overview
The town of Herzliya is located on the Mediterranean coast and as a tourism town enjoys a number of prominent advantages, such as the beautiful beaches, several large and innovative shopping centers offering a wide range of shops for shopping lovers, many excellent restaurants which are no less impressive than the very best restaurants and of course its attractive position in the center of Israel.
In 1924 a group of people settled in the area of the present town and built the first hut. Forty years later exactly a monument was put up to commemorate the first seven settlers in the town. This group was joined by another group of farmers from veteran settlements who helped to build the town. In 1948 the town had 5000 residents and within several years they had doubled. Today, about 90,000 people live in the town.
The access routes to the town are convenient and available including bus lines which frequently pass through the town and the railway which stops at a number of stations. The climate is comfortable throughout most of the months of the year as befits a town in the center of Israel. The town has a number of large and luxurious hotels, most of which are located along the shoreline and on the splendid Marina. In Herzliya there are a number of important sites which you should visit during your visit. Herzliya Park is spread over 120 dunams and is a green lung in the center of the town. The Park offers spacious areas for picnics, an amphitheatre, an artificial lake, a natural winter lake and games and adventures for children. The lovers of the night life will find a wide variety of places of entertainment for a wide range of ages and a variety of styles. The main entertainment area is located in the hi-tech area of Herzliya Pituach. There are also historical sites in the town including the Apollonia Fortress which was discovered in recent years. This was an ancient Crusader city enclosed with a wall and in the center a powerful Crusader fortress which was built in 1241 AD. The Apollonia Fortress is located on the top of a limestone cliff and overlooks the sea from a height of 30 meters. Adjacent to this is another site the “Sidna Ali” Mosque, this is an impressive mosque which was built during the Mamaluke era in 1481 and houses the tomb of a holy Muslim named Ali Bin Ali. Acrerding to the Islamic scriptures Ali was a fighter who fell in the battles against the Crusaders in Apollonia. Another archaeological site, Tel Michal, is located close to the Marina. This is an ancient site comprised of two main parts: a small tel and four adjacent hills on which remains of an ancient settlement were found. This settlement was founded in the Middle Bronze Age and it would seem that it served as an important trading center between Egypt and Cyprus. In Herzliya you will find many museums and cultural activities including the Herzliya Cinemateque and the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art.
