Of all the cities in Israel, Tel Aviv's map is perhaps the most unusual. There are futuristic skyscrapers in the Ayalon highway area and small one-story houses from the early twentieth century in the oldest neighborhood of Neve Tzedek. The slums around the Tahana Merkazit bus station set off the opulence of northern Tel Aviv.
The largest concentration of hotels on the map of Tel Aviv, the waterfront is where the popular restaurants and bars are located. If you look at the map of Tel Aviv with suburbs, the advantageous location of the city becomes obvious - from here you can get to all the main sights in Israel, including the Dead Sea and Crusader fortressesin a couple of hours.
Officially there are 9 districts in the city, but for tourists it is more useful to get acquainted with the "historical" division of Tel Aviv into neighborhoods. Some of Tel Aviv's best neighborhoods for tourists include Neve Tzedek (one of the most bohemian and respectable, a "neighborhood for its own people" - it's quiet, with lots of small cafes and old buildings, such as Israel's first movie theater, the Eden) and Jaffa, an old neighborhood in the center of Tel Aviv.
Jaffa has many legends, such as Perseus freeing Andromeda, Noah building the ark and the biblical Jonah beginning his journey as a prophet. Today, Jaffa is home to galleries and theaters, restaurants and hotels, as well as some of the oldest churches, synagogues and mosques in the city.
What other neighborhood in Tel Aviv is there to stay in? Consider Ramat Aviv, a quiet neighborhood where middle-class Israelis with children prefer to settle. Top local attractions include the shopping center of the same name and the Israel Museum.
The southern neighborhoods around the Tahana Merkazit bus station are among Tel Aviv's dangerous neighborhoods, where the number of people from Sudan, Eritrea and other African countries increases every year.
