By GIL STERN STERN ZOHARtel aviv gay rally 248 88 ap(photo credit: AP)
Thinking of going abroad to let the good times roll? You might be better off staying home in Tel Aviv, according to the ultra-hip Lonely Planet travel guides, whose writers picked the Big Orange as one of the world’s top 10 hedonistic city breaks in a May 25 “Best of Lonely Planet” e-mail.“Beach parties, riotous bars and tango-dancing till dawn – pleasure-seekers unite! We've got the top 10 cities where you can exercise gold-medal indulgence,” the Lonely Planet promised. Tel Aviv – where the clubs have no closing hours and minimal restrictions on the sale of alcohol – was ranked alongside Berlin, Las Vegas, Ibiza, Buenos Aires, Budapest, Havana, Istanbul, Montreal and Lisbon.“If Jerusalem is Israel’s historic, classical capital, then Tel Aviv isits pleasure-seeking younger brother and the country’s coolest city bymiles. Dubbed the ‘Miami of the Middle East,’ you won’t see blinged-upsuperstars like Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, but everyone else looks the parton the wonderful beaches. Tel Aviv’s locals are a cultured lot, oozingstyle and hungry for the finest art, fashion, cuisine and clubbing.“The city celebrated its 100th birthday in 2009 with a riot of creativearts. Don’t worry if you missed the party – there’ll be another onealong in no time,” the Lonely Planet oozed.“Tel Aviv’s summers are scorching and humid, while winter is a damp andnippy affair; spring is a great time to visit – try March for warm daysand evenings that merit no more than a light sweater.”Illustrating the point, a photo showed scantily-clad partygoers at Tel Aviv’s Love Parade street party.The 10 cities selected were excerpted from the recently published Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010.
