Tel-Aviv (Israel)

Tel Aviv is a self-consciously trendy city with a very European flavour. It combines a long, clean, beautiful sandy beach with fabulous shopping and a buzzing nightlife. Hit the Jaffa end of the beach on a Friday evening for massive impromptu jam sessions and martial arts displays with the Tel Avivian in-crowd, then head off downtown to Jabotinski & Arlozorov street for the hottest clubs in the country (Saturday is the big night, after Shabbat). The Dizengoff area is the place for shopping and eating, with its massive mall, cinema, and eclectic collection of restaurants as well as kosher McDonalds, KFC, Subway etc.
When you’ve had enough of the monotonous architecture of Tel Aviv (hardly the prettiest town in the country), head to the south of the city to Old Jaffa (Yafo) which has the best fish restaurants in a sympathetic Mediterranean setting, and high quality, if overpriced, art and craft shops.

Please now see my reviews of Jerusalem (‘The Incredible Melting Pot’), Israel in general (‘A Little Something for Everyone’) and Bethlehem, Haifa, the Dead Sea, Eilat, Gaza, Masada, Nazareth and the Galilee.