Things to do in Haifa
The surrounding area offers many attractions, which are appropriate for all age groups. One can walk through the pastoral German Colony streets, visit the Baha'i Gardens, attend an exhibition at the Haifa Museum, or go shopping at the City Center Shopping Mall, which is close by the hotel.
The Baha'i Gardens
Haifa's Baha'i Gardens are located on the Carmel Mountain slope, are terraced-styled, and linked by gravel paths. Haifa offers breathtaking and luxurious gardens, which face the panoramic coast of the Haifa Bay, but the showcase of its gardens is the Baha'i Gardens, which houses the Baha'i Shrine, dedicated to the Prophet Bab. The Baha'i faith is monotheistic, and was established some 150 years ago. The faith considers itself as a continuation of the world's largest faiths, and has 5 million believers throughout the world. A trip to the Gardens is an exceptional experience, allowing the visitor to enjoy the luxuriant gardens and calm.
One can visit the Baha'i Gardens alone, or one can join a guided tour that is available daily. The gardens are open throughout the week, between 9 in the morning and 5 in the afternoon.
Entrance is by payment.
The Baha'i Gardens are located within short walking distance of the Templar Boutique Hotel.
Wadi Nisnas ("Nisnas Valley")
The Wadi is an Arab district located close to the German Colony. The district offers a unique walking experience through narrow and picturesque alleyways, affording a rendezvous with the local community. The Wadi has many stores and Haifa's most popular falafel stands. During December of every year, the Wadi celebrates its "holiday of holidays," which combines the beauty of the Christmas and the Hanukah Festivals. The Wadi is a meeting place for many Jewish and Arab artisans who open their stalls to the public. At the top of the Wadi is the Geffen House Museum - a Jewish-Arab Museum that is dedicated to conserving the special culture of the Wadi. Starting out from the Museum, one can join a group or walk alone.
Walking in the Wadi alleyways, between the picturesque houses, and the modern arts and craft stalls, offers an especially pleasing experience.
The Wadi is located within walking distance of the Templar Boutique Hotel.
The Haifa Art Museum
The museum was established in 1951 and borders Wadi Nisnas. The museum is one of Israel's three largest and most important museums for contemporary art. The museum focuses on contemporary art, blending Israeli and international art. The museum's goal is to present the various shades of contemporary culture through an exciting meeting with various artists. The museum is open throughout the week. Entrance is by payment, and the museum provides guided tours.
The Haifa Art Museum is 10 minutes by foot from the Templar Boutique Hotel. One can reach the museum by foot or by public transportation.
The City Center Shopping Mall
The North's largest outlet shopping mall with the best fashion chains in Israel, offering their goods at more modest prices. The shopping mall is located at the foot of the Boulevard, a 3-minute walk from the hotel, and close to the train station. The shopping mall is the open throughout the week.
Hecht Park
Hecht Park covers an area of 75 dunams. It is 1.2 kilometers long, stretching between Hahagana Junction (Maxim Intersection) and Derech Tzarfat Intersection adjacent to Tel Shikmona, which is between Dado Beach (and the hotels) and the Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research Center on Shikmona Beach and Bat Galim.
A great spot for strolling and jogging beside the delightful Haifa sea…
Louis Promenade
Built in 1992, the promenade is 400 meters long. It is located on Yefe Nof Street, extending from Nof Hotel to the upper entrance gate of the Bahai Gardens.
The promenade is situated in the hotel district, adjacent to the Carmel Center coffee shops, providing a spectacular panoramic view of Haifa Bay, the Krayot, Acre, Nahariya, Mount Hermon and Rosh Hanikra.
The promenade features rich cultivated vegetation flourishing amid Mediterranean Woodland, spacious lawns with hidden corners, light poles, benches and pergolas.
Bat Galim Promenade
This promenade is situated along the beach in the serene Bat Galim Neighborhood.
You can find restaurants, coffee shops, scuba diving and surfing clubs, and the lower cable car station along the promenade.
The panoramic cable car connects the promenade with Stella Maris Monastery, which offers a breathtaking view of Haifa Bay.
How to get there: busses 3, 42, 41a
Gan Ha-Em (Mother's Park)
Gan Ha-Em is located in the Carmel Center. It offers a promenade, lush lawns, playgrounds and coffee shops. The middle of the park features an outdoor bandshell theatre for live summer performances. The park also contains the Zoological Institute and the Prehistoric Museum.
Admission is free.
Address: Hanassi Avenue, Carmel Center
How to get there:
Carmelit Subway (get off at the Gan Ha-Em Station)
Busses: 37, 28, 23, 21, 22
Open all day
Carmel Park
Carmel Park features special paths for bikes, jeeps and ATVs, which pass by spectacular observation points overlooking natural Mediterranean Woodland, archeological remains, holy sites, and wild flora and fauna. Carmel Park covers an area of some 84,000 dunams, making it the largest national park in Israel. Its numerous lush spots invite you to sit and enjoy a picnic in nature. Three streams flow through the park. They are Nahal Me'arot, Nahal Galim and Nahal Kelah, a particularly beautiful stream featuring a cliff area known as "Little Switzerland" because it is reminiscent of Swiss landscapes. The park also offers campgrounds, lookout points, designated hiking trails and a nature reserve (Shmurat Hanahal), which contains many trees, including the Common Oak and Native Terebinth. The cliffs also provide a habitat for hyraxes (rock rabbits) and White Lilies, which are rare, protected flowers.
Hai-Bar Nature Reserve
Hai-Bar Carmel Nature Reserve, located in the heart of Little Switzerland, is a small part of a larger nature reserve of Mediterranean Woodland where animals live and multiply in a protected environment until they are released back into their natural habitat.The reserve is home to a small number of mammals, birds of prey, and amphibians that are either in danger of extinction in Israel or have already become extinct here over the past 200 years. The Hai Bar nature reserves were established in Israel (on the Carmel and in Yotvata) as part of a national goal to reintroduce biblical animals to our country's landscape. This idea was put forth by the founder of the Nature Reserves Authority (now known as the Nature and Parks Authority), the late General Abraham Yaffe.
The site offers free guided tours every Saturday at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:00.
Haifa Educational Zoo
The Haifa Educational Zoo was built in memory of Louie Ariel Goldschmidt. Among other things, the zoo has a biology institute, botanical garden, library and the Prehistoric Museum.The zoo is situated along the lower northern parts of the Lotem River, one the most beautiful nature reserves on the Carmel. It borders on "Gan Ha-Em" (Mother's Park) in Carmel Center. The total zoo area is approximately 30 dunams.
The zoo houses over one hundred different kinds of animals, some rare. There are reptiles, birds and mammals – about 350 in total. In addition to the more traditional animals such as tigers, bears, wolves, hyenas, various species of apes and herbivores, visitors can also see an impressive array of snakes and other reptiles in an air-conditioned reptile house, which features display areas designed according to the animals' natural habitat.
One of the recent attractions is a children's petting zoo, where children can stroke, hold, and have their picture taken with various animals such as goats, spotted deer, small rabbits, hamsters, birds and reptiles, including snakes. Another refreshing innovation is the open display areas, in which visitors can walk through and feel part of the animals' natural habitat. These settings present waterfowl, vultures and lemurs, lovable gibbons that live in the wild and are only native to the island of Madagascar. In addition, for the first time ever, zoo-goers can see live alligators in a modern display area designed according to their natural living conditions.
Other attractions at the zoo include the Botanical Garden, where visitors can see dozens of tree and bush varieties indigenous to Israel, particularly the Carmel region, and the Prehistoric Museum, which presents the evolution of man in the region.
Zoo address: 124 Hatishbi Street, Haifa
Paradive Skydiving Center
Paradive is located at the Habonim Airstrip, next to Moshav Habonim (south on Route 4, north of Zichron Yaakov).
Tel.: 1-700-70-20-24
http://www.paradive.co.il/index.php
Xpark!
The Largest, Most Professional Extreme Amusement Park in Israel
In its initial stage, the park includes an Olympic climbing wall, rappelling facility, large paintball field, professional skating park, huge zip-line, rope park and trampoline.
The greatest challenges, experiences and amusements in Israel are here at the 13,000-m2 Xpark!, now opening at the southern entrance to Haifa, beside the Haifa Mall and Convention Center.
http://www.xpark.co.il/indexpic.htm
Malls and Shopping Centers
City Center – an outlet mall located at the beginning of Ben-Gurion Boulevard, German Colony
Haifa Mall – a shopping and recreation center, on Pliman Street, next to MATAM, at the southern entrance to Haifa
Castra Center – a shopping and arts center, located near Haifa Mall, on Pliman Street
Grand Canyon Mall – a shopping and recreation center, situated on Simcha Golan Street
Museums in Haifa
The website for Haifa museums: http://www.hms.org.il/index.asp
The Railroad Museum
The Railway Museum is situated on the premises of the East Haifa Train Station. The museum depicts the milestones in the development of Israel's railway system since its establishment in 1892, including connections between neighboring countries, and the way the system operates today.
For more details:
Tel.: 04-8564293
Fax: 04-8564310
E-mail: paulc@rail.org.il
The Haifa Museum of Art
The Haifa Museum of Art is one of the three largest art museums in Israel. It focuses on presenting the living, beating pulse of contemporary Israeli and international art. The building itself has historical significance because of its location, namely on the border of Wadi Nisnas. This area is a focal point of local culture because it connects three neighborhoods: Jewish, Muslim and Christian. The museum can, therefore, serve as a multicultural bridge reflecting the city's unique urban and social fabric.
Address: 26 Shabtai Levi Street, Haifa 45134
Tel.: 04-9115991
E-mail: curator@hma.org.il
Hours:
Mon., Tues., Wed.: 10:30-16:00; Thurs.: 16:00-19:00; Fri. and Holiday Eves: 10:30-13:00; Sat.: 10:30-15:00
Closed on Sundays
The National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum is devoted to the history of seafaring. It documents the human connection to the sea in our region from the time of the ancient cultures until today. A great deal of emphasis is placed on the Mediterranean Sea, its ports and its islands, as well as on Israel’s beaches and ports. The museum also presents the history of seafaring and shipping in modern Israel. In addition, it hosts exhibitions by painters whose works express the connection between man and the sea. Special emphasis is placed on the ongoing bond between the Land of Israel/the Jewish people and the sea.
Address: 198, Allenby Boulevard, Haifa 45134
Telephone: 04-8536622
Ticket office: Extension 0
Admin: Extension 104
Library: Extension 202
E-mail: curator@nmm.or.il
Hours
Mon., Tues., Wed.: 10:30-16:00; Thurs.: 16:00-19:00; Fri. and Holiday Eves: 10:30-13:00; Sat.: 10:30-15:00
Closed on Sundays
The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art
The Museum of Japanese Art is located high up on Mount Carmel. It is entirely devoted to the preservation and presentation of Japanese art objects. It is the only museum of its kind in the Middle East. It is a municipal institution established in 1959 at the joint initiative of Dutchman Felix Tikotin (1893-1986) and Haifa mayor Abba Khoushy (1898-1969).
The museum has three main aims: "to enable the Israeli public to become familiar with Japanese culture and thereby enrich its artistic life; to facilitate the mutual understanding between Israel and Japan and the inhabitants of eastern and western Asia; and to encourage research on Japanese art and culture".
Address: 89 President (Ha-Nassi) Boulevard, Haifa 34529
Telephone: 04-9115955
Hours
Mon., Tues., Wed.: 10:30-16:00; Thurs.: 16:00-19:00; Fri. and Holiday Eves: 10:30-13:00; Sat.: 10:30-15:00
Madatech – The National Museum of Science, Technology and Space
Madatech has a wide range of exhibits, including hundreds of interactive displays that demonstrate scientific and technological principles in a hands-on, enjoyable manner, with visitor activation.
Among the exhibits:
Body Worlds – the most talked-about exhibit in the world is now in Israel. Twenty body displays and over 130 real human organs as part of this exhibit, which makes use of real human corpses to expose the amazingly precise anatomical structure of the human body.
Full details on the exhibit are available at a site set up especially for the event: www.bodyworlds.co.il
The exhibit is displayed in a closed-off area of the museum, and, therefore, a special ticket must be purchased for it.Besides its exhibits, the museum also operates the CinematriX, a scientific, 3D, multisensory cinematic experience in an ultramodern screening room, which has moving seats and spectacular special effects. The movies include "Masa Ba-yekum" (Journey to the Edge of the Universe), "Mada-bra Kadabra (The Science Behind Magic Tricks), "Pele-guf" (Journey in the Human Body) and "Super-kid Ba-drachim" (Learning Road Safety Through Fun).
Madatech visitors top off their special experience by shopping at the museum store, which sells souvenirs and scientific gifts, and then having a bite in the adjacent cafeteria.
Madatech is housed in the magnificent Historic Technion Building, which was built at the beginning of the 20th century.
Address: 25 Shmariyahu Levine St./12 Balfour St., Hadar Hacarmel, Haifa 31448
Website: http://www.madatech.org.il /
Tel.: 04-8614444
Hours – Please consult the website before coming.
Sunday 12:00-18:00
Mon., Tues., Wed. 10:00-18:00
Thursday 10:00-20:00
Fri., Sat. 10:00-18:00
The Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum
The museum tells the story of our struggle for the right to immigrate to the Land of Israel between 1934 and 1948. This chapter in our history, which deals with Jewish clandestine immigration and the right to settle here, is one of the milestones toward the establishment of the state. The story is presented by means of historic documents, newspaper cuttings, photos, audiovisual models and movies. A computerized map of the various routes taken by the clandestine vessels enables visitors to watch the whole exciting story unfold before their eyes. For example, the clandestine immigrant ship "Af Al Pi Chen" ("In Spite of All That") is used as both an exhibit in its own right and a venue for the sound-and-light show "From Coast to Coast.
A special wing of the museum is devoted to the history of the Israeli Navy, whose roots go back to the clandestine immigration operation. The navy exhibit includes photos, certificates, battle sketches, ship models, original displays, and naval warfare weaponry. In the entrance yard you can see the towering bridge of the submarine INS Dakar, which was pulled out of the water right where it had gone down – from a depth of 3,000 meters!!!
The navy exhibit occupies all four sections of the exhibition hall and extends out to the museum yard.
Hours: Sunday-Thursday: 8:30-16:00
Friday and holiday eves: 8:30-12.00 (by reservation only)
Address: 204 Allenby Rd., Haifa 35472
Telephone: 04-8536249
Fax: 04-8512958
The History of Haifa Museum – Beit Ha-Am (The People’s House)
By the end of the 19th century, the Templars had settled in Haifa and established the German Colony. The first building they constructed was Beit Ha-am, which they used as an assembly hall and school; it gradually became the center of life in the community.
The building has since been renovated and restored, and is now the site of the History of Haifa Museum.
The museum presents rotating exhibitions dealing with Haifa.
Address: 11 Ben-Gurion Avenue, German Colony, Haifa
Hours:
Mon.,Tues., Wed.: 10:30-16:00
Thurs.: 16:00-19:00
Fridays and holiday eves: 10:30-13:00,
Saturday: 10:30-15:00
Tel: 04-9115888
Closed on Sundays
Admission charge
