aviv’s fabled nightlife – bars and nightclubs abound, with locals tending to head out late, and continuing into the early hours. Great for languishing on during the day, the beach nearly always has something happening at night too.

A city of immigrants, Tel Aviv is rich in culture. European, American (both North and Latin), Arab and African incomers are plenty, and you’ll notice large Yemenite and Ethiopian-Jewish communities too. Restaurants blending Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern and other influences sum up the atmosphere of Tel Aviv: progressive, informal and thoroughly cosmopolitan.

Accommodation

We suggest staying in hostels; prices vary from 15 euros per night. Find the best for you here: http://www.hostelworld.com

For our spenders we recommend to stay at one of the greatest ant the most luxurious hotel in Tel Aviv -Royal Beach Hotel Tel Aviv. It has a view to the sea, amazing indoor pool and delicious best quality food.

Things to see

Savers: There are some famous places where is no admission fee so savers could use this opportunity and see some special places.

Old Jaffa Although mentioned in the Bible, the district of Jaffa is mainly 19th-century, built after Napoleon's destructive raid. The entrance to the Old Town is marked by the Ottoman Clock Tower, built in 1906 to honor Palestine's Turkish rulers, now a focal point for outdoor socializing before eating at the many nearby restaurants. 

Helena Rubinstein Pavilion. If you like contemporary art, Israel’s leading collection and exhibition venue should not be missed. The museum, founded in 1959, forms part of the city center cultural complex which includes the renowned Habima Theater and Mann Auditorium. Today it comes under the auspices of the Tel Aviv Museum, which was originally housed here.

Historic Station Complex (“Hatachanah”). Just on the edge of Tel Aviv’s ‘first neighborhood’, Neve Tzedek, is the handsomely restored 19th-century railway station complex. From 1892 to 1948, the station was on a line connecting Jaffa to Jerusalem, and the original appearance of the buildings – and some railway carriages too – has been carefully preserved.

For spenders:

Tel Aviv Museum of Art

Azrieli center. For a phenomenal view far beyond Tel Aviv, take the high-speed lift to the 49th floor observatory of the downtown Azrieli Center. On a clear day, it is possible to see (with the aid of the powerful telescopes) Jerusalem in one direction and Haifa in another. Although its 84-window observatory is the highest in Israel, this remarkable circular tower with 50 floors above ground and seven below is only the country’s second tallest building

Eretz Israel Museum. The name of this internationally important museum means ‘Land of Israel' and traces 3,000 years of culture through artefacts found on this very site, as well as examples from other Israeli locations. Constructed around the extensive archaeological site of Tel Kasile, the museum resembles a park and is housed in a dozen separate pavilions, each of which could be viewed as a museum in its own right dealing with a separate aspect of Israel's material culture and ethnography. Visitors are advised to buy a site map upon arrival at the museum, to help navigate around the different pavilions.

Food

Restaurants for savers:

• "Café London". Big, crowded, easy-going, and right beside the beach, this huge open-air eatery offers a very wide selection of dishes all day and all evening.
• "Abu El-Abed". Ever since it opened here in 1949, this basic family-run diner on Jaffa’s busy Yefet Street has been packed with Jews and Arabs united by a love of good, inexpensive eating.
• "Arcaffe". Ostensibly just a cafe serving exceptionally good coffee, but the Arcaffe chain also offers huge mixed salads together with delicious bread. It makes a perfectly satisfying, and healthy, lunch or dinner at an affordable price. 

For spenders: Restaurants with really expensive prices, terrific view from the restaurant and delicious meals: 

• "Mul Yam" A great dining experience, harbourside Mul Yam specializes in refined and imaginative seafood cuisine, beautifully presented.
• "Aubergine" In a pleasant, uncrowded setting on the third floor of the hotel’s impressive atrium, the main restaurant of the luxury David InterContinental offers skillfully prepared French kosher cuisine.
• "Catit" In a beautiful Ottoman villa, decorated with uncluttered pale elegance and the original floor tiles, chef Meir Adoni prepares astonishing and imaginative dishes combining contrasting flavours, including ‘molecular’ foams and sauces.

And finally - what Tel Aviv is famous for - its' Nightlife!

In Israel there is a saying that goes something like this: “you go to Haifa to work, Jerusalem to learn, and Tel Aviv to play”

Nightlife is at its most vibrant after Shabbat starts on Friday night. Thursday is another big night out. People flock to hear music, dance or eat together, but there is no bar-hopping. The legal drinking age is 18 years, but drunkenness is almost unknown. For savers we recommend Bars that are often free to enter, but the drinks are quite expensive, but at least one you can afford! For our spenders we can offer visit night clubs that mostly are for upper class ("Bubamara", "Clara", "Penguin Club")  We do not need to mention all the bars and clubs because you can easily find them in the city center - there a lots of them! 

So for those wishing to take on the Tel-Aviv nightlife, here are top tips for going out in Tel Aviv:

• Have a nap. Tel Aviv clubs generally don’t open before midnight and most places don’t get going until 1 am so a wee little preliminary shloof is a good idea.
• Wear whatever you want. Some Israeli’s are definitely super-cool, Euro-chic hipsters, but most are still stuck in 1983, so don’t worry about any fashion police. Though be warned that, this being a beach town, less is more, if you get my midriff, I mean drift.
• Take lots of money. Good clubs will charge entry. Also, while you can buy a whole bottle of vodka in Israeli supermarkets for less than £3, drinks at clubs are expensive (though usually contain lots of alcohol).
• Tip. As bartenders are paid poorly and literally need to live off their tips, tipping is expected, and anything less than 12% will not win you friends (this goes for restaurants too).
• Be prepared for long and disorderly queuing outside popular clubs, and perhaps a little push and shove. If you can, get the girl at the gate to write down your name. Being on ‘the list’ might speed things up. Then again it might not. Other people may turn up and be admitted automatically. They know someone who works on the inside.
• Learn to order drinks. In Israel a ‘chaser’ is actually shot, not a beer to follow a shot. And shots are always doubles (actually Israeli bartenders are extremely liberal with their pouring, so enjoy!). But be warned for some weird reason they rarely use limes in their cocktails, so I’d avoid ordering a caipariñha.
• Sit at the bar. If you are after a drink without needing to dance to loud music then head to a restaurant and make sure to sit at the bar. As long as you keep eating, you will likely be plied with free vodka and Arak shots all night long (I did say they were generous with their alcohol).
• Dance under the air conditioning. They still smoke in clubs in Israel. Though technically illegal, no one polices it.
• Finally, cheers in Hebrew = Le Haim!

We can bet you already see yourself living this fantastic nightlife and dancing like crazy! 

See you soon!

                                                                                Always yours,
                                                                        ''Notebook of Travellers''