Share This Article
Walking along the streets of Tel Aviv, you can come across various interesting places, and one of them, or rather a collection of places, is the Independence Trail. This route in the city center connects interesting objects that had an impact on the formation of the country of Israel.
The Independence Trail in Tel Aviv is a tourist route that leads through the most important places related to the history of Israel and the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. The Independence Trail is an excellent place for those who want to learn about Israel’s history and understand what challenges the country had to overcome in order to achieve independence.
For the first time I came across the Independence Trail by accident while walking around the city center. I was intrigued by the markings on the pavement, which I followed. That’s how I found the Great Synagogue and decided to explore the information about the trail in order to share it with you.
Independence Trail – location and marking
The trail is located in the very center of Tel Aviv. It starts at the intersection of Rothschild Boulevard and Herzl Street. It contains 10 stations that are connected by a “golden path”. The trail is available 24 hours a day, and each of the stands is also wheelchair accessible. The entire route is about a kilometer long and you can walk it easily in an hour (including viewing the objects along the route). At 11 Rothschild Street, there is the Trail Information Center, where you can get free materials about the trail.
Each of the spots on the Independence Trail is marked with totems with information in several languages (including English). There is also a map with the location of the point where we are. Wandering through the streets of the city, you will find a marking on the pavement – a golden trail marking, which you can see in the second photo.
Points on the Independence Trail
The trail starts at the intersection of Rothschild Boulevard and Herzl Street. The first kiosk in the city, dating back to 1910, is located here (today it is a café). From here we go towards the Nachum Gutman fountain, which is the second point of the trail and presents the history of Jaffa.
The next stop on the Independence Trail in Tel Aviv is the house of Akiva Aryeh Weiss. He was the founder of the first district of the city (Ahuzat Bayit), which gave rise to today’s Tel Aviv. The next point on the route is the place where the first Hebrew gymnasium Herzliya was located. The building currently does not exist.
The next point on the trail is the Great Synagogue. I didn’t have the opportunity to go inside, but it is possible and apparently it is impressive inside. Further on the route, the Hagan Museum awaits us – located in the house of Eliyahu Golomb – the founder of the Jewish armed forces, established before the state was established.
Another place that we have the opportunity to visit while hiking the trail is the Museum of the Bank of Israel, and then the Monument to the Founders of Tel Aviv. Going further, we will find the statue of Meir Dizengoff – the first mayor of Tel Aviv. On the monument, he sits on a horse that he used to commute to work in the town hall. The last point of the trail is where David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence in 1948.
Wandering along this short trail, we get to know the road to the founding of Tel Aviv, and later the state of Israel. The Israel Independence Trail is a pill of historical knowledge related to the country. It is not a long trail and even people who do not like to walk a lot can handle it easily. Some of the points are in the distance of sight, so if your orientation in the field is not the best, in my opinion you will manage.
After wandering along the Independence Trail, you can go to the sea or to the nearby bazaar – Carmel Market.
Worth seeing?
Every sightseeing proposal that makes it easier to get to know a place is attractive in my opinion. Not every tourist can walk aimlessly and search for interesting objects on their own. These types of trails exist in many cities as an urban trail, industrial trail or other. In this case, the theme of Independence connects the objects into one whole, during the tour of which we can learn a lot about the country and its history.
Tel Aviv is not a typical tourist city. The exception is Jafa, which in my opinion has something special. There are many interesting places and parks in Tel Aviv, but projects such as the Independence Trail support tourism and add something to the city that will make life easier for tourists.
