Things to Do in the Neve Tsedek Neighborhood of Tel Aviv
July 1st 2019
The Neve Tsedek Neighborhood of Tel Aviv
The Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv is the oldest in the entire city. The first settlements were built by Mizrahi Jews who sought to escape the overcrowding in nearby Jaffa, and the district predates the formal creation of Tel Aviv in 1909.
Today Neve Tzedek is one of many districts in Israel’s second city but it has a charm and elegance that is unique – a distinctive modern bourgeois-bohemian vibe. Many of the buildings in this area are more than a century old and feature elements of the Art Nouveau and Bauhaus architectural styles. The old seamlessly combines with the modern, everywhere you look.
Bordering the eclectic Florentin neighborhood, Neve Tzedek is a more expensive, developed, and fashionable part of Tel Aviv. It contains numerous small boutiques, art galleries, cafes, wine bars, upscale restaurants, and charming courtyards, nestled within narrow streets.
What’s more, the neighborhood also contains some places of particular note, popular with visitors, and these include:
The Old Train Station
Built in 1892, as the Jaffa terminus for the old Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, the Old Train Station is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in Tel Aviv. Also known by its Hebrew name HaTachana, the old station complex features art galleries, fashion boutiques, cafes, restaurants, and souvenir stores, as well as activities for children. There are also refurbished rail cars and the actual railway tracks that carried trains up until 1948.
It’s a perfect destination for groups and families, and is just a few minutes’ walk from the beach.
Rokach House
One of the founding families of the Neve Tzedek neighborhood, way back in the 19th Century, was the Rokach family, headed by Shimon Rokach. He built and lived in one of the first houses to be constructed in the settlement and it stands today as a museum to the family’s story.
The Rokach House Museum provides a historical background to the neighborhood and its founder, together with photographs, memorabilia, and a short film. The house has been restored to pretty much how it would have looked in the early Zionist period including the original maps on the wall of an ever expanding city.
Gutman Museum
Another of the first buildings to be constructed in Neve Tzedek was to become the home of one of Israel’s most revered artists. The Nahum Gutman Museum of Art features the works of artist Nahum Gutman, who lived and painted during the growth of the neighborhood, and recorded the local scenes – and many other things – on canvas.
The museum is well worth a visit if you love art and want to see creative and colorful glimpses into the early Tel Aviv, as well as learn more about the artist’s life. It can be found on Shim’on Rokah St.
