There are loads of museums in Tel Aviv ranging from large, national institutions such as the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Beit Hatfutsot: The Museum of the Diaspora, to smaller, more specialist museums such as the Museum of the History of Tel Aviv-Yafo, the Bauhaus Museum, and the Reuven Rubin Museum. There are also many great museums in the towns surrounding Tel Aviv: the Design Museum in the city of Holon to the south, and the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

The Diaspora Museum is perhaps the biggest museum of the history of the Jewish Diaspora in the world. Located in the campus of the Tel Aviv University, it is a fascinating glimpse into the contrasting lives of the Jewish Diaspora around the world.

The Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv is a stunning museum spread across a beautiful campus in the Ramat Aviv district of the city, overlooking the center of Tel Aviv. The museum has an amazing array of displays relating to archaeology, judaica, ethnography, history and culture and arts and crafts, each housed in a pavilion, of which there are many spread across the museum site, centered around an archaeological site.

The Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem’s Old City will be hosting a new temporary exhibition between December 30, 2011 and April 30, 2012 entitled “Jerusalem” for Four Hands: The Animated Films of Emmanuel Luzzati and Giulio Gianini, and features the amazingly colorful collages of Emanuele Luzzati and Giulio Gianini with layers of brilliant color lying one on top of one another to create magical combinations. In addition, the exhibition will revisit the animated film “Jerusalem”, which was created for the Tower of David Museum nearly two decades ago by Luzzati and Gianini.

Opened in late 2011, the new Old Jaffa Visitors Center provides those exploring Jaffa, the ancient port out of modern Tel Aviv has developed, and one of the oldest port cities in the world, with a new way to experience the story of this 4,000 year old city. The visitors center presents the long tumultuous history of Jaffa using multimedia, artifacts, and a virtual walking route through the ruins. It all sets the scene ready for visitors to venture out into the amazingly restored city and explore for themselves.

A family destination and Israel’s biggest tourist attraction, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem covers over 62 acres of stunning terrain in Jerusalem. The park centers on a vast man-made lake complete with waterfalls and side pools, surrounded by spacious lawns and shaded beauty spots. The park includes a wildlife savannah with free-roaming animals and a visitor’s train that provides transportation throughout the park with several stations along the route.

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is Israel’s largest art museum, with a large collection of permanent exhibits as well as temporary exhibits. In November 2011, the new 19,000sq meter Herta and Paul Amir Building opened to the public, transforming the visitor experience of the museum which originally opened in 1932, before even the state of Israel was established! The museum shows the works of both Israeli and international artists including impressionism and post-impressionism. Permanently on display include the works of Cezanne, Chagall, Dali, Monet, Henri Moore, Auguste Rodin, Archipenko, Picasso, Klimt, Kadinsky. If you want to go to just one traditional art museum when in Israel, make it this one!

The Jerusalem Bird Observatory lies in the heart of Jerusalem, just below the Knesset, the Parliament building. The observatory first opened about twenty years ago, and in January 2010, a visitor center, Israel’s first living building, also opened at the site to enhance the visitor experience and the wonder of this spot of nature where birds and birdwatchers can gather. The site also hosts a research center as well as the observatory and visitor center, and is a great place to visit among the hustle and bustle of modern Jerusalem.

Holon a city just south of Tel Aviv is perhaps the last place you would expect to find a leading international design museum, but Design Museum Holon is just that, an architectural masterpiece in the center of this city, it is a state of the art museum dedicated to everything design, using the latest in multimedia and interactivity to give guests an amazing experience. Opened in 2010, the Design Museum Holon has regularly changing exhibitions relating to contemporary design from Israel and around the world.

The Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem is located in the restored ancient Citadel of the Old City near the Jaffa Gate, the historic main entrance to the city. The museum tells the long and fascinating history of Jerusalem starting from the second millennium BCE and ending with the modern city you see today. The museum’s facade, The Citadel is itself, a fascinating archaeological site, and provides some of the best 360-degree views across the Old City and Modern City available, and comes to life at night with the Tower of David Night Spectacular.