In a rather naff nod to New York's nickname of the Big Apple, Tel Aviv's city fathers like to refer to it as the Big Orange. In fact, Jaffa is where the oranges came from, and Tel Aviv itself evolved from northern Jaffa in 1909.

The 'first Hebrew city' was meticulously planned (by Scottish architect Sir Patrick Geddes), and remnants of his dream can still be seen in the tree-lined boulevards. German immigrants (yekkes) to what was then Palestine brought with them Bauhaus architecture, and again some buildings in this style can still be seen.

Visitors should be aware that whatever is left of the city's beginnings is crumbling away. Some Bauhaus blocks are virtually derelict. The famous Dizengoff Street (named after the city's first mayor) is a shadow of its former self. Like everywhere else, restoring old buildings and streets costs real money, and city leaders would be much more interested in another mirror-glass office block or shopping mall.