Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv receives approximately a million foreign tourists each year. In 2010, it was rated 34th in the world by Knight Frank’s world city survey. Travel + Leisure magazine ranked Tel Aviv the third-best city in the Middle East and Africa (after only Cape Town and Jerusalem), while National Geographic called it the ninth-best beach city in the world. Tel Aviv has routinely listed as one of the world’s best LGBT destinations.

Tel Aviv is the Middle East and Africa’s sixth most visited city. Because to its bustling nightlife, youthful vibe, and well-known 24-hour culture, it is known as “the city that never sleeps” and a “party capital.” Some of the world’s most prestigious hotels have branches in Tel Aviv, including the Crowne Plaza, Sheraton, Dan, Isrotel, and Hilton. It is home to several museums, architectural and cultural landmarks, and city tours are provided in a variety of languages. Architectural tours, Segway tours, and walking tours, in addition to bus excursions, are popular. Tel Aviv features 44 hotels with a total capacity of about 6,500 rooms.

Tel Aviv’s beaches and promenade play an important part in the city’s cultural and tourism landscape, and are often listed as some of the greatest beaches in the world. Hayarkon Park is Israel’s most frequented urban park, with 16 million people each year. Charles Clore Park, Independence Park, Meir Park, and Dubnow Park are among the other parks within city borders. Green areas cover around 19% of the city’s land area.

Tel Aviv has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and pleasant, rainy winters, with the majority of the yearly precipitation coming between October and May. The average yearly temperature is 20.2 degrees Celsius (68.4 degrees Fahrenheit), while the average sea temperature is 18–20 degrees Celsius (64–68 degrees Fahrenheit) in the winter and 24–29 degrees Celsius (75–84 degrees Fahrenheit) in the summer. Annual precipitation in the city is 528 millimeters (20.8 in).

The average maximum temperature in January is 18 °C (64 °F), the lowest temperature is 11 °C (52 °F), and the average sea temperature is 19 °C (66 °F). August, the hottest month, with an average high temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) and a low temperature of 22 °C (72 °F), with an average sea temperature of 30 °C (86 °F). Summers are often dry and extend for around five months, from June to October. March, April, and November are transitional months, whereas December, January, and February may be accompanied by considerable rainfall during winter storms.

Tel Aviv is situated in central Israel, about 32°5′N 34°48′E on the Israeli Mediterranean coast, on the ancient land bridge connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa. Tel Aviv, located just north of the old port of Jaffa, is built on sand dunes and hence has rather low soil fertility. The ground has been leveled and has no significant slopes; the most prominent physical features are cliffs above the Mediterranean shoreline and the mouth of the Yarkon River. Because to the growth of Tel Aviv and the Gush Dan area, there are no definitive boundaries between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, nor between the city’s districts.

The city lies 60 kilometers (37 miles) northwest of Jerusalem and 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Haifa. Herzliya is to the north, Ramat HaSharon is to the northeast, Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, and Giv’atayim are to the east, Holon is to the southeast, and Bat Yam is to the south. The city’s economy is divided into two parts: north and south. With the exception of Neve Tzedek and some new building on Jaffa Beach, Southern Tel Aviv is regarded less wealthy than Northern Tel Aviv. Azrieli Center and the key financial and commercial sector along Ayalon Highway are located in central Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv University, Hayarkon Park, and luxury residential districts such as Ramat Aviv and Afeka are located on the city’s northern outskirts.

Tel Aviv has been listed as the world’s twenty-fifth most significant financial hub. It was erected on sand dunes in an unfavorable agricultural location. Instead, it grew into a commercial and scientific research center. Passage Pensak, the country’s first retail arcade, was erected there in 1926. Tel Aviv was already the biggest city in Palestine by 1936, when tens of thousands of middle-class immigrants came from Europe. At the Yarkon estuary, a small port was established, and several cafés, clubs, and movies opened. At this time, Herzl Street was transformed into a commercial street.

Economic activities account for 17.5% of GDP. Tel Aviv had a 4.4 percent unemployment rate in 2011.

The city has been characterized by Newsweek as a “thriving technical hub” and The Economist as a “miniature Los Angeles.” Newsweek named the city one of the ten most technologically influential places in the world in 1998. Since then, the high-tech sector in the Tel Aviv region has grown. The Tel Aviv metropolitan region (including satellite towns such as Herzliya and Petah Tikva) is Israel’s high-tech epicenter, known colloquially as Silicon Wadi.

Tel Aviv is home to Israel’s sole stock market, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), which has hit record highs throughout the 1990s. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange has also attracted notice for its resiliency and capacity to rebound from wars and natural calamities. For example, on the final day of both the 2006 Lebanon war and the 2009 Gaza operation, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange was higher than on the first day of warfare. The city is home to several multinational venture capital firms, scientific research institutions, and high-tech industries. Chemical processing, textile mills, and food producers are among the industries of Tel Aviv. Tourists are drawn to the city’s nightlife, cultural attractions, and architecture, and their spending aids the local economy.

The Globalization and Global Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) at Loughborough University published a world city inventory in 2008 based on their degree of sophisticated producer services. Tel Aviv has been designated as a beta+ global city.

Kiryat Atidim’s high-tech zone debuted in 1972, and the city has since grown into a significant global high-tech powerhouse. In December 2012, the city was placed second on a list of the best locations to establish a high-tech business, behind only Silicon Valley. Tel Aviv has more than 700 startup enterprises and research and development facilities in 2013, and was voted the world’s second-most inventive city, behind only Medelln but ahead of New York City.

According to Forbes, nine of the fifteen Israeli-born billionaires reside in Israel, with four of them residing in Tel Aviv and its surrounding suburbs. Israel’s cost of living is high, with Tel Aviv being the most expensive city to live in. Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the Middle East and the 19th most expensive in the world, according to Mercer, a human resources consulting organization located in New York, as of 2010.

Dizengoff Center, Ramat Aviv Mall, and Azrieli Shopping Mall are among Tel Aviv’s shopping malls, as are Carmel Market, Ha’Tikva Market, and Bezalel Market.

Most coffee shops and fast food restaurants provide free internet; nevertheless, Israeli hotels sometimes charge exorbitant fees for Wifi connection. Taking your computer or mobile device to a café may be a more cost-effective option. The municipality of Tel Aviv provides a free Wi-Fi network dubbed “Free TLV” at chosen spots across the city.