Tel Aviv has a great shopping experience to offer everyone from visitors to the city to seasoned residents. From the Carmel Market and Jaffa Flea Market, to modern malls such as the Azrieli Center Mall and Dizengoff Center, the upmarket enclaves of Kikar Hamedina and Ramat Aviv Mall, and boutique and artisan streets such as Nachalat Binyamin, and Gan HaHashmal. Tel Aviv’s shops have a fantastic mixture of international labels and local brands, yet without totally pushing away smaller designers, individual retailers, and boutiques.
Here are some of the top shopping areas in Tel Aviv:
Kikar Hamedina and the Ramat Aviv Mall
Kikar Hamedina (State Square) and the Ramat Aviv Mall are the places to go shopping in Tel Aviv if you are after the most exclusive designer brands, Israeli and international. Both located in the north of Tel Aviv, these two shopping destinations primarily serve the elite clientele of these areas, and are brimming with designer labels to rival Fifth Avenue in New York or Regents Street in London. Kikar Hamedina is a huge outdoor public square, with a perimeter road housing the stores on one side alongside cafes and restaurants where the city’s old elite can be seen passing the time. The Ramat Aviv Mall is more of a conventional shopping mall, located slightly further north, in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood, and hosting a range of top designer labels, and some more conventional Israeli brands.
Azrieli Center Mall
The Azrieli Center Mall is the largest shopping center in Tel Aviv, located at the bottom of the Azrieli Center, an iconic complex of three skyscrapers, the tallest of which is Tel Aviv’s tallest building. This mall has over 150 stores, although gets very busy (especially at lunctimes) due to the huge number of people working in the offices above. Combine a visit here with a visit to the Azrieli Observatory.
Dizengoff Center Mall
The Dizengoff Center Mall is the main mall in Tel Aviv and is uniquely Israeli, with a quirky layout and all the mainstays of Israeli fashion. It is the original shopping mall in Israel and does show its age, however, on the other hand, this quirkiness, combined with its flagship stores for many Israeli retailers, and convenient and central location, make it a useful stop off point.
Sheinkin Street
Sheinkin Street in the White City has a large number of small, interesting boutiques, from which the bohemian Tel Aviv developed. Fashion boutiques include Story, Elise, Ellse, and BIG TOM, whilst Bahunot and Daniella Lehavi are good for shoes. Jewellery can be found at X-Ray, whilst gallery Urbanix is interesting. Orna & Ella is Sheinkin’s most prominent and popular cafe.
More Shopping
Of all Tel Aviv’s shopping locations, Gan HaHashmal is arguably the trendiest. Many small designers have stores here set around a central garden close to Rothschild Boulevard. Meanwhile, Masaryk Square is a hub for new designers in Tel Aviv opening stores where you can find reasonably priced items.
In Neve Tzedek, Shabazi Street also has some interesting boutiques including gallery stores TAGA, Art Maroc, and Chomer Tov, and fashion boutiques, Irit Alon, Dorit & Yael, and MIZO. Unique handbags can be found at trendy Dunia, whilst Ayala Bar showcases some of the city’s most interesting jewellery.
Tel Aviv, like all modern cities has its fair share of markets. The most famous of these is the Carmel Market where it is possible to get the typical Middle Eastern market experience just moments from the White City, Neve Tzedek, and, of course, the beach.
Jaffa Flea Market
The Jaffa Flea Market is a fascinating array of antiques, one-off items, and, rubbish, sold in a fascinating atmosphere, almost opportunistic in nature. A stroll through here will definitely be a slow one, as visitors love to soak in the range of artifacts for sale, and, of course, take part in the customary Israeli cultural activity, haggling.
Nachalat Binyamin Market
For those specifically interested in arts and crafts, check out the Nachalat Binyamin Market which is happening every Tuesday and Friday, and sees this pedestrianized street taken over with small stalls selling a beautiful array of creativity.
Levinsky Market
And finally, for a shopping experience in Tel Aviv which is a bit different altogether, head to the district of Florentin, where the streets are lined with stores selling everything imaginable in a traditional wholesale setting. This area of the city, which is still undergoing gentrification, has the Levinsky Market, a number of streets, each with a different industry. For example, one specializes in fashion, another in lighting, another in furniture. These traditional wholesalers supply many of the market stalls, and smaller retailers across Tel Aviv and beyond, and is an interesting insight into the underworld of this city.
