Where "Carmel touches the sea" lies the city of Haifa. Flanked by the Mediterranean, crowned by Mt. Carmel, it is Israel's third largest city, a gem of scenic beauty and the capital of the northern Israel.

A city of sea and mountain, it is divided into three distinct levels, linked by the "Carmelit", Israel's only subway: the "lower city" with the dockside and business centers, "Hadar HaCarmel" with its residential and commercial centers and "Har HaCarmel", which is mostly residential and recreational.

With its tended gardens, acres of woodland parks and miles of bathing beaches, with balmy summers and mild winters, its impressive tourist attraction and international conventions, Flower Shows and Folklore Festivals - Haifa offers many splendid rewards to all its visitors.

ATTRACTIONS

The Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum

The Museum houses the permanent exhibition: "The people of Israel in Eretz Israel", Israel archaeology and findings from the University excavations. The art wing includes Impressionism and the Jewish School of Paris.

The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art

The Museum was founded in 1959 by Felix Tikotin of Swizerland, and based on his private collection. The goal of the Museum is to allow the Israeli public to get acquainted with Japanese art and to promote a mutual understanding between the two countries. The galleries have been designed in the spirit of Japanese architecture - spacious halls, paper screen sliding doors and a Japanese garden. The museum collection comprises some 6000 artifacts, including lithographs, drawings, textiles, ancient illustrated books, ceramics, miniatures, lacquer and metal works and decorative artifacts, mainly from the 17th - 19th centuries, as well as modern Japanese art.

The Mane Katz Museum

The Museum served as the home and workshop of the artist Mane Katz during the last years of his life. The Museum houses alternating exhibitions of the artist's works and his different collections.

The Israel National Museum of Science

Dedicated to making the complicated easily understood, the Israel National Museum of Science is a "user-friendly, touch-and-feel" institution.

The visitors - children and adults alike, "learn" by doing, as they play, with more than 200 unique, dynamic exhibits in the museum's permanent collection, designed and built by the Museum's staff. As everyone gets into action, scientific principles - no longer frustrating - become a source of fun and fantasy. A visit to the museum is not a "spectator sport", but an invitation to explore and discover the new world - the world of science and technology.

Exhibit halls include: From the early radio days to the future world of global communication and miniaturization, From the abacus to the Pentium, visual deceptions, a darkroom, a mirror room, an air force room, telecommunications, Israeli technological ingenuity - real Kfir jet and Merkava tank and a mechanical puzzles room, which offers the opportunity to try solving some of the puzzles and getting acquainted with the enchanting world of mechanical puzzles.

The Haifa Museum of Art

The Museum, founded in 1951, is entirely dedicated to modern art, with a special emphasis on Israeli art.

The Shagall Artists' House

Features changing exhibitions of works by members of the fellowship, new immigrants and various exhibitions.

Beit HaGeffen

A Jewish-Arab center. The Gallery features changing sculpture and painting exhibitions.

The Illegal Immigration and Israel Navy Museum

The Museum is a memorial to illegal immigration to Israel during the state formation period and to the history of the Israeli Navy.

The National Maritime Museum

The Museum, founded by the late Arye Ben Eli, is dedicated to the history of shipping in the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Nile for 5000 years.

Beit Dagon

The Museum presents different ways of treating and handling grains in ancient and modern times.

The Railway Museum

The Museum is situated in the east railway station, in a picturesque stone building from the days of the Turkish Empire. It contains an interesting collections of reconditioned steam engines and carriages, postal stamps and various artifacts connected to the Israel Railway.

The Museum of Oil Industry in Israel

Located in the original stone building. The Museum's purpose is to demonstrate the process of oil production in past times.

The Stekelis Prehistory Museum

The museum exhibits the development of the way of lifeof ancient man in the prehistoric period, in chronological order, as well as findings from the ancient man caves on the Carmel mountain range. The Museum is attached to the Haifa Zoo.