I spent a long weekend in Israel in May. I stayed in Tel Aviv and did an excursion to Jerusalem. Here are five things to do in and to know about Tel Aviv.

Beware of taxis

Elisa warned me and she was right. Agree on a price before you start your journey with a tai. They like to take advantage of you being a tourist.

Saturday is Sunday

Israel takes the sabbath seriously and the sabbath is from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday. This means Friday is ‘Saturday’, Saturday ‘Sunday’ and Sunday ‘Monday’.

Shops and banks close earlier on Friday and some restaurants close too. Many businesses are closed on Saturday. Trains don’t run on Saturday. So take that into account.

Take a free tour of Jaffa

Jaffa is some 4000 years old so it’s worth doing a guided tour there. Sandeman New Europe offers a free, tip-based tour of Old Jaffa. Jaffa was the port to Jerusalem and is cited as the place where Andromeda was chained in Greek mythology.

Have breakfast at 10PM

Benedict on Rothschild Boulevard (and elsewhere) offers all day breakfast. All day. So why not have breakfast at 10PM? I had an Israeli Breakfast. It was perfect.

Chill at the Gan Eden Kikar HaBima garden

Near the Charles Bronfman Auditorium (Heichal HaTarbut) there’s the Gan Eden Kikar HaBima garden. It’s small but it’s cool (temperature wise) and it plays classical music.