Bauhaus Center and White City walk

The Bauhaus Center at 99 Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, is the starting point for exploring the White City, the collection of more than 4,000 International Style buildings that earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2003. The center operates as a small museum, bookshop and information point, with exhibitions, books, posters, prints and design objects about the Bauhaus movement and its influence on Tel Aviv. Many of the buildings were designed in the 1930s by architects who trained in Germany and emigrated to what was then Mandatory Palestine. Guided walking tours leave from the center, typically covering the area around Dizengoff Circle, Bialik Street, Rothschild Boulevard and nearby streets. Guides point out features such as rounded balconies, horizontal windows, flat roofs, pilotis, shaded loggias and the way builders adapted European modernism to a hot Mediterranean climate. Tours cost about 100 ILS, while the center itself can be visited for free. The center is generally open Sunday to Friday from about 10:00AM to 7:30PM, closing early on Friday, and tour schedules are posted at bauhaus-center.com. A full visit, including the center and a tour, takes two to three hours. Visitors who prefer to explore alone can pick up maps from the center and follow a self-guided route. Morning light is best for photographing the white facades, as it reveals curves and shadows on balconies. Many buildings are residential and have been restored, while others show peeling paint, giving the district a mixed, lived-in look. Dizengoff Square, with its fountain, is a short walk away. The streets are flat and tree-shaded, which makes the area comfortable for walking, though summer heat can be strong by midday. Cafes along the route provide places to rest.