Instant Escapes: Tel Aviv

Head for Tel Aviv’s White City, where you’ll find the streets (Rothschild Blvd, Nahalat Binyamin St and Ahad Ha’Am St) are a maze of cool cubic facades, curved balconies and glass-tiled stairways – characteristic of the experimental Bauhaus. The German inter-war art and design school favoured sombre, brutal functionality, yet in Israel the look and feel is bright and summery, perfect for an afternoon wander. Book a tour through the Bauhaus Centre (www.bauhaus-center.com; £9).

In peaceful Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv’s oldest neighbourhood, there’s more mooching in store. Pop into Rokach House (36 Simon Rokach St) – one of the city’s original houses, it’s now owned by its founder’s granddaughter and used as her art studio. The main thoroughfare is Shabazi Street; a cool glass of wine awaits in the window at No. 47, Jajo Vino; .

The old port of Jaffa, now an artists’ colony, is more mesmerising if you discard your map. Explore lanes, squeezing past strangers and looping back on yourself when you get lost. Little doorways might lead to a cave full of pottery or a lady who moulds plasticine. Don’t miss the flea market – in the middle (east of the clock tower) is a little bar serving up fizz and live jazz. Look for the yellow awning and scattered barrels.

From Tel Aviv you can do Jerusalem in a day, but it’s better to factor in a one-night stopover if you can – it’s a breathless experience and a remarkable place to behold. One of the greatest views is from the roof of the Austrian Hospice, within the city walls. Locate the Austrian flag on Via Dolorosa 37, walk straight through the double doors and climb the stairs to the very top. Wow!

The Design Museum in Holon (www.dmh.org.il; £6) is a vision, 20 minutes beyond Tel Aviv. Ron Arad’s building is as much sculpture as architecture, an intricate vortex of red-orange steel strips. Make your way through the evenly lit gallery spaces, which showcase innovation in design. At the end, a video documents the creation of the building, which involved a tiny man (4ft), employed to run round within the ribbons, fitting them together.

And finally, the beach: the Tayelet promenade is great for strolls and cycles, and lovely beaches stretch along the 20km shoreline. If you don’t mind single-sex bathing, the religious beach Nordau is quiet (Tues, Thurs and Sun for women; closed Sat).

Where to stay

Dizengoff Beach Apartments (283 Dizengoff St; 00 972 3547 000736, www.telavivrentalapartments.com). These roomy apartments are meagrely decorated, but they’re clean and maintained by welcoming staff. You get a TV, and a kitchenette for knocking together spices, olives, peppers and whatever else you’ve picked up at the market. Doubles from £55, room only.

Artplus Hotel (35 Ben Yehuda St; 00 972 3797 1700, www.atlas.co.il). Balancing arty and cosy, this hotel has a lobby you’ll wish was your living room, all angular lime-green seats and coffee tables nonchalantly scattered with design books. Breakfast is a treat – warm pastries, avocado salad and a variety of smoked fish. Doubles from £120, B&B.

Melody Hotel (220 HaYarkon St; 00 972 3521 5300, www.atlas.co.il) .From the black-and-white striped bedspreads to the Eames office chairs and super des-res red sofas, the Melody has style. The decked roof terrace, with its Ibiza-esque Cubist seats and glorious views, makes one more nightcap irresistible. Doubles from £131, B&B.

Leonardo Boutique (17 Habarzel St; 00 972 3511 0066, www.leonardo-hotels.com). In the business district, a free shuttle ride from the city, the Leonardo is dapper in black and white, with big beds, glossy bathrooms and free Maltesers in the exec lounge. You can purchase everything in the room – a mosaic mirror will set you back £2,800. Doubles from £142, room only.

Hotel Montefiore (36 Montefiore St; 00 972 352 02552, www.hotelmontefiore.co.il). This is the city’s first-ever boutique hotel and comes with crisp white linens, black marble bathrooms and signature olive-oil soaps. The restaurant is great for both breakfast (try the smoked salmon on challah bread) or a restorative afternoon wine. Doubles from £224, B&B.

Dan Hotel (99 HaYarkon St; 00 972 352 02552, www.danhotels.com). With the likes of Madonna and Quentin Tarantino among the check-ins, the Dan is all about extras: the executive lounge (insist on access); the club-level rooms (if you can get one); and the astonishingly good service (for all). Doubles from £224, B&B.

The Shlomo Lahat promenade stretches from Gordon beach to Aviv beach (Alamy)

Where to eat

Falafel Hakosem (1 Shlomo Hamelech St; 00 972 352 52033). If you’re a chickpea sceptic, let this place convert you: the name means ‘falafel wizard’. In the queue, you’ll be offered a sample golden ball, hot from the oil, to prepare you for the main event: a fresh, stretchy pitta, crammed to bursting point. Mains around £2.50.

Abu Hassan (1 Dolphin St; 00 972 368 28255). Abu Hassan has the houmous that seduces le tout Tel Aviv: fresh and creamy, it is served warm with a bronze slick of olive oil, fava beans, fresh onion and lemon juice. But beware: when it’s gone, it’s gone, so come early for brunch if you want to make absolutely sure. Mains around £3.40.

Hazaken Vehayam (83 Kedem St; 00 972 368 18699). If you love seafood and sunsets, take a taxi to this Jaffa alleyway, stashing the address in your pocket to guarantee arrival. Set on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ serves delicious sea bream, crab and calamari, alongside sunny pitchers of lemonade. Mains around £12.

HaSalon (8 Ma’Avar HaYavok St; 00 972 527 035888). You’ll need to plan properly for Tel Aviv’s most exhilarating eating experience – HaSalon is only open on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It’s pure theatre – everything chef Eyal Shani does is a spectacle, be it pouring pomegranate into a salad or pounding carpaccio at your table. Mains around £12.

Brasserie M&R (70 Eben-Gvirol St; 00 972 369 67111, www. brasserie.co.il). Open 24 hours a day and serving everyone’s favourite staples – eggs Benedict, French onion soup, crab ravioli, juicy hamburgers – this is one of Tel Aviv’s most recent success stories. The cheesecake is creamy and fluffy enough to satisfy a New Yorker. Mains around £14.

Messa (19 Ha’Arbaa St; 00 972 3685 6859, www.messa.co.il). The architect who made Yotam Ottolenghi’s London cafes look lovely headed home to create Messa – a white, high-ceilinged beauty, decked out in drapes and marble in a smart high-rise building. Order chef Aviv Moshe’s fantastic almond caramel ice cream. Mains around £18.

Nightlife

Mendalimos (102 HaYarkon St; www.mendalimos.com). This neighbourhood bar, run by a few savvy twentysomethings, could be someone’s flat, only it’s busier and located just across the road from the illustrious A-list Dan Hotel (see Where to Stay). Cut through the cosy wooden sliver of a bar, and take a breather in the cute courtyard behind.

Gazoz (Yordey Hasira St 1; www.gazozbar.co.il). It’s full-on glamour at Hangar 1, Tel Aviv port – you wait (nervously) to be selected for entry at this hot new spot, run by the son of a millionaire. For that ordeal you get access to five bars in an enormous, lavishly lit warehouse space.

Abraxas (40 Lilienblum St; 00 972 351 04435). Tel Aviv’s party scene is fickle – new bars quickly drift in and out of favour. But somehow, Abraxas fills up every summer. Come late, for DJs, live performances or a noisy game of pool. (Or book in to the Tzfon Abraxas restaurant, run by Eyal Shani, to watch the performance – see Ask the Local).

Sublet (6 Koifman St; 00 972 3 516 5888). Situated two storeys above a rather ordinary Mediterranean restaurant, Sublet really goes for it after dark. The decked rooftop space is dotted with permanently reserved sofas and bar stools, while golden Jaffa shimmers in the distance.