Holon is a town just south of Tel Aviv and is a great community for families and children with many museums and activities. But even for those without children, there are places to visit and enjoy.
My daughter and I spent time exploring Holon in November. Since she lives in Holon, we were able to walk to some places. But there are parking areas for cars as well as buses that you can take.
Our first stop was to one of the Story Book Parks, specifically, Gan Sipur, the Park of Stories. Holon has several parks designed especially for children that fall under the category of Story Book Park. The one we visited has a large playground, sculptures and activities that focus on seven children’s books. Each of the sections focuses on a different book written by an Israeli author. There is an explanation of each book. Unfortunately, they are only in Hebrew. For this trip, my son-in-law accompanied us and was our official translator.
An added attraction to this park is a wonderful restaurant that is also family friendly, Café Garden Story, Café Gan Sipur, that is situated within the park. Since it was a Friday, and most people are off, it was busy. We had to wait for a while. So we put in our name and then we walked around the park while we waited to get a table. When we got the message, we hurried back to the restaurant on Mota Gur Street 15.
We decided to sit outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. But the inside is fun as well. The Café also caters to children with bookshelves inside and activities for the children to do while they waited for the food. The food was worth waiting for. Out selections were excellent. We had a great time visiting the park and enjoying the atmosphere of the café.
Not far from the Story Park is the Holon Design Museum at Pinchas Ayalon 8. It is a short 1.5 kilometers, or about a five minute walk. My daughter has been wanting to see it, so we decided to add that to our adventures. There are timed tickets to enter the museum, but there was ample space to sit outside as we waited along with several groups of women.
The museum was opened in 2010. The building is quite interesting and was designed by an Israeli architect Ron Arad. When we visited, all of the museum’s display areas were dedicated to the work of Alber Elbaz, an Israeli designer who grew up in Holon. He died from COVID in 2021. This exhibit, Alber Elbaz: The Dream Factory, will be at the museum until February 25, 2023.
To be honest, I am not a follower of high fashion. But I found this exhibit that focused on his life, how he started in design, his time with famous high fashion designers, as well as the tribute pieces designed by others, interesting. I understand the desire to tell the story of a Holon native and his rise to fame in fashion design.
Going through the exhibit took about 90 minutes for us. In certain areas we had to follow a long line of people through a curved hallway display. I enjoyed seeing some of his early designs and the movie showing his work at one fashion show.
I look forward to going back in the future to see other exhibits and to see how the display rooms are used when it is not devoted to one person.
In the past I have visited other spots in Holon. One I have not written about, but loved was Dialogue in the Dark at the Children’s Museum at Peres Park in Holon. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had. The tour is entirely in the pitch black as you tour several spaces, including a marketplace, a street and a port, led by a blind person.
To be honest I was terrified. Because I am so near sighted, I have always been afraid of becoming blind. But our guide was wonderful, and the experience is one I will never forget. If you are ever in Tel Aviv or Holon, this is a must do activity. You need to make reservations in advance and must be over 9 years old to attend.
https://en.gansipur.co.il/Holon
https://www.childrensmuseum.org.il/eng/pages/childrens_activity/dialogue_in_the_dark.aspx
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