The modern metropolis is the commercial, financial and entertainment centre of Israel. The beautiful bathing spots on the city's beaches of over 10 kilometres long compensate the lack of tourist spectacles. Numerous bars, restaurants, coffee houses, shops await the tourists, together with leisure and entertainment facilities in the vivid, busy city.
Tel-Aviv (amalgamating the Jaffa seaport town) on the Mediterranean Sea is the largest city of Israel, with a population of around 600,000. The modern metropolis is the commercial, financial and entertainment centre of Israel. There are not many spots to see in Tel-Aviv, but beautiful sandy beaches offer relaxation to those wishing to have a rest.
A few Jewish families, trying to escape from the busy Jaffa, founded Tel-Aviv in 1909. Many compare Tel-Aviv to New York, supported by the enterprising spirit and inexhaustible energy of the locals, the crowds moving fast on the avenues and large squares, the vivid night life and the city's many colours. The image of the city however, is heavily determined y the weather: the temperature may often move around 34 degrees centigrade in the Summer, coupled with very high humidity too.
One reason for the city's fast growth is the fact that thousands of immigrants arrive to Israel, and obviously, to Tel-Aviv, from different corners of the world. Only last year, around 45 thousand new immigrants settled down here. As a result the city is multicoloured; one can continuously hear the people speaking different languages on the beach, in the coffee houses, in the streets. The city is rather crowded. Its area is smaller than that of Haifa or Jerusalem, yet, over a third of Israel's total population lives here. Similar to other live, busy large cities, plenty of bars, restaurants, coffee houses and leisure and entertainment facilities await the visitors. If we rather want to visit museums, there are the Diaspora Museum exhibiting the Jewish culture, and also the Fine Arts Museum to see.
One of Tel-Aviv's main attractions is its beautiful beach. Not only do the locals use the 10-kilometre long beach for bathing, but there are also plenty of sports, relaxation and other leisure facilities. The wide sea-side promenade stretches from the Northern port of Tel-Aviv all the way to the old town of Jaffa; making this part of the city into a relaxation and leisure district.
The galleries, antique shops, restaurants and flee markets make Jaffa into an excellent strolling field. Although its historic past (once it was Jerusalem's main sea port) has more significance than that of Tel-Aviv, unfortunately, very few of it has remained for being seen by later generations. Very little has been preserved from the antique Jaffa, by today, it has just become one district of one of world's most advanced metropolis.
From Tel-Aviv, it is easy to travel to Jerusalem, or to the Dead Sea. It is worth planning one-day trips to both each, the latter is famous for its clean air and salty water of therapeutic properties; the former is a holy place for three religions with plenty of sights to see in the town.