Eretz Israel Museum
The name of this internationally important museum means ‘Land of Israel' and traces 3,000 years of culture through artefacts found on this very site, as well as examples from other Israeli locations. Constructed around the extensive archaeological site of Tel Kasile, the museum resembles a park and is housed in a dozen separate pavilions, each of which could be viewed as a museum in its own right dealing with a separate aspect of Israel's material culture and ethnography. Visitors are advised to buy a site map upon arrival at the museum, to help navigate around the different pavilions.

2 Haim Levanon Street, Ramat Aviv
Tel: (03) 641 5244.
Website: www.eretzmuseum.org.il

Tel Aviv Museum of Art
This world-class museum has been Israel's principal showcase for modern art since the 1930s and was originally housed in the home of the city's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. Today, it occupies several buildings and a sculpture garden. In addition to hosting a succession of exhibitions brought from the world's leading modern art museums, the museum maintains a distinguished permanent collection of European and American art of the 20th century, notably impressionist and post-impressionists, including Cézanne, Monet, Dali and especially Chagall. The purpose-built main building also serves as a venue for concerts, as well as talks and debate on cultural topics.

27 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard
Tel: (03) 607 7020 or 528 7196 (Helena Rubinstein Pavilion).
Website: www.tamuseum.com

Beth Hatefutsoth (Museum of the Jewish Diaspora)
The Museum of the Jewish Diaspora (its Hebrew name is pronounced Bayt Ha-tay-foot-sot) is devoted to Jewish history, migration and cultural diversity since the Jews were expelled by the Romans from Israel (or Judea, as it then was) in AD70 right up to the return to Israel in modern times. On six floors, it displays the astonishing diversity of various Jewish communities, also highlighting the common cultural and religious threads that enabled the Jewish people to retain a common identity throughout. Especially enjoyable are the musical sections, in which you can listen to Jewish music from Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities and the rousing songs of Zionist pioneer days. Special exhibitions have dealt with the island of Malta, Lithuanian Jewry and the cultural influences on Sigmund Freud.

Tel Aviv University Campus, Klausner Street, Ramat Aviv
Tel: (03) 745 7800.
Website: www.bh.org.il

Independence Hall
The building is one of Tel Aviv's original structures, formerly the home of Meir Dizengoff, the city's first mayor. On 14 May 1948, it served as the venue for the historic declaration that brought the State of Israel into being. The house has since become a museum recalling that momentous day and the events that led up to it, giving a stirring history of Zionism. Among extraordinary displays are several fascinating historic photographs, showing such moments as the barren sand dunes north of Jaffa being awarded by lot to Jewish settlers. Others record the United Nations in session in November 1947 voting to partition Palestine and the meeting at which David Ben-Gurion announced the creation of the State of Israel.

16 Rothschild Boulevard, south Tel Aviv
Tel: (03) 510 6426.
Website: www.eretzmuseum.org.il

Jaffa
Although mentioned several times in the Bible, Jaffa is mainly of 19th-century construction and has little sense of history. It was mainly built after Napoleon's destructive raid in 1799. A small section of Old Jaffa remains, its lanes and stairways cleaned up and restored and the squalid centre replaced by a park. The most enjoyable way to and from Jaffa is on the waterfront walkway from central Tel Aviv. The entrance to the Old Town is marked by the Ottoman Clock Tower, built in 1906 to honour Palestine's Turkish rulers, now a focal point for outdoor socialising before eating at the many nearby restaurants. Close by, the minaret and domes of Mahmoudiyeh Mosque were constructed by the Turks in 1809 using stonework from the Roman ruins of Ashkelon and Caesarea. A few paces uphill, Kedumim Square is Old Jaffa's main plaza, dominated by St Peter's Monastery. In a curious underground structure beneath the square, the Visitors' Center has a tourist information desk and displays a remarkable collection of artefacts from Jaffa's long history. Narrow steps and picturesque lanes zigzag down from the square to the historic, once-busy harbour, now unused.

Visitors' Center
Kedumim Square, Old Jaffa
Tel: (03) 518 4015.
Website: www.oldjaffa.co.il