Picturesque Neve Tzedek: A Tour around Israel’s Petit Paris

Neve Tzedek was the first Jewish neighbourhood outside the walls of ancient Jaffa, and the beginning of what’s now Tel Aviv, built by Aron Chelouche in 1887 so he could escape the inner-city crowds. Allow me, Tomer, a tour guide and Aron’s great-great-great grandson, to show you the narrow and picturesque streets dotted around the neighbourhood, and bring its stories to life.

You’ll begin the tour outside the Suzanne Dellal Performing-Arts Centre, in a courtyard flanked by historical school buildings for boys and girls, respectively. From there, you’ll walk through the girls' school, past halls that are now graced by dancers from Tel Aviv’s world-renowned Bat Sheva dance group. And you’ll stroll past an ancient well, beneath citrus trees whose blossoms intoxicate courting couples in spring, to visit a memorial that commemorates some of Neve Tzedek’s important historical figures.

I’ll also show you the house of my forefathers on our way to Chelouche Bridge – which was built especially so my great-great-great grandfather could travel into town. Then, I’ll take you to the Gutman Museum, where I’ll tell you about famous writers and revolutionaries like Yoseph Hayim Brenner, Yoseph Aharonovich, and Devorah Baron. They all called the neighbourhood home in the early 1900s and helped revive the Hebrew language during their time here.

Along the way, I’ll open your eyes to some of Neve Tzedek’s secrets, such as:

• How to use shutter holders to tell your love interest that it’s safe to visit
• The house that was listed for sale at a price of 100 million dollars
• How to watch a movie at the roofless Eden Cinema without paying for a ticket
• The rivalry between the Rokach family and the Chelouche family during the scandalous mayoral elections of 1936
• Why the neighbourhood was called ”le petit Paris” in its early days and how it’s now a welcome respite from Tel Aviv, which has come to be known as ‘the non-stop city’
• The balcony that helped Shay Agnon win a Nobel Prize for literature

Give yourself at least 40 minutes to fully explore and appreciate Tel Aviv’s petit Paris.