An Insider's Guide: Tel Aviv

Yael Pincus for The Wall Street Journal

Nine miles of sandy, pristine shoreline borders Tel Aviv, with a pedestrian promenade and colorful power-walk to rival Venice Beach's.

People who live in Tel Aviv speak of their city as a "bubble," an urban refuge where the chaos, conflict and politics of the rest of Israel seemingly belong to another people in another place at another time. There's a good deal of truth to this metaphor. Blessed with nine blue-sky months and nearly nine miles of aquamarine coastline, Tel Aviv feels like a Middle Eastern Miami—all white-washed architecture, boogie-boarding beach bums and palm-lined boulevards stretching to the sea.

It wasn't always this way. When it was founded by 66 Jewish families back in 1909, Tel Aviv was little more than camels and sand dunes. But the world's first modern Hebrew metropolis quickly grew as Zionist pioneers and Jewish refugees arrived en masse during the following six decades. Much of what they brought with them still defines Tel Aviv one half century later: Bauhaus architecture from Germany in the city's historic core, casual Levantine coffee culture down in the Florentin and Neve Tzedek districts, spicy North African cuisine near the Carmel Market and Central and Eastern European traditions of dance, theater, literature and poetry city-wide.

Photos: Tel Aviv

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Yael Pincus for The Wall Street Journal

The White City

 

Today, Tel Aviv is the ultimate East-meets-West city, accented by ample doses of American pop culture and the one million recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union to Israel. It's also Israel's economic engine, home to a thriving high-tech industry and buoyant banking sector that helped the country escape the recent global financial crisis relatively unscathed.

Flush with cash and newfound confidence, Tel Aviv is finally ready for its close-up. New cultural endeavors such as the Design Museum in next-door Holon, the annual Fresh Paint contemporary art fair and the biannual Art TLV festival are placing Tel Aviv on the global art map. Meanwhile, a clutch of "boutique hotels" and world-class restaurants are welcoming record numbers of bon vivant tourists to a city still unsure exactly how to handle them. With its warm weather, compact size and anything-goes atmosphere, "Tel Avivis"—as natives call themselves—always knew their city was special. Many still seem shocked the rest of the world is finally beginning to agree.

For much of its first 100 years, the city stood in the shadow of nearby Jerusalem, unable to compete with the capital's holy sites and history. Now as it enters its second century, Tel Aviv is trading its low-profile past for a far higher-profile future. And why not? With its mix of beach and Bauhaus, culture and commerce, Tel Aviv may not be holy—but for locals and newcomers alike, the city has become its own kind of promised land.

—David Kaufman

The Designer

Yigal Azrouël

Israeli-born fashion designer of an eponymous womenswear label; frequent Tel Aviv visitor

B&B:Nina Cafe Suites Hotel. This tiny five-bedroom inn kicked off Tel Aviv's boutique boom when it opened in 2005. Decorated with Parisian antiques and located in the artsy Neve Tzedek district, it's posh and funky. 29 Shabazi St., ninacafehotel.com

Mod-Med Menu: Catit. Inside a restored Ottoman-era mansion, Chef Meir Adoni's elegant restaurant serves local and visiting foodies, including Paul McCartney, who had his own veggie menu. Heichal Hatalmud 4, catit.co.il  

Fab Finds: The Jaffa Flea Market. My favorite shopping spot in the city, particularly for Eastern Europe vintage clothing and accessories, this market retains its Levantine atmosphere. The prices are so low you wonder if the sellers know what they've got. I always pop by the nearby Abulafia Bakery for pitas and pastries. Abulafia: 7 Yefet St., Jaffa

Forward Fashions: Mirit Weinstock. The designer interned for Alexander McQueen before returning home to start her own line. 20 Shnizler St., miritweinstock.com

Design House: Kastiel. The Kastiel family has been designing modern and luxurious furnishings for three generations. Their Tel Aviv flagship reflects the heritage. Half the building's a restored Bauhaus warehouse, the other a renovated Ottoman-era corral. 36 Alfasi St., kastiel.com

The Auteur

Etgar Keret

Tel Aviv–based novelist and filmmaker; winner of 2007 Camera D'Or for "Jellyfish"

Urban Mix: Meir Park. Tel Aviv has many small hangout parks. This is my favorite. It's filled with a crazy mix of stroller-pushing moms and the odd drunk Russian philosopher—a part of Tel Aviv most tourists don't see. 35 King George St. at Tchernichovsky St.

Bar 'Keeper':Café Michal. This French café is a great neighborhood spot: cakes, Italian dishes and perhaps the handsomest bartender in the city. The counter's always packed with pretty girls. 230 Dizengoff St. at Jabotinsky, 011 972 3 5230236

Lookout: Manta Ray. Right on Alma Beach, with amazing views of Jaffa to the south and the skyline to the north. I don't go there for the cuisine. But the tapas platters are piled with Middle Eastern mezzes like couscous salad and tehina.
Alma Beach, mantaray.co.il

Beach Boite: LaLa Land. Most Tel Aviv beach bars are pretty lousy: great location, but bad music and food. But LaLa Land keeps it simple with small dishes like hummus served beachside. The atmosphere is relaxed. Sunset paradise. Gordon Beach, 011 972 3 5293303

Children's Hour: Flea Market (Dizengoff Circle). It's small, clean and great for kids—a contained world. I take my son to look for old records, mostly musicals and classic Hebrew albums. Dizengoff Circle

The Architect

Ron Arad

Israeli-born, London-based architect and industrial designer

Museum Row: Holon Arts Quarter. The Holon area has gone from unremarkable suburb to cultural hub. That includes the Children's Museum, the Mediatheque and the Design Museum, which I designed. Design Museum Holon, 8 Pinhas Eilon St., dmh.org.il

Inn Spot: Hotel Montefiore. This 12-room hotel is in city's historic core. A circa-1922 mansion, it's stylish and has a good-looking crowd, great balconies and a tasty pan-Asian bistro. 36 Montefiore St., hotelmontefiore.co.il

Waterfront Scene: Comme il Faut Café. You feel the city's self-love closer to the sea, at places like Old Port. Now renovated, the waterfront overflows with outdoor cafes. I love the salads at the Comme il Faut Café, owned by the fashion label of the same name. Hangar 26, comme-il-faut.com/cafe

Bauhaus-by-the-Shore: The White City. It's not exactly white, but this important quarter is home to the world's most extensive collection of Bauhaus architecture, over 4,000 buildings in all. Rothschild Blvd., Ahad Ha'am St. and Balfour St.

Modern Love: Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art. The Tel Aviv Museum has a satellite gallery, The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion, which I loved visiting as a child. The small, modernist space focuses mostly on young artists. 6 Tarsat Blvd., tamuseum.com

The Maestro

Zubin Mehta

Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for nearly 30 years

Sweet Seventeen: The Hilton Tel Aviv. For 40 years this non-chain-feeling hotel has been my second home. The Mediterranean views from the 17th floor's Executive Lounge are sensational. For those who eat Kosher, the King Solomon restaurant has great dishes. Independence Park, hilton.com

Sea-and-be-Scene: Mul-Yam. Tel Aviv's power spot, it's a slim sea-front bistro where moguls seal deals in a medley of languages. Seafood arrives daily from around the world. It's the best restaurant in Israel. Hangar 24, Tel Aviv Port, mulyam.com

Insider's Archive: Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Jerusalem's Israel Museum may be better known, but this is the cultural focal point of Tel Aviv. There's a giant Roy Lichtenstein mural in the foyer, custom-made for the space. In 2011, its $100-million expansion opens. 27 Shaul HaMelech Blvd., tamuseum.com

Mellifluous Space: The Frederic R. Mann Auditorium. It's home to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, but it's also a vital part of architectural history. Leonard Bernstein conducted its first concert in 1957. 1 Huberman St., hatarbut.co.il

Harmonious Eats: Messa. Minimalist—with a white-on-white marble dining room—it's one of the city's first great "designer" restaurants. Chef Aviv Moshe turns out stellar charcoal-grilled eggplant and goose-liver carpaccio. It's all very grown-up.
19 HaArbaa St., messa.co.il

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page D8

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