Great shuks

Top travel magazine fetes Israeli flea market

Calling it ‘a local gem,’ Conde Nast Traveler hails Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Market for its variety of food and spices, proximity to artsy Florentin neighborhood

A storefront in the Levinsky Market, Tel Aviv (photo credit: David Katz)
A storefront in the Levinsky Market, Tel Aviv (photo credit: David Katz)

Tel Aviv’s Levinsky Market has been mentioned by a prestigious travel magazine as one of the best flea markets in the world, and was called “a local gem.”

The list, published last month by Conde Nast Traveler, detailed eight “secret spots” around the world that are “filled with the sort of treasures most of us never knew to covet.”

One of them was the all-week outdoor market in the Florentin neighborhood of Israel’s second-largest city, which has been operating for almost a century and is popular among culinary enthusiasts.

“Shuk Levinsky is my favorite market in Tel Aviv,” wrote Leora Elituv, founder and creative director at travel fashion firm Kisuii, who was contacted by the US magazine as one of the experts who scour such places as part of their jobs.

Elituv noted the market’s proximity to Florentin, a bustling bohemian hub “known for beautiful galleries, street art, and cafes.”

In this photo taken on November 10, 2015, an Israeli man appears in a cafe in the Florentin neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

She added that Levinsky Market is “lesser known to tourists” than other Israeli bazaars, which include the city’s larger Carmel Market and Jerusalem’s famous Mahane Yehuda Market.

“I love going there on a Friday morning, as it’s full of energy as people prep for Shabbat,” wrote Elituv. “Look for dried fruits, coffee, and nuts, mostly of Greek, Persian, and Balkan origins. Plus, they have the best and most exotic spices in the city!”

Elituv also recommended Saro, an arts and crafts store in Taormina, Sicily.

The list included antique stores and flea markets in Pennsylvania, US; Mexico City, Mexico; London, UK; Pisac, Peru; and Kyoto, Japan.

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