Stroll Around Tel Aviv-Yafo
Discover Exquisite Streets & Neighborhoods

Strolling down Tel Aviv-Yafo Streets is the only way to really get to know Tel Aviv's unique neighborhoods, each with its own special character.

Pressed for time? Book a private tour and discover Tel Aviv neighborhoods

Here are some of favorite neighborhoods that I love revisiting. You can click above on any of the links that interest you, or browse down the page.

The winding alleyways of old Jaffa

Shabazi, the main drag of romantic Neve Tzedek

Rothschild Boulevard the heart of Tel Aviv-Yafo

Best of Tel Aviv bar-hopping around Lilienblum and Nachalat Binyamin Streets

Funky Florentine – Israel’s “East Village"

the tiny, quaint American Colony of Tel Aviv

Winding Alleyways of Old Jaffa

winding stairs and alleyways of Jaffa in Tel Aviv Israel

Jaffa is completely different than the rest of Tel Aviv Yafo.

You will love wandering around Jaffa’s alleyways, art galleries, historic stone buildings, mosques and churches, and of course, the colorful Jaffa Flea Market, Shuk Hapishpishim, and the quaint Jaffa Port.

For more details on what to see in Jaffa, visit our page on Old Jaffa.

Romantic Neve Tzedek in Tel Aviv-Yafo

neve tzedek shabazi street in tel aviv-yafo

I think my favorite street in all of Tel Aviv is Shabazi Street in Neve Tzedek.

In the 1880’s when the Ottoman Turks ruled Israel, Jaffa was getting overcrowded and polluted. Neve Tzedek was the first neighborhood built on the empty sand dunes outside of Jaffa. It became an artist’s enclave.Many of Israel’s first poets, artists and journalists lived here, such as Nobel Prize winner and author S. Y. Agnon and artist Nachum Gutman.

Read more about the interesting twists and turns of Tel Aviv's history, at Ancient History of Tel Aviv, and Modern History of Tel Aviv.

After years of decline, the neighborhood was rediscovered by Tel Aviv’s bohemia in the 1990’s. Many of the original buildings have been and are still being restored.

neve tzedek a village oasis in buzzing tel aviv

Today, Neve Tzedek is an enchanting neighborhood.

It somehow manages to feel like a village oasis in the middle of buzzing Tel Aviv.

Walk along the narrow streets and original two-story terracotta residential buildings. Shabazi and neighboring streets are lined with cozy cafes and restaurants, galleries, arty boutiques and handmade ice cream parlors.

One of the most popular places in Neve Tzedek is the renovated Old Train Station, called in Hebrew "Hatahana'.

Hatachana, the renovated old Train Station Complex in Neve Tzedek in southern Tel Aviv

It commemorates the first ever train line built between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

If you have time, visit the charming Gutman Museum of Art at 21 Rokach St.

the Nahum Gutman Museum on Shabazi Street in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood in south Tel Aviv

The museum celebrating the whimsical art of pioneer Israeli artist Nachum Gutman, in his preserved, original house built in 1887 in Neve Tzedek.

Where to eat at Neve Tzedek

There are lots of great eateries in Neve Tzedek. Here are our some of our top picks:

popular Cafe Susana in neve tzedek tel aviv yafo

1. At Cafe Susanna at 9 Shabazi Street, near the renown Suzanne Dellal Dance Center, you’ll find tasty meals, freshly made pizzas in stone ovens, variety of coffees and best of all, a fun atmosphere!

2. Nearby at 10 Shabazi Street, Dallal is a classy restaurant with fresh food, great drinks as starters and a delicous variety of homemade breads and bakery goods.

freshly baked burekas and pastries at Dalal restaurant in Neve Tzedek

If you stroll by on Friday mornings, you'll get an irresistable whiff of freshly baked Challah bread! You can buy some.

mouthwatering steaks at A Place of Meat restaurant in Neve Tzedek Tel Aviv

3. If you are feeling like a carnivore, book a reservation at what we consider one of the two best steakhouses in the city, A Place of Meat at 64 Shabazi Street.

You can read more about A Place of Meat and our other favorite Tel Aviv restaurants.

4. On the other end of the spectrum, Meshek Barzilay at 6 Ehad Ha'am St. serves some of the finest vegan food in Israel.

Meshek Barzilay quality vegan organic restaurant in Neve Tzedek Tel Aviv

It may look like barbecued food and it is a fish skewer, but Meshe Barzilay servers only organically grown, vegan food.

Meshek mean farm. The Barzilay family were pioneers who dried up the swamps in the Sharon area and built a prospering farm.Over the years, the farm was overtaken by city growth, but their descendants opened up this restaurant, focusing on fresh, organic produce.

Rothschild Boulevard
the Heart of What Makes Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv

Rothschild Boulevard is a beautiful, wide, tree-lined boulevard that encompasses the Tel Aviv spirit – the love of life and 'relaxed energy' of Telavivians.

You can walk leisurely from end to end in about an hour in this most famous of Tel Aviv-Yafo streets which begin in Neve Tzedek and continues northwards until it reaches Habima, Israel’s National Theater.

It was the first street ever built in the modern city of Tel Aviv. You’ll pass charming, historic buildings built in Tel-Aviv’s unique Bauhaus style, forming part of the World Heritage designated “White City” of Tel Aviv. You can read more about it in our page on Tel Aviv's Lovely Bauhaus Architecture.

Day and night, Rothschild Blvd. is brimming with life; people strolling, dog-walking, jogging, biking, and, as we Israelis simply love to do, stopping at one of the multitude of restaurants, kiosks and bars lining the street for a drink and a bite.

Rothschild Blvd at night, the heart of Tel Aviv

During the summer, there is almost always an outdoor art exhibit or live show to enjoy. I find it so much fun to walk around or just sit on a bench and people-watch!

Taste or drink your way along the literally hundreds of places lining the boulevard and neighboring streets.

A Tel Aviv classic is Moses, at 35 Rothschild St. I think they have the best hamburgers in the city.

A Tel Aviv classic is Moses, at 35 Rothschild St. I think they have the best hamburgers in the city.

I adore the sushi at Yakimono at 19 Rothschild St., but feel free to sample sushi anywhere else. We Telavivians love sushi and there are countless excellent sushi bars around town.

Best of Tel Aviv-Yafo Bar-Hopping
at Lilienblum and Nahalat Binyamin Streets

Just a block away from Rothschild Blvd. are two Tel Aviv-Yafo streets not to be missed! There are places to party and drink all over Tel Aviv, but Lilienblum and Nahalat Binyamin Streets are the ultimate for bar-hopping with dance bars lining the street.

You'll find the streets packed with people at 3 AM on Thursday and Friday nights and all during the summer. Just don’t bother arriving before 10 or even 11 PM, unless you want some alone time with the bartender!

There are dozens of places to choose from, but here are a few of our favorites:

Abraskas - 40 Lilienblum Street. a bar and restaurant with a pool table, great live or DJ music and dancing.

Shpagat - 43 Nahalat Binyamin Street, a gay-friendly bar with a fun, young vibe, open every night.

Shpagat gay-friendly bar in Nahalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv

Wednesday is ladies night, but all are welcome, straight, gay men and gay women every night.

Nanuchka - 30 Lilienblum Street. This mythological bar, queen of the Tel Aviv bar scene for 16 years closed down in 2018

A cool and popular bar and restaurant specializing in vodka and cuisine from Georgia. Oh, and its now fully VEGAN cuisine. Don't let that put you off - the food is delicious!

Find out about more great Tel Aviv bars

On a side note, Nahalat Binyamin has a wonderful open-air, arts and crafts market every Tuesday and Friday, from mid morning until mid afternoon. Find out more on:

Fun Things to Do in Tel Aviv

and Tel Aviv Shopping

Florentine – the East Village of Tel Aviv-Yafo

If I have to choose the coolest neighborhood in Tel Aviv-Yafo, it would be Florentine.

Like today’s East Village in NYC, Florentine is a neighborhood in transition. It's a perfect place to sit at one of the many sidewalk cafes and watch the motley passerbys: aspiring artists, young professional musicians with dreadlocks, students, elderly couples, hippy types and blue collar workers who haven’t deserted the neighborhood.

cool atmosphere on the streets of Florentine Tel Aviv

As you walk around Florentine, you can’t miss the contrasts: Trendy boutiques, yoga shops art galleries and pubs with nightly live entertainment, side by side near original Mom and Pop upholsterers, old-time groceries and tiny synagogues.

Florentine is center for street parties, often spontaneous! Here’s a party right outside Bugsey on Florentine Street.

One of my favorite spots for a drink is Bugsey at 26 Florentine Street. While reclining on vintage sofas and chairs, you can enjoy live music shows on weekends (and on most summer nights) with your favorite malt whiskey, beer or world-class Israeli wine. And the food is pretty good too.

Florentine was founded in the middle of citrus groves in the 1920’s by a group of Jewish immigrants from Thessaloniki, Greece. The group was headed by, you guessed it, the Florentine family!

Jews from Turkey and other Balkan countries who immigrated to Israel filled the neighborhood.

You can still find Balkan style bakeries owned by original families and authentic, 30-year old grocery shops where time seems to stands still, their shelves abundant with home-made, canned goods.

I love visiting Saloniki Bakery on the corner of Florentine and Stern streets, where I buy their delicious ‘burekas’ filo pastries stuffed with eggplants or olives and sesame seed, alongside the more typical cheese or potato filled burekas.