Florentin, Tel Aviv Saturday Morning Tour

I tried to give this tour the benefit of the doubt, but it was really disappointing and ultimately a waste of money. First, logistical issues. This tour can be combined with other tours the operator offers. Apparently, I was the only one who had signed up for this portion, and everyone else had come from another tour and was already an established group. It was very confusing and uncomfortable to join halfway through. The guide didn't have my name on a list, didn't come to the right meeting point, and I had to call the company's "emergency number" for clarification. Second, and most importantly, it's a HUGE stretch to even call this a street art tour. I signed up because, while I had seen much of the art before in previous days, I really wanted to understand the context, background, and intent behind it. I've been to many graffiti tours in different countries and they're usually a really deep dive. This tour was super surface-level. Essentially just a few fun facts here and there about art and architecture. The guide asked multiple times what our interpretation of the work was (I get art is open-ended but he rarely delivered the helpful context we needed to make our own assumptions) and sometimes simply read words in the pieces and shared the artists' names, which were already tagged on the piece. In terms of value add, it was slim-to-none. I gave it a full hour, but left after it became apparent it wasn't really a true street art tour. I'm sure the others on the tour who hadn't even walked through this area enjoyed it, but do not sign up if you actually want to learn about street art and graffiti in Tel Aviv. It was a lowlight of my trip :(

our guide was just ok. great art along the way. really loved some of the work displayed on the walls of TA. walked thru side streets and alleys of TA. really glad we did this tour. not great, but good

Our tour was awful. We showed up 15” early, per the company’s instructions. Our tour guide was over 30” late, and since there was no communication from the company about this (like a WhatsApp call), none of us who were waiting knew whether to keep standing around in the street or leave. We finally reached someone at the company, who expressed surprise that the guide wasn’t there and said he’d show up “soon.” No explanation was given. Eventually the guide arrived. When he did finally show up, he said his lateness was a constant problem because the company refused to build in time for him to get a large group of tourists from the Carmel Market to Florentin for the graffiti tour. He said he’d asked multiple times for the graffiti tour to start later so he wouldn’t always arrive late. He apologized for his lateness and then apologized in advance for the fact that the graffiti he was about to show us would be disappointing. He wasn’t wrong… The tour itself was a lousy experience. Our guide spoke English very poorly and seemed to have a stutter, and so every sentence took about 4 times longer than normal to come out. It was excruciating. We saw very little graffiti and, in general, he took us to pieces that were unimpressive, walking right by the impressive ones. He also took us to a random store that makes paddles for beach paddle ball, gave us a long story about how the paddles are made, and then suggested we buy some. Absolutely bizarre on a graffiti tour! Several people just left during the tour without saying goodbye, including our adult children, who were bored and couldn’t stand the excruciatingly slow pace. My husband and I couldn’t wait for the experience to end, so we left a bit early, even though we started about 40” late (because once the guide had finally shown up, we all had to wait while the group he’d brought from Carmel Market used the bathroom). This was the worst tour I’ve ever been on. We paid for our family of five and wish we could get our money back. You don’t tell people to arrive 15” early for a tour that starts 40” late! False advertising!

Terrible service. Tour guide didn’t know what he was talking about and made up things as he was going through the town. Ended up finishing the tour 1 hr early.

The street art walking tour was great. The guide, Sivan, was amazing. He was very knowledgeable and engaged the audience throughout the tour. I high recommend him.

Adina was a terrific guide - informative and extremely patient - it was not rushed at all. Do not be fooled by her age, she is very passionate about street art and has terrific insights in to the history or various pieces and the street art culture in general

We had an amazing time on this tour! Our tour guide, Sivan, was very fun and knowledgeable of the all graffiti and able to answer any questions we had. The tour was very interesting and insightful, exploring both the meaning of the art and the artists themselves. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great activity in Tel Aviv!

Jenny was our tour guide and she was delightful, knowledgeable about the art, social issues and politics. Taught us so much. I'll never look at graffiti the same way again. Very worthwhile. A highlight of our trip.

I can definitely recommend booking a street art tour through the streets of Florentin. Guided by a local artist, you can discover amazing graffiti, their background and history around their creators. Just go and get a glimpse on the street art scene in Tel Aviv.

The tour was really thought-provoking and the guide knew each and every artist whose work we got a chance to see. And, even more exciting is that he is a street artist himself and we got to see his own work! Having an enthusiastic and well informed guide enhances the tour immeasurably! He also did a great job revealing the skill required and thought process behind graffiti and street art, including the different styles of work, from stencils to spray paint to installations One of the last pieces we viewed addressed the assassination of Rabin and our guide explained the work in the context of history and the neighborhood in which the work is located. really interesting. thanks for a great tour!

Shir was a fun and enthusiastic guide around the streets of the Florentin neighbourhood. I now look at street art with a different perspective -- thank you, Shir!

We went in the Street Art tour yesterday September 6, 2019 with Amit. First, he was extremely knowledgeable about the graffiti and art but more than that, he was passionate about providing the background and meanings of the art and artists. The tour is so interesting and really gives you a taste of the history and breadth of the artists and their work. I recommend this tour to anyone who is interested in learning about the Florentin neighborhood. Thank you so much!

The street art do graffiti in Florentin was great to see, but the guide had no personality and kept running ahead of the group. Every piece was essentially described the same way (as a statement against gentrification of the neighbourhood). I’d suggest finding another tour, or just wandering yourself throughout this neighbourhood for a couple of hours. I’d also not suggest to do this trip in the summer, as the 3pm start time (which she was 15 minutes late in arriving to), is far to hot a time of day.

We live in Israel and have lived in Tel Aviv, but Amit introduced us to a side of the city we never knew before. Amit is a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and very engaging guide--starting with a warm welcome (and some halvah from the shuk), continuing with new insights and thought-provoking questions about the art and graffiti we've seen often but never really noticed, Amit took excellent care of a group with very different backgrounds and perspectives. Highly recommended, even for people who think they know Tel Aviv well!

Our guide, Eli, arrived ten minutes late, and ended the tour half an hour early (on a two hour tour, he shaved off 40 minutes). Moreover, Eli didn’t know anything about the street artists, and couldn’t answer basic questions about graffiti artists. One couple left in disgust about ten minutes after the tour started, and the rest of us continued with resignation. None of the things advertised in the tour materialized - info about the street artists, meeting artists and visiting a gallery, having an opportunity to purchase their work. I’d spent the previous day walking through Florentine and other parts of TA, where I saw great street art on my own. This tour offered nothing to enrich my knowledge. The only saving grace was at the (abbreviated) end of the tour, when Eli pointed out the first skyscraper in Israel (in fact, the Middle East), and suggested we have a look inside at the displays. The Migdal Shalom tower has great memorabilia and displays. Skip the street art tour, google the info, and fit time in to explore this building.

Amit guided our Street Art and Grafitti tour and really brought these previously unnoticed pieces to life. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. I now have a new respect and admiration for the artists and their work and will be more aware in the future of this under -appreciated art form.

The tour and the guide were very interesting. Perhaps too quickly with not enough time to appreciate all the streetart. Thanks for the visit.

Our tour guide, Amit, was so knowledgeable about the area and showed us some really cool street art. He explained the difference between graffiti and street art. We learned about the artists and how and why they decided to create their artwork. Great afternoon activity in Tel Aviv!

Very good tour! Highly recommend. The street art in Florentine is astounding and tour guide was very knowledgeable- really enjoyable.

Loved it! It was very interesting. You get to see the places only the locals know. You get to know stories and legends. I would strongly recommend to anyone with teens or kids.

We are regular visitors to Israel. This was one of the best tours we have taken. Guy our guide was personable, and knowledgeable.He had a clear passion for the subject . We now walk around Tel Aviv with a new eye for street art. Our only suggestion is maybe offer a nighttime tour- so much of the Art is in shutters that come down at night. Highly recommend

Amit introduced us to the beautiful and diverse works of art that live on the walls of the streets of southern Tel Aviv. He knows an awful lot about the art and the artists which made this an excellent adventure. We highly recommend Amit and this street art walking tour.