Welcome to Gay Tel Aviv.

There are more bars than synagogues, God is a DJ and everyone’s body is a temple. Called the ‘city that never sleeps’ Tel Aviv offers a fantastic vacation destination for those whose purses tinkle with pink pounds. Voted as one of the 10 sexiest cities in the world by the New York times, some say the city rivals New York and London for its non stop action. Miami Beach on the Med, Tel Aviv is the Dionysian counterpart to religious Jerusalem.

Packed with quality restaurants, atmospheric sidewalk cafes, modern clubs bringing top name DJ’s, lively bars, live music venues, exceptional local and international dance and theatre options, fabulous art galleries and an endless array of designer fashion boutiques, the city speaks to everyone and with the bonus of a beach on your doorstep and delicious sunshine 365 days a year, its a city that simply must be experienced.

That Tel Aviv, not a huge city but a high-octane one, has become the new gay mecca of the Mediterranean is something of an open secret, both in the Middle East and increasingly, outside it, too. Unfailingly sunny and tirelessly tolerant, its energy level is at once intense and beguilingly relaxed. There’s an openness and warmth to the people of Tel Aviv which means once you’ve been there and seen it, you’ll be planning your next trip there before you know it.

Upon arrival in Israel, a cab into the city from the Ben Gurion International Airport is easy to catch and inexpensive (note: taxis are always more expensive on the Sabbath, between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday, and taxi drivers are not customarily given tips). The city is officially known as Tel Aviv-Jaffa (sometimes written as Tel Aviv-Yafo in translated Hebrew), combining the big modern city and the old, ancient seaport city of Jaffa.

Situated on a 14-kilometer-long strip on the Mediterranean seacoast, Tel Aviv extends beyond the Yarkon River to the north and the Ayalon River to the east. Hundreds of thousands of workers, visitors, tourists, and partygoers move about the city each day until the early hours of the morning, seeking out the city’s nightclubs, restaurants, and centers of entertainment.

The name Tel Aviv means “The hill of spring,” which might evoke wildflowers and grasses…funny for an area that was desert and sand dunes and is now skyscrapers, glass, and whitewashed buildings with residences more Mediterranean than anything. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is known as “the White City” for all of the modern structures, many white, with curved walls and extreme, ocean lineresque, streamlined design—the largest collection of Bauhaus architecture in the world. With only 400,000 residents, it can feel like a small town in tree-lined residential neighborhoods or a bustling metropolis from downtown. What it doesn’t feel is Middle Eastern.

Gay people are an integral part of the city. Gay men and women serve openly in the military, and same-sex marriage, while not yet legalized in Israel, is coming soon. Under current law, same-sex couples are considered married without a religiously recognized ceremony, marriages performed in other countries are fully recognized, and adoption is legal for LGBT parents. Openly gay politicians are movers and shakers in the government, the mayor of Tel Aviv has an official GLBT Community Advisor, and the Tel Aviv Gay Center is funded entirely by the government.

Tel Aviv began its history in Jaffa (Yafo) - the ancient 3,000-year-old adjoining city that lies to its southwest. The current Old City of Jaffa was built during the Ottoman Empire and its stone houses and narrow alleyways now house the picturesque artists’ quarter and tourist center.

Among the main attractions of Old Jaffa are Gan HaPisga - the Summit Garden with its restaurants, galleries, shops with Judaica, and unique atmosphere, the seaside promenade and walls of the old city, the visitors’ center in the old courtyard, and the fishing port.

There are also several important Christian sites in Old Jaffa such as the Church of Saint Peter, which dates back to the 17th century, the house of Simon the Tanner where Peter had his vision of the non-kosher animals, and the tomb of Tabitha, whose righteous deeds enabled Peter to raise her from the dead. Around Jaffa there is the Ottoman clock tower, a vibrant flea market that is always worth visiting, and the Ajami neighborhood.

The White City extends from Allenby Street to the south to the Yarkon River to the north, and from Begin Boulvard to the east to the sea. There are large concentrations of buildings of this style on Rothschild Boulevard and in the area of Dizengoff Center. Park HaYarkon is in the northern part of the White City on the banks of the Yarkon Rive and the Tel Aviv port lies at the northwest corner and has a large concentration of entertainment centers, nightclubs, and restaurants.

It’s hard to imagine that one of the city’s most striking and popular centers for commerce dining and fun the old Tel Aviv Port compound, stood practically derelict just seven years ago, Now it is a lingering Mediterranean promenade running from the north of Tel Aviv all the way to the old town of Jaffa, designed in a wavy patter that drew inspiration from the undulating sand dunes upon which the young city of Tel Aviv had been established. It is a delightful way to explore the coastal treasures of the city. While a stroll through the leafy inner city streets, will surely enchant you with its unique mix of sophisticated and exotic riches.

Perhaps the most famous, or infamous, element of Tel Aviv’s culture is the wild nightlife. While it may sometimes seem that everybody in Tel Aviv is simply waiting for the moon to rise and a chance to party, there’s plenty to see and do during the daylight hours, starting, of course, with the beach. The gay beach, Hilton Beach, is the one outside the Hilton Hotel, and ironically, it is adjacent to the orthodox beach where men and women can only sunbathe on separate days. You’ll find the neighbors no impediment to lots of buff boys in brief Speedos strolling the sand and stopping off at one another’s blankets to talk and make plans for the evening. You’ll also see a surprising number of paddle ball games, known as matkot, on any sunny day at the beach—it is something of a representative city sport.

The need to get out to socialize makes the well-known and not-particularly-lascivious cruising park, Independence Garden (next to the Hilton Hotel), a place where, yes, people meet to trick in the bushes, but also meet to sit and chat on the benches for hours.

For a typical example of the city’s diversity, you should visit Shenkin Street. Widely regarded as Tel Aviv’s yuppie area, this busy cosmopolitan street sees bustling t-shirt shops, juice bars and cafés teeming with a broad range of the city’s population, including a healthy dose of homosexuals. It’s an ideal starting point for exploring Tel Aviv, especially on Fridays (essentially their Saturday), sitting in a coffeeshop, watching the hot guys mingle with puppies being sold on benches and frolicking in baskets, next to pseudo-scientology stalls and student campaigners.

Not far away is Allenby street, a drag queen shopping heaven. They have loads of dress shops full of tacky, amazingly hideous dresses that try so hard to be chic they go off the scale and back again.

Much of Tel Aviv is comprised of residential neighborhoods where visitors are unlikely to wander unless calling on friends. You’ll find the neighborhoods with dining and cultural spots are easily seen on foot even if you need a cab to get from one cluster to the next.

While walking is the easiest, you won’t crane your neck from looking at all the fabulous architecture. So many of the city’s buildings are non-descript. There is an interesting preservationist movement that is resulting in the facades of manor-like residences being restored with huge, multi-story buildings erected behind them. It is odd to walk along a tree-lined lane and notice above the columned porches and balconies of a large home, there are another twenty levels of mirrored glass tower attached.

When put in architectural perspective it makes more sense. Remember,this is not a city to be seen in the same context at European models with stately masterpieces of buildings. Tel Aviv is just now 100 years old, and Israel just over 60, so “old” in Tel Aviv is a matter of decades, at best.

Speaking of old, Neve Tzedek is the city’s oldest neighborhood where folks first moved outside from Jaffa. While it went through some dicey times, it is now quite gentrified and has become a premiere strolling and shopping neighborhood. The main shopping lane, Shabazi Street, has so many boutiques, window shopping browsers, and those promenading on a sunny afternoon, that people spill from the narrow sidewalks into the streets and cars can’t get by.

This artsy neighborhood is also home to funky galleries and museums, including the Simon Rokach House, once one of the area’s nicest homes, it fell into near-ruin, then it was reclaimed by Rokach’s artist granddaughter and turned into a museum for the neighborhood’s history as well as her bounteous sculptural work. You’ll also find (and should seek out) the Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance and Theatre set amid shady lawns and an open-air plaza where there is some cultural festival going on almost every weekend. Live bands and dance troupes regularly grace the indoor and outdoor stages, and it’s a great spot to sit on the steps or lawns with a cool drink, shaved ice, or ice cream.

While at the flea market, pop inside its unique and homely Ilana Goor Museum brimming with art, artefacts and other whacky creations by this remarkably imaginative eponymous Israeli artist. Then cut back up any of the long shop-filled avenues like Dizengoff or Ben Yehuda, and gorge on exhibits at the world-class Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

If all the gayness gets too much, take leisurely walk back around the ancient port of Jaffa offers a calming, pleasant respite. It’s cobbled walkways are home to the artists quarter, filled with naff Napoleon figurines and numerous studios, where artists are encouraged to live and sell their wares. From my nosey explorations they have everything from classical vases to political cartoons hoping for peace. From Jaffa’s high vantage point you can see the whole of the main city of Tel Aviv, and after a short trip downhill you can find incredible flea markets, bursting full of kitsch furnishings, keys, colourful fabrics, nick-nacks, brick-a-brac and artistic prints.
It is all sepia tones and ancient feeling where tiny storefronts seem as if they are carved from the earth. Inside these alleyways are strikingly modern stores and galleries, from the wine tasting emporium specializing in Israeli vino, Grapes Man, to the edgy Horace Richter Gallery, and a few too many souvenir shops.

At the port of Old Jaffa, the waterfront warehouses are being converted to modern design hotels, commercial spaces for shopping and noshing, and cutting edge spaces for the arts.

When all is said and done, the men in Tel Aviv reign supreme as the main attraction. It’s true that Israeli men have, more often than not, a stunning physique. Spending a mandatory three years in the military after high school graduation, Israeli men are toned, beautiful and mature by the time they come out to play. Home to plenty of public cruising parks and two of the hottest gay beaches in the world, the city is certainly a prime location for man hunting. Indeed the waters by Hilton Beach look like gay soup with hundreds of hot, shirtless men bobbing in the waves, every day.

Gayborhood Tel Aviv's nightlife ensures that the entire city spends the weekend rock-starring it like a gay guy in his twenties. Yes, there are many gay options and gorgeous beaches, sexy parties, men in uniform—Tel Aviv has it all. Many a young Jewish gay guy who visited the city on teen tour in high school kicks himself upon learning that Tel Aviv is among the top-ranking gay cities in the world, with a vibrant club scene, gorgeous Mediterranean beaches and world-class shopping.

There is no real gay neighborhood in Tel Aviv, but for the whole country, this city is the hub of gay life. The unofficial, loosely designated gay village is roughly centred around this commercial Rothschild Boulevard, which attracts many a tourist. The beautiful thing about Tel Aviv is that is doesn’t need a gay village. It is a gay village.

You can sit on Dizingoff Street, take in a coffee just off Ben Guiron street and you’ll see more local gays wandering the street that in the more conventional “gay” areas. Indeed, Tel Aviv raises the bar for any nation in showing support for the LGBT community. The new, three-story Gay Center Tel Aviv was launched in 2008, fully funded by the city (which makes it quite rare anywhere in the world) and serves as a cultural center, event space, meeting hall, host to support agencies, and café.

It seems that there is nothing that Israelis love more than dancing and having a wild time, as you will discover when you go clubbing. You see it immediately on everybody’s face. There are parties every night of the week, while on weekends, there are dozens, beginning with the mega clubs, hosting thousands, and ending with more intimate dance bars.

The Tel Aviv night life begins late. Most clubs don’t open until midnight, and the parties really only get hot an hour or two later. Most places don’t close until dawn, and if you still haven’t had enough, there are after- parties for the truly devoted clubbers. The music played at the clubs varies from House and Techno music at the large discothèques, through dance, and there are even more esoteric places playing hip hop or reggae music. Variety is the name of the game.

The specifically gay parties in Tel Aviv are considered to be the best in town. Leading DJ’s from Europe and the U.S. are frequently invited to play at these parties, and there are often special attractions, such as a famous Diva singing, go-go dancers, or even a live sex show. Several clubs (and restaurants) are located in the Yad Harutzim Street area, an industrial zone during the day, which comes to life at night and is one of the hottest spots in town.

Another night-life center is the Tel Aviv Port, located at the north end of the city. The once-neglected port has been completely renovated, and is now a beautiful attraction, with its bars cafes, and restaurants, located along the wooden peer. Some of Tel Aviv’s best clubs are located there.

Last but not least, is the area of Nachalat Binyamin and Lilienblum streets. There are dozens of fashionable bars and restaurants; some of them attracting a specifically gay clientele. At night these streets are packed with people out for a drink and a good time. The atmosphere is great. A don’t-miss experience.

So much is happening in Tel Aviv, and the scene is so dynamic, that we recommend that upon your arrival, you make enquiries to be updated about parties and events that the city has to offer.

Friday evening you can gather with good Jews and family for dinner as Tel Aviv welcomes the Sabbath. Afterwards, muscle boys and Jewish American Princesses on study abroad alike will sneak out to party.

In spite of the greater political turmoil in the Middle East, Tel Aviv is a very open city that welcomes people of all walks of life. Tel Aviv offers a unique experience in understanding how minority groups can live together. Tel Aviv is like most European cities—modern and culturally inclined—only the men have better tans and bigger pecs thanks to the desert sun and required army service. Remember, everybody loves a Jewish boy...

Video Coverage of Tel Aviv