009 Fifty Shades of White
Have you ever heard the name Bauhaus? It does sound like a swear word in German, but Bauhaus is actually the name of a modern school for design, established in Germany of the 1920’s. Some of the graduates of that design school, that preached for a new sort of aesthetics, one of clean lines and functionality, were Jewish German architects, who later fled Nazi Germany. They re-settled in 1930’s Tel Aviv and started to implement what they had learned in school.
It was a time during which the city grew rapidly, barely catching up with the influx of Jews finding home in their ancestral homeland. Hundreds of architects were working to find the most elegant and the most practical housing solutions, adhering to the principles of the Modern Movement in Architecture. More than four thousand buildings were built in Tel Aviv in what has come to be known as the International Style, or simply Bauhaus - like the name of the school from which this architectural style emerged.
Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus buildings are collectively known as the White City, partly because of the aspiration of their builders - starting something completely new, a clean slate, like a white sheet of paper. In 2003, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, abbreviated to UNESCO, designated the White City of Tel Aviv as a cultural World Heritage Site. It is a collection of Bauhaus buildings all across central Tel Aviv - the largest one and the most varied in the world. The unique urban landscape isn’t just a remarkable assortment of architectural designs - it also holds behind the interesting stories of the architects who designed them and their innovative concepts.
I was thinking about this as news came out from the 2025 Oscars ceremony. The recipient of the Academy Award for best actor was announced - Adrien Brody for his role in The Brutalist. The movie had only started to be screened in Tel Aviv a few days prior and I haven’t had a chance to see it. Plus, I’m still gathering my strengths for a three and a half hour long film. Regardless, the plot of the award-winning movie reminds some of the themes behind the White City of Tel Aviv - the Jewish architect, the Modernist Movement, the attempt to start anew somewhere else, the pains of being an immigrant, the idealism of being an artist.
My name is Tomer Chelouche and I've been guiding tours in Tel Aviv since 2008. I started out of fascination with my family history - the Chelouche family was one of the founding families of Tel Aviv. My ancestors built this city - and I'm telling its story.
The best way to get to know Tel Aviv better is by purchasing one of my audio tours. Here's one way to do just that -
The Mayer House Hotel on Dizengoff Street is a 46 room boutique hotel with a relaxing pool on its rooftop and spa services in its basement floor. A wide variety of options, spanning from classic rooms to luxury suites, assures every visitor will find a budget-fitting option. The building was originally designed by the Jewish architect Max Tintner, who fled Nazi-occupied Czechia right before the start of the Second World War. His modernist designs took much inspiration from the Bauhaus School and his works eventually approached a Brutalist aesthetic.
It’s also ideally located in the heart of the White City of Tel Aviv, a two-minute walk away from Dizengoff Square, which is the starting point for my White City audio tour. Make your way there and as you follow the audio tour, you’ll see the rich collection of Bauhaus buildings and learn about the architectural philosophy of the Modernist Movement. At the end of the tour you’ll be back where you started, which is great for grabbing lunch at one of the restaurants along Dizengoff Street.
You can make sure you've downloaded my White City audio tour before you head out, or you can download it on the go if you're set with a data package allowing for uninterrupted internet access. There's a link in the show notes to purchase my audio tour -
If you have any questions - you’ll find all the ways to contact me on telaviv.tours (telaviv as one word, no space, no hyphen) and there’s a link in the show notes for your digital convenience.
Travellers coming to Tel Aviv in May 2025, be advised - as the temperatures continue to rise, the rain is long gone and the spring air warms up ushering in the sunny season, Tel Aviv kicks off its annual line of cultural festivals. This year seea the 17th edition of the Houses from Within festival of urbanism, architecture, interior design and landscaping. This year also sees the 26th edition of the Docaviv film festival dedicated to documentary films from Israel and abroad.
The Houses from Within festival offers a rare opportunity for architecture enthusiasts to peek behind Tel Aviv's private facades during a long weekend celebration of the city's diverse architectural heritage. Inspired by similar events in other cities, such as London and New York, this festival literally opens the doors to normally inaccessible spaces - private residences, architect studios, urban rooftops and industrial buildings undergoing transformation. Guided by architects, designers and homeowners, visitors gain intimate access to Tel Aviv's evolving urban landscape, from meticulously preserved Bauhaus buildings to cutting-edge contemporary designs.
I love parsing through the program, circling the sites I’d like to visit. Some require advance registration on the festival website, but most are open to the public on specific days and at specific hours. With over 100 locations participating throughout the city, you won’t be able to see each and every one, but the diversity allows you to see a bit of everything - an historic building, a contemporary urban park, a kindergarten designed for children with disabilities, a brand new boutique hotel with theatrical motifs, and more. Alternatively, you can focus specifically on what sparks your interest - only brutalist buildings, for example.
Moving on, Tel Aviv's DocAviv International Documentary Film Festival has established itself as a top notch cinematic event. Each spring, the festival transforms venues across the city into makeshift movie theatres with its anchor being the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Founded in 1999, DocAviv now attracts tens of thousands of movie-goers, screening more than 100 carefully curated international and Israeli documentaries. The festival's competitions highlight both established and emerging filmmakers. DocAviv 2025 will open May 22nd and close May 31st, so for the more curious, it’s a terrific opportunity for an in depth meeting with Israeli society through the lens of documentary film makers. My recommendation is to look on the festival website for the outdoor events, which tend to be more interesting.
Since its early days, Tel Aviv has grown to be the locus of Israeli culture, so cultural festivals are a great fit for this city, but culture really runs in its veins. If it's culture you seek ,Tel Aviv can provide you with top Israeli culture hotspots, such as Libeling House, the City Museum and Bialik’s House - all within a few minutes walk. Here’s a great way to experience them all in half a day -
The recently restored Liebling House represents one of Tel Aviv's most significant Bauhaus landmarks. Built in 1936 by architect Dov Karmi for Max and Tony Liebling, the building exemplifies the International Style that earned Tel Aviv its UNESCO World Heritage designation. Distinguished by its clean lines, horizontal emphasis, and innovative response to Mediterranean climate conditions, the building features wrap-around balconies, wide windows to let the sea breeze in and a practical roof terrace. After decades of neglect, Liebling House underwent comprehensive renovation and now serves as the White City Center - a German-Israeli cultural institution dedicated to Bauhaus preservation and research. Admission is free and the permanent exhibition showcases the urban development of Tel Aviv since its inception in 1909 to nowadays. Start your visit at the garden of Liebling House after ordering a coffee at on-site Café Lev before touring the exhibitions. Afterwards, you can continue up the street to the City Museum.
Housed in the original Tel Aviv City Hall building, the Tel Aviv City Museum offers visitors a wider view of the city's evolution - not just the way in which the sandy dunes turned into a dense built up area, but more about the city’s ethos. One of the interactive exhibitions depicts Tel Avivians telling their vision of what Tel Aviv will become in the future. The permanent exhibition is filled with stories about what makes the city into what it is - liberal, cosmopolitan, diverse and inclusive. You can see the way in which Tel Aviv imagines itself - the incubator for activism in Israeli politics, the economic engine of the Israeli economy, and Israel’s cultural hub. You can also visit the restored mayor's office - the one which served the first mayor of Tel Aviv, Meir Dizengoff, and still serves as a ceremonial office for the incumbent mayor. You can also go up to the rooftop for a panoramic view of the surrounding White City architecture from one of the tallest viewpoints in the area. After gaining so much knowledge you’d probably be in the mood for a long break, so you can grab a salad and a sandwich at Amita - the coffee place which operates on the ground floor. You can sit in the lovely garden of the museum, but I find it better to go and sit next to the fountain right outside.
The circular fountain outside the City Museum is located in the middle of Bialik Square, named so because of the adjacent house, which used to belong to nationally renowned poet, Haim Nahman Bialik. Israel's national poet lived here since he came to the Land of Israel in 1925. This was also when the street in which he lived was named after him. After he passed away, the house was bequeathed by his widow to the city of Tel Aviv and because of Bialik’s prominence in Hebrew literature, the place was turned into a museum celebrating his literary legacy. It’s an architectural gem in its own right, a blend of European and Middle Eastern design elements, or - eclectic style architecture, to use the professional lingo. You can explore Bialik's beautifully decorated living room, his personal library and study. Living quarters have been altered into display rooms in which you can find out more about Bialik’s enormous impact, especially on children’s literature. And here’s a pro tip for the culture enthusiasts - you can buy a pass to visit both the City Museum and Bialik’s House for a discounted fee. Ask for it at the reception of the first of which you choose to enter.
Thanks for listening and you’ll hear from me again when the next episode comes out next week.Until then - I am Tel Aviv tour guide Tomer Chelouche, signing off and hoping to see you soon in Tel Aviv.
Show note:
• Mayer House (Booking.com affiliate link)
