10 Recommended Tours in Tel Aviv

Fancy seeing Tel Aviv from new heights? Venture to the city’s biggest urban park, Hayarkon Park, and float 91 metres (300 feet) up into the air in a hot-air balloon. Enjoy sweeping views of the city skyline and sea, and marvel at the nearby mountain scenery. Savour every moment from up high, and know that you’re in good hands with your experienced pilot who will also point out Tel Aviv’s landmarks to you.

The diversity of Tel Aviv’s art scene is what makes it so special. From high-end spaces such as Dvir Gallery to alternative projects like Meshuna Gallery, there’s something for everyone. A tour will show you the pulse of the scene and lead you around some of the best street art in the city. Hear stories from your local guide and decipher every mural. This tour is an unmissable experience for art aficionados.

This 2.5-hour culinary extravaganza takes participants to the best spots in Carmel Market, Tel Aviv’s main open-air market. For the uninitiated, it is easy to stroll through the shuk and miss the best eateries, which are often unassuming or tucked away off the main strip. A tour will make sure you sample the best places, weaving through the shuk and the quaint backstreets of the neighbouring Yemenite Quarter, where you’ll meet vendors and learn about the history of the area.

Escape the beaten track and explore HaTikvah Market, the most underrated culinary destination in Tel Aviv. Located in the Hatikvah (“The Hope”) neighbourhood, which has a working-class character and a very diverse population, the market is home to an array of eateries that reflect the area’s melting pot of cultures. Led by a charismatic Bhuka guide, you’ll taste the best flavours the market has to offer, learn about the area’s history and drink plenty of wine between each stop.

Tel Aviv has a flourishing vegan scene and is among the best destinations in the world to be vegan. A vegan culinary tour will provide you with ample insider information about the best places to feast as well as plenty of samples to try along the way. Get the scoop about new emerging vegan chefs on the scene, explore the city via taste buds and see classic Tel Aviv sights at the same time.

Tel Aviv is often labelled as the ‘city that never sleeps’, and this tour will show you why. This pub crawl will take participants into the heart of Tel Aviv’s buzzing nightlife, skipping lines and getting free drinks along the way. On this five-hour tour, you’ll dance the night away at four of the best bars and clubs with fellow travellers.

A tour of a bus station seems like an odd suggestion, but Tel Aviv’s New Central Bus Station is among the most mysterious pieces of architecture in the city. Neither new nor central, the station occupies a sprawling space in the gritty south of Tel Aviv and is full of surprising features. A Yiddish cultural centre, a street-art exhibition, a bat cave and a Filipino food market are just some of the things you’ll discover on this off-the-beaten-track tour.

A must for architecture lovers and history buffs, this walking tour will show you Tel Aviv’s top sights and most prominent architecture, from contemporary structures to Bauhaus buildings. German-Jewish graduates of the Bauhaus school built some 4,000 buildings in the 1930s and 1940s, in what was then Mandatory Palestine, and many of these structures have undergone restoration in recent years. See for yourself why UNESCO declared the ‘White City’ a World Heritage site. Prepare for half a day of compelling history, spanning back over a thousand years, and appreciate the different neighbourhoods that show how the city has evolved throughout the years.

In this two-hour street photography experience, you’ll use a 35mm point and shoot film camera to capture pictures of the city’s most vibrant cultural spots and famous architecture. Starting by the beach, you’ll be taken through the Yemenite Quarter, Herzl Street, Neve Tzedek and Levinsky Market, capturing the pulse of Tel Aviv.

This off-the-beaten-track tour will introduce you to a side of Tel Aviv not shown on postcards. Taking you around Neve Sha’anan, a neighbourhood in south Tel Aviv with a large immigrant population – a mix of Asian migrant workers and refugees, predominantly from Sudan and Eritrea – you’ll learn about the complicated story of the area and the reality of these people, with plenty of helpings of their delicious cuisines along the way.