Tel Aviv is a vibrant modern city that is best known for its sun-drenched beaches, pumping nightclubs, designer shopping, crowded street markets and high culture. What it lacks in antiquities, Tel Aviv makes up for in commerce. One third of Israel's population have made the bustling metropolis home. At weekends residents from nearby towns head to Tel Aviv looking for entertainment and relaxation and city slickers spill out onto the city's beaches to soak up the Mediterranean sun along a six-mile (10km) stretch of golden sand. The diversity of the population is reflected in the architectural variations and influences such as the Yemenite Quarter and the Vodka cafes of Allenby Street. Tel Aviv also provides an ideal base from which to explore other parts of Israel including Jaffa, the Galilee and Caesarea.

A loud and endlessly churning expression of comopolitan Israel, Tel Aviv has Jews of every possible origin living in it. Built on sand, it is Israel’s first modern city. The sometimes ugly and commercial front has a tendency to grow on you. Whatever it may lack in subtlety Tel Aviv makes up in chutzpah. While Jerusalem has an ancient past, Tel Aviv is a very modern, westernized and secular city with its hip discos, fancy shopping malls and avant-garde boutiques. It is an international city of financial institutions, foreign embassies, business centres, nightlife, theatre, music, art and entertainment venues.