What to see in Netanya

Israel has long been a tourist country. Of course, it’s nice to know that from April to November the weather is great, no rain, the sun shining and the sea is warm. Everyone plans to visit the world-famous places: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, the Dead Sea, Eilat, ancient Tiberias. In this article, we want to tell you about Netanya, not so well known, but a very pleasant and interesting city of Israel.

Netanya is located about 30 kilometers north of Tel Aviv. It is the seventh largest city in Israel. You can get to Netanya as follows. Arrive in Israel at Ben Gurion International Airport. Be prepared for checks and questions at the airport. Israelis are very attentive to everyone who arrives in the country. It’s best to have documents for a booked and paid hotel or an invitation from friends or relatives. You must know exactly where, to whom, and for how long you are going.

From the airport, you can get to Netanya by train, bus, taxi, or car. A direct train runs once a day, the rest with a transfer in Tel Aviv at the “University” station. Trains depart from the lower level of Terminal 3. 40 minutes on the direct ride. The price of train tickets ranges from 16 to 23 shekels. Buses leave from the 2nd floor of Terminal 3 every half hour. Route 930 goes to Netanya. It operates from 6 am to 11.30 pm. Buses do not run from 3 pm on Friday until 7 pm on Saturday. Often, tourists with a hotel reservation use a transfer by prior arrangement. You can use taxi services. It’s convenient but not cheap. On average, 250 shekels – this is for three passengers. For additional passengers, an additional 10 shekels per person. One suitcase – 4 shekels. The price is 25% higher at night. Everything is as always. Brave guys meet you at the exit, offering taxi rides in Russian! You can also pre-book a comfortable car with a professional driver speaking at least three languages and reach not to Netanya’s station, but directly to the required address.

The city is located on a very high cliff along the entire Mediterranean coast. The length of Netanya’s beaches is 14 kilometers. You can only go down to the sea on elevators in the center of the beach line. These are two huge glass cabins with a capacity of up to 60 people each. At the edges of the city, where the cliff descends to nothing, there are stairs to descend to the beach. The beaches are clean, comfortable, with white sand and warm water (30 degrees) of the Mediterranean Sea.

Netanya is a relatively young city. It was formed at the beginning of the 20th century as a rural settlement. The inhabitants were engaged in citrus cultivation. The first settlers were mainly from Eastern Europe, with the help of Nathan Strauss, after whom the city was later named, they bought 1400 dunams of land from an Arab  sheikh Hamdan on September 8 , 1928 for 5600 pounds. Gradually, Ethiopian Jews and repatriates from France came to Netanya. In total, there are about 230,000 residents in the city. Netanya received the status of a city on December 3, 1948.

In Netanya, there are few historical sites, but the tourist infrastructure and the hotel network are very well developed. For example, the 23 most famous hotels in Netanya, located in the city center and on the coast, offer comfortable accommodation to all tourists coming to Netanya. The lowest price per night is offered by the King Koresh Hotel – 8,171 rubles for a standard double room. The hotel has 34 rooms in total. It’s 1 km straight to the city center, and 475 m straight to the sea. The highest price per night is offered by Villa HaTehila – 49,191 rubles. It’s 1.8 km straight to the city center, and 179 m straight to the sea. The secluded HaTehila Villa is located in the resort town of Netanya in the Central District of Israel. It offers an all-season outdoor pool, air conditioning, and free Wi-Fi throughout. The villa amenities include a living area, kitchen, private bathroom, as well as a flat-screen TV with cable channels. Guests can relax on the sun terrace. Villa HaTehila is 2.6 km from the beach lift and 3.6 km from Sizon beach. Ben Gurion International Airport is 34 km away.

The highest rating among the 23 hotels goes to Hotel Boutique Alma – 10. The price is quite average for Israel – 11,679 rubles per night. Here’s one of the reviews about this hotel:

Elena

10

The hotel fully meets my expectations, I saw no downsides. The room simply won me over. Very cozy bed with a magnificent mattress. Clean and convenient bathroom. A chic restaurant with a variety of local and European cuisine. Internet, TV, air conditioning. All other amenities are available. 500 meters to the city center, 471 meters to the sea. The hotel has 22 rooms. The only inconvenience is that pets are not allowed!

Let’s take another example of a large hotel – West Lagoon Resort Netanya. Rating – 9.1. 273 rooms. 2 km to the center, 117 m to the sea. The average price per night is 22,073 rubles. “West Lagoon Resort Netanya” is located in the city of Netanya. Services include: Wi-Fi access, parking area, swimming pool, fitness center, massage, sauna, and much more.

Accommodation with pets is not allowed. The hotel offers cozy and modern rooms, fully equipped for a long and comfortable stay.

A buffet breakfast is served in the mornings. There is a restaurant on-site where the chef prepares exquisite dishes. Always a selection of favorite drinks and food to choose from, or try something new.

Apart from beach holidays, Netanya offers a large number of excursions both in and around the city. Let’s consider some of them. Between Ben-Gurion Boulevard and the seashore in Netanya lies the unusual nature reserve “Irus Argaman”. The name translates from Hebrew as “Purple Iris”. This flower is found in the wild only in Israel. It differs from the cultivated variety in its unusual color – from purple to almost black. In 1986, fields of wild irises were discovered near the city dump. The authorities decided to preserve these unique flowers and banned any construction in the area, declaring it a nature reserve. These extraordinary plants bloom in February-March.

Another nature reserve in Netanya itself is Utopia Park. It is located in Kibbutz Bahan — a botanical garden where orchids of all sorts, sizes, and shades are grown! In the huge greenhouse, turned into a rainforest, besides orchids, there are water lilies, vines, carnivorous plants, and exotic birds and fish live. The open area of the park has a green maze, a musical fountain, an ivy-covered playground, and a mini-zoo with domestic animals. There’s a local restaurant where you can eat, including a children’s menu.
Since 2012, the city center has been home to the Victory Monument of the Red Army over Nazi Germany. The authors of the monument are Russian sculptors Salavat Shcherbakov, Mikhail Naroditsky, and architect Vasily Perfilyev. The Memorial is located in one of the most beautiful places in Netanya – right on the Mediterranean coast. It consists of two parts – a bunker-labyrinth made of dark stone and two 15-meter white wings of the goddess of victory, Nike. Inside, the bas-reliefs depict episodes of significant battles of the Great Patriotic War, faces of soldiers, and names of cities liberated by the Red Army. The monument symbolizes the victory of the Red Army over Nazism, the end of the Holocaust, and the transition of the long-suffering Jewish people from darkness and eternal wandering to light and the re-establishment of the State of Israel. The monument was opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Another very interesting site in Netanya itself is the Tractor Museum. Before World War II, Jewish settlers were mainly engaged in agriculture. It’s incredibly difficult to do so on such soils – stones, sand, saline soils – but people managed. Equipment for land cultivation was purchased from all over the world. Today, about 10 km from Netanya in the moshav Ein Vered, there is a tractor museum with about a hundred models of agricultural machinery. It is fully restored and in working condition. The exhibition’s owner, Erez Milstein, says that the collection of tractors preserves an important part of Israel’s history – the history of the development of agriculture in his tiny and beautiful country.

Of course, these are not all the attractions of Netanya, but we also want to recommend excursions beyond the city. It’s impossible to visit Israel and not see the capital of the ancient Israeli kingdom, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. And a trip to the Dead Sea is considered a mandatory option for everyone who visits Israel.

We want to recommend a few more interesting trips. Not far from Netanya is the ancient Caesarea. It will be interesting for everyone to see the Roman amphitheater where concerts and theatrical performances are still held today. Walk through the stadium of the time of Herod, where chariot races and gladiator fights were held. And all this right on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea!

It’s very interesting to visit the Vitkin Family Winery-Boutique. It was opened in 2001 by Doron Belogolovsky together with his wife Sharona and her brother Asaf Paz. The winery produces several series of premium, collectible, and dessert wines, producing up to 100,000 bottles a year. From the terrace, where guests are received and brunches with local wine are served, there is a beautiful view of the vineyards. The winery is located in a new stylish building.

Of course, one could go on listing the delights of a vacation in Netanya and in Israel itself. But, as they say, it’s better to come and see everything with your own eyes!