Having mostly sat out the global recession, Israel's economy is booming — and Tel Aviv is its seaside cultural and commercial HQ. High-end restaurants are debuting monthly, boutique hotels are opening their doors and a nascent contemporary-art scene is garnering global attention; once no-go neighborhoods are being spruced up — and properties snapped up — by sharp-eyed foreigners. Throw in year-round sunshine, 10 miles of seafront and a now iconic collection of pristine Bauhaus architecture, and Tel Aviv emerges as the perfect mix of the contemporary and the classic — a place where the locals love to chill at cafés, sizzle on the beach and otherwise block out the regional conflict around them.

• 1. Museum of the History of Tel Aviv — Jaffa
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• 2. The Gallery Scene
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• 3. Ali Karavan
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• 4. Design Stores
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• 5. Bauhaus Architecture
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• 6. Hot Tables
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• 10. Hit the Beach
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