Haifa is a charming city. It takes more time to explore Haifa and to really find the special things than it does in Tel Aviv, or maybe even Jerusalem, but Haifa has a different feeling and a special vibe. My first thoughts when moving into the downtown area of Haifa for my summer internship with ILH – Israel Hostels, was honestly, that Haifa a giant snooze. I had just spent a decent amount of time in Tel Aviv, and Haifa in comparison felt extremely quiet and empty. That being said, first impressions aren’t everything and this city showed me that—you just have to put in a little more effort and Haifa will reward you with wonderful things to see, do, and eat.
My first Haifa discovery was a little sandwich shop on Natanzon street, that amazingly, is open every day of the week and around the clock. I went there first when a friend and I decided we wanted to eat something that wasn’t kosher (we missed having cheese with our meat…) and something that would be different from the never ending falafel sandwiches we’d been getting. Then, once we discovered it stays open around the clock, this place quickly became a regular of ours. The main employee started to recognize me every time I showed up and always has something funny to say when I walk in.
My favorite culinary experience in Haifa by far, however, took place at a lovely restaurant called Elkheir Druze Cuisine. This place is a family owned restaurant that serves authentic Druze village style meals. The food is delicious and the staff there was fantastic. I had high expectations going in, because it is rated #1 on TripAdvisor, however, my expectations were exceeded ten times over. While we waited for our food to come out, we were served a spread of delicious salads along with hummus and pita—all at no extra charge.
Throughout the meal, the owner, a kind older gentleman, came over to our table to check in on us and see how we liked everything. When we had finished and we full and ready to get going, I politely asked for the check and declined dessert. They insisted we have some Arab coffee on the house before we left, and we graciously accepted. Then, as we were finishing up with paying the bill, the owner came over once more to see how everything was and to tell us he was giving us desserts, on him. I was overwhelmed by the kindness the staff at this restaurant showed us. When they brought out the dessert, despite how full we were from the meal, we eagerly finished what they gave us—Malabi, Kanafe, and Ataif. Malabi is dessert that tended to confuse me. It’s like a milk jelly with rose water and the combination of the texture and flavor always seemed weird to me. However, this had to be the most delicious Malabi I have ever tasted. I had eaten each of these desserts before, at different bakeries in Haifa, and the ones we were served at Elkheir were as good if not better.
When we finished the dessert and were getting up to leave our server quickly asked us to wait because the owner wanted to say goodbye. He came out and shook our hands and told us we are welcome back anytime. It was such an amazing, warm, and of course tasty experience, and I will definitely be returning before the summer ends.
Haifa transportation was fun to explore as well—the Metronit proved incredibly useful for getting to the beach and supermarket and the Carmelit (which we used to get to Elkheir) is just something everyone should experience—it is the smallest subway system in the world! It also proves to be a very convenient and fast way to get from where I live downtown to the top of the mountain where an array of restaurants and bars can be found.
In what I originally labeled as a sleepy-city, you can actually find a whole array of fun (and in many cases, FREE) and entertaining activities! My favorite of these free activities is Zumba on the beach! Every Monday at 19:00 there is free sunset Zumba on Dado Beach, Haifa, and let me tell you, it is wonderful! The instructor is an enthusiastic young woman named Natasha and her energy is so contagious! I had never tried Zumba before that night and I got into it so quickly. When I went I brought a group of girls from my summer program with me and they ALL had a blast! I made a silly mistake that night though – when I heard “Zumba on the beach”, I foolishly assumed we’d be dancing on sand, and so I wore flip flips… When I discovered the class was on the concrete boardwalk right behind the sand, I started dancing barefoot because I didn’t want to miss out. It was perfectly fine for a while and I had a blast dancing for the first half of the class—that is until I cut my foot on glass… Aside from that little mishap beach Zumba was probably one of my favorite Haifa experiences thus far.
Aside from Zumba, there is free Israeli folk dancing in Paris Square every Tuesday at around 19:00, and though I have yet to buck up the courage to jump in there, it brings a smile to my face every time I walk by. It makes the neighborhood feel so much more alive. There’s a never-ending stream of secret little events like that happening around Haifa, it seems. On any given day of the week you can walk around downtown and find something interesting happening, such as free outdoor movies by the fountain on HaNamal street on Wednesday evenings, and live music and extended outdoor seating at Ma’ayan Habira on Tuesdays (A delicious Romanian cuisine restaurant on Natanzon street). And of course, though it may be obvious, one of the big attractions in Haifa are the beautiful Baha’i Gardens. Free to tour certain days of the week, and always there for visitors to gaze up at from Ben Gurion street, these gardens are absolutely exquisite.
The best advice I would give to anyone who wants to spend time is Haifa is simple: get lost. Go for a walk with no particular destination in mind, and see what you can find! You will be pleasantly surprised.
