Tel Aviv (meaning 'Hill of Spring' in Hebrew) has an air of perpetual renewal: flowers bloom, new restaurants open and there's always a party somewhere. Tel Aviv, a city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, is marked by stark 1930s Bauhaus buildings, thousands of which are clustered in the White City architectural area. Museums include Beit Hatfutsot, whose multimedia exhibits illustrate the history of Jewish communities worldwide. The Eretz Israel Museum covers the country’s archaeology, folklore and crafts, and features an on-site excavation of 12th-century-B.C. ruins.

When it comes to the world's best beach destinations, Tel Aviv remains largely unsung – but its strip of shimmering seashore, stretching 14km along the Mediterranean coast, is this city's crowning glory. From the celeb-laden sands of Metzitzim Beach in the north, down to the no-frills chill of Alma Beach bordering Jaffa in the south, a diverse set of Tel Avivian sun-chasers congregate daily for luminous sunsets that teeter close to holy. And for this primarily secular subset of the country's residents, witnessing such a sight may just be the closest thing known to worship. Tel Aviv's 'White City' – the central area of town that saw rapid development by German-Jewish architects who fled Nazi persecution in the 1930s – is home to more buildings in the Bauhaus architecture style than any city in the world. Preservation of more than 1000 of the original 4000 structures earned the area an Unesco World Heritage Site designation in 2003. Despite many of the beloved buildings falling into a state of disrepair throughout the years, their style has become emblematic of Tel Aviv and efforts to restore them to their former glory carry on today. Modern, vibrant and cosmopolitan, Tel Aviv is characterized by an enterprising creative landscape. From the world-class Tel Aviv Museum of Art, which houses works by international greats, to the secluded street art alleys and avant-garde galleries scattered around bohemian Florentin, inspiration comes in myriad mediums.