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JPY (¥)Florentin in south Tel Aviv is called Tel Aviv’s Soho by many. Florentin is an old neighborhood of Tel Aviv that hasn’t yet seen the same large-scale gentrification as the likes of its neighbor Neve Tzedek. The neighborhood has a very mixed population, traditionally characterized by poverty and transience, yet is now increasingly youthful and artsy. Florentin is a symbol of hip Tel Aviv, brimming with exciting, alternative things to do. It’s a fascinating area to walk through, in contrast to the modern Tel Aviv, which dominates the rest of this city and is increasingly popular for its influence on the Tel Aviv nightlife.
About Florentin
Florentin’s lifestyle is very different from much of the Tel Aviv seen by tourists. To a certain extent, it’s still an industrial zone and garment district where traders buy and sell clothing, artisans build bespoke furniture, and businesses from across Israel venture to purchase unique stocks. The Levinsky market is lined with tiny stores selling specialist Turkish, Greek, and Romanian products as well as kosher meats, cheeses, spices, and dried fruits. Foreign workers from Asia and Africa congregate every morning on Rehov Chelnov hoping to be picked up for a day’s construction work. Florentin is the technical margin between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, nobody knows quite where, but it is around Rehov Salome. And it is that fact that provides a little more explanation of the contrast this neighborhood shows. Israelis and foreign nationals, modern and old; it’s a neighborhood that is a little unsure of who it is, but is amazing at being what it is.
Florentin Nightlife
At night, Florentin comes to life transforming from a place of hard work to gritty leisure. Tiny bars sell cheap alcohol and crowds overflow onto the sidewalks for pizza and falafel. It has become one of the most popular spots in the vibrant Tel Aviv nightlife scene. It contrasts, as it does in so many other ways, with the offering in the north of the city.
History of Florentin
Florentin’s colorful character comes from a mixture of poverty and wealth, hard work and fun, transience, and permanence, all of which are bound up and explained by its history. The neighborhood’s roots can be found in Salonika, Greece, almost thirty years before the State of Israel was established.
Slowly, the neglected buildings fell into ruin and Florentin became the home for many of the country’s poorest citizens, as well as many illegal foreign workers. The city first tried to gentrify the Florentin in the 1980s at a similar time to the White City and Neve Tzedek, but the success here was very limited and by the 1990s, much of the area was semi-derelict and rubbish-laden. A revival occurred, however, in the late 1990s in the area. In large part due to the availability of cheap living space in large loft-style buildings, a possibility that was way out of reach to many in other parts of the city. As in many global cases of gentrification including that of much of the north of the city, this attracted a community of artists and designers who created trendy live-work spaces out of dingy, derelict buildings.
Since then, Florentin has changed considerably. Bars, restaurants, and smart shops have opened in the neighborhood streets. Nightclubs and live music venues have opened in the abandoned warehouses and basements found across the area. This has transformed Florentin into one of Tel Aviv’s most popular spots for the artsy crowd, and increasingly, for the mainstream.
Tour Florentin
Visit the quirky streets of one of Israel’s oldest neighborhoods and take in its modern-day hipster culture on this Street art tour of Tel Aviv, one of the most exciting and unusual things to do in Tel Aviv. If you’re feeling intrigued, check out our fun facts about 5 things you didn’t know about street art in Tel Aviv.
