Tel Aviv tourist information

The settlement in the area of modern southern Tel Aviv (the neighbourhoods of Neve Shalom and Neve Tsedek) was started in the 1880s as a substitute for the relatively expensive Arab neighbourhoods of Jaffa. However the city of Tel Aviv itself was established only in 1909 as Ahuzat Bayit and was later renamed to Tel Aviv. At its founding, Tel Aviv was intended only to be a suburb, a bedroom community, with the workers commuting to Jaffa. However, a dispute broke out between the Jews of Tel Aviv and the Arabs of Jaffa in 1921 or thereabouts, which led the denizens of Tel Aviv to create a new central business district. The master plan for development of the city based on framework of the central routes and boulevards was designed in 1925 by Patrick Geddes and adopted by the City council under Meir Dizengoff. Owing to its proximity to the port of Jaffa, and its status as the first Jewish community that immigrants saw when coming into the country, Tel Aviv quickly grew to become the centre of Israeli urban life, and it remains so to this day.

Between the 1930s and 1950s, approximately 2500 structures in the Bauhaus or International Style were built in Tel Aviv. This "White City of Tel Aviv," though somewhat dillapitated, was named by UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 2003.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, for a period of eight months (May-December 1948) during the Arab blockade of Jerusalem it also served as the temporary capital of Israel. When Jerusalem was proclaimed the capital, most embassies stayed in the Tel Aviv area. Thirteen more moved there in the early eighties. The most important reason embassies are found in Tel Aviv is that it's a way for countries to remain neutral on competing Palestinian-Israeli claims on Jerusalem.

In 1950 Tel Aviv and Jaffa were united in the single municipality Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Tel Aviv has been targeted several times by Palestinian militant groups. On October 19, 1994, a suicide bomber exploded on the Line 5 bus killing himself and 25 civilians. On March 4, 1996, another suicide bomber exploded nearby at an ATM and killed 18 civilians. on June 1, 2001, a suicide bomber exploded in a line for a discotheque and 32 were killed. On January 25, 2002, 20 were killed in a suicide attack. On January 5, 2003, in two nearly simultaneous attacks, 23 were killed. On 17 April 2006, 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in a suicide attack near the old Central bus station.

Tel Aviv University is the largest university in Israel. It has an excellent reputation internationally, mostly famous for its physics, computer science and chemistry departments.

There are many cultural centers in Tel Aviv, including the Opera House (where Plácido Domingo, together with his wife Marta, spent 2 and a half early years, from 1962 to 1965) as well as the Culture Hall (with a 3,000 seats). Tel Aviv also has many theatre companies and theatre halls, Habima Theater ("The Stage") is the most recognized.

Tel Aviv has many museums and art galleries.

* The Eretz Israel Museum is known for its rich collection of archaeology and history exhibits. * Tel Aviv Museum of Art is one of the major art museums in Israel. * In the campus of TAU is the Jewish Diaspora Museum, dedicated to Jewish history throughout the world. Carrying both historical documents and art, the museum tells the story of Jewish prosperity and persecution throughout the centuries of exile. * Batey Haosef Museum is a museum for the military history of the Israel Defense Forces. It is regarded by many experts and arms collectors as a real jewel, containing rare exhibits and authentic pieces from Israel's history as well as a wide variety of firearms and pictures. * The Palmach Museum near Tel Aviv University offers a unique multimedia experience, as well as vast archives, depicting the lives of young self-trained Jewish soldiers who eventually became the first defenders of Israel. * Near Charles Clore's garden in north Jaffa, Israel, there is a small museum of the Etzel Jewish militant organization, one of whose achievements was conquering Jaffa into Israeli control in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

In July 2003, Tel Aviv's White City was announced unanimously by the UNESCO council as a World Heritage Site, due to its massive assemblage of the Bauhaus International Style buildings, the city's most precious architectural style.

Tel Aviv has several public parks and gardens, the biggest being Park Hayarkon. Gan Meir is another famous one on King George Street - named after Meir Dizengoff.

Tel Aviv hosts the largest (and only) Gay Pride Parade in the Middle East, drawing upwards of 100,000 people. Tel Aviv is known for its openness as well as its thriving night life.