Travel to Haifa with VisitIsrael.com

Travel to the Israeli city of Haifa with VisitIsrael.com and admire its beautiful sights and rich culture. On our travelling site you can find free tourist tips regarding Haifa and other great locations in Israel and book your flights, cars and hotels online.

Haifa is the largest city in Northern Israel, and the third biggest city in the country. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs. It is also home to the Bahai World Center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Situated on the inclines of Mount Carmel, Haifa has a history going back to Biblical times. In the 3rd century CE, Haifa was known as a dye-making hub. The city has changed hands over the centuries, as it has been conquered and ruled by the Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, Egyptians, and the British.

Today, the city is a main seaport located on Israel's Mediterranean seashore in the Bay of Haifa. It is located about 90 kilometers north of Tel Aviv and is the major regional core of the north of Israel. Two respected academic institutions, the University of Haifa and the Technion, are located in Haifa, and the city plays a key role in Israel's economy.

Why You Should Visit Haifa - a Beautiful, Unusual Israeli City

The city of Haifa is the only city in Israel where coexistence actually exists. Muslims, Christians and Jewish residents interact and get along. This is especially visible in the so called "Wadi" (the full name is: Wadi Nisnas), which is the hub of Arab commerce. In December, Haifa celebrates the "Festival of Festivals," honoring the main Holidays of the three religions.

Haifa is an amazingly beautiful city. The majority residential cities in Israel are grey, however Haifa is situated on Mount Carmel and as a result it's the greenest city in Israel. Additionally, right next to the city, is the Carmel Nature Reserve which is another attraction whether hiking is your liking. Numerous neighborhoods are lined with trees, while apartments are built to face either the green of the ravine or the blue of the Mediteriand Sea.

Haifa has truly remarkable views. The famous one is from Panorama Street, next to the Bahai Hanging Gardens, overlooking the Haifa bay. The other is from the German Colony on Ben Gurion Avenue that is looking up towards the Bahai temple. Moreover, Haifa is on the part of the Carmel that sticks out over the sea. The edge of the mountain is like a Peninsula, and at one part, on the road going from the nearby Druze villages and towards Haifa University; the road is bounded by forests. You actually feel like a small dot, located in a circle of green surrounded by another circle of blue.

However, the number one reason to visit Haifa is her own Grand Canyon. Haifa's Grand Canyon is actually a shopping mall, the newest and largest that is famed to be the largest in the Mediterranean. The reason for the name is that canyon (pronounced "Kenyon") is the Hebrew word for mall, and given its dimension and location (over a large ravine), it just seems right.