Tel Aviv by bike and on foot

MIRI GARAWAY

My husband and I have made many trips to Israel, so we no longer feel the need to visit the popular tourist sites. We also have relatives and friends in different parts of the country and we enjoy spending time with them, at their place, or ours, or somewhere in between. In recent years, this has meant that we have experienced Israel in a different way, which has offered new insights and the unexpected delights that can come from having the time to linger in a café, enjoy a bike ride or take an early morning walk.

Our most recent trip was last fall, when we rented an apartment in Tel Aviv for three weeks. It was the second time we had based ourselves in Israel’s largest city, but this time we chose to stay in a completely different neighborhood. We chose an apartment in the northern part of the city, very close to Basel Square, where all kinds of coffee houses add a definite European feel to the area. It is about seven blocks from the beach, and a five-minute walk from Dizengoff Street.

We found Tel Aviv to be “über cool,” a city so diverse it enthrals the senses and crackles with energy. From dilapidated old buildings of every shape and size to renewed Bauhaus buildings to post-state “boxed” apartment blocks to ultra-sleek architectural gems, from the most primitive hole-in-the-wall spot to sophisticated cafés that offer the best coffee imaginable, Tel Aviv has it all.

Perhaps due to increasing immigration from France, there has been a recent proliferation of French pâtisseries, offering the most delectable pastries, as well as delicious challot. At times, our days felt like one long meal, in terms of the exceptional food we ate wherever we went.

We especially enjoyed exploring Tel Aviv, with its flat terrain, by bicycle and on foot. Bicycle lanes seem to have sprouted all around the city, along with the European trend of velo bike stations that offer bicycle parking and other conveniences, including rentals. Some of the main boulevards have an island in the middle that accommodates a tree-lined bike lane and a café at the end of nearly every cross street. It all feels very civil.

These bike lanes – almost all on sidewalks – allow one to traverse the city in tranquility rather than joining the cacophony of the very busy streets. Even riding the bike lanes, however, a cyclist has to remain alert: Israelis do not wear bike helmets, and they often completely disregard the directional arrows. I admit that I became a bit of a sergeant major, scolding bikers in Hebrew to please ride in the designated lane.

One day, we spent eight hours exploring by bike, with time out for what had quickly become our requisite stop for morning cappuccino and pastries, then a late lunch, followed by ice cream at our new “go to” ice cream parlor.

We began our adventure by riding on the Tayelet, the promenade along the beach, enjoying the refreshing breeze. We rode from our apartment south to Jaffa, and then around the city, past the port, to the huge park and the continuation of the path all the way to the suburb of Bat Yam. The day was so clear that you could see Ashkelon in the distance. For this part of the route, we had the path all to ourselves, which felt like a special treat.

We continued on to explore what was for us uncharted territory, through the crowded and dilapidated neighborhood of Florentin, which is undergoing a renewal and where many artists today have their studios, and to the Levinski Street Spice Market. This is a colorful part of the city that is not on many tourist itineraries.

The street was so narrow and packed with people, it was difficult to wind our bicycles through the maze. When we finally emerged, we were in Gan HaHashmal, yet another neighborhood in the process of renewal. A few streets to the north, the area becomes more refined, with a tree-lined boulevard down the middle and new apartment buildings among the Bauhaus structures from the 1930s and ’40s, with plenty of other buildings under construction. There was such a diversity of neighborhoods in a relatively short distance.

Another day, we had a wonderful experience while riding along the Tel Aviv beachfront. We came across a square where there were about 200 people of all ages participating in Israeli folk dancing to lively music. We stopped to watch this joyous communal activity that so wonderfully embodies the Israeli spirit.

We also explored various environs on foot, one morning walking from our Basel Square neighborhood along the Tayelet to Jaffa, a distance of about three miles. There, we met up with some longtime friends and, together, we joined a walking tour of Jaffa.

A highlight on another of our busy days was a visit to the Yitzhak Rabin Centre in Ramat Aviv, a suburb of Tel Aviv. The centre is housed in an incredible building designed by Moshe Safdie. Its museum, which opened in 2010, is one of the finest museums we have ever seen, interweaving the story of Rabin’s life with the history of Israel, all done in such a creative way. We were also very impressed by the Palmach Museum, dedicated to the history and activities of Israel’s pre-state underground defenders, which eventually became part of the Israel Defence Forces.

Another area museum worth seeing is the Litvak Gallery, which showcases glass artists such as Dale Chihuly and others from around the world. It is located behind the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which has a spectacular new wing that’s worth a visit, as well.

Also recommended is the Rubin Museum, a small home where the painter Reuvin Rubin lived and worked until his death in 1974, and which now displays his works. For a unique cultural experience, I suggest taking in a performance of Mayumana. This multi-media troupe, which has its own theatre in Jaffa, performs theme-based creations involving dance, song, music and acting that dazzle the viewer.

Tel Aviv proved to be an excellent base, and a destination in its own right. We rented our apartment from Vacation Rental by Owner (vrbo.com), and another rental site is airbnb.com – both charge a service fee. The municipality runs a bike rental system called Tel-O-Fun (a rider can rent a bike at one location and drop it off at another); there are also stores that rent bikes. And, before you head out, you can check online what’s being exhibited at the Litvak Gallery (litvak.com), the Palmach Museum (palmach.org.il), Rubin Museum (rubinmuseum.org.il), Tel Aviv Museum of Art (tamuseum.com) and Yitzhak Rabin Centre (rabincenter.org.il).

Miri Garaway is a Vancouver freelance travel writer who has kept journals on every trip she has taken since 1966. A version of this article originally appeared in the Chicago Jewish Star.

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